City and Colour transformed the historic Paramount Theater, bringing Denver into his world.
By Veronica Lee
The audience swelled and buzzed, lines at the merchandise booth rivaled the bar line as fans grew eager to see the Canadian rock artist. Singer/songwriter Dallas Green is City and Colour; crooner of songs that story tell of love lost and a life eager to live. Green is a master lyricst, transporting the packed house of almost 2,000 seats into his struggles and triumphs.
Currently touring his latest album, If I Should Go Before You, the new music rocked the house as people chose to rise from the seated house and dance in the aisles. The title track, “If I Should Go Before You”, in addition to “Lover Come Back” and “Northern Blues” kept the new fans happy, while visitors eager for nostalgia clutched on to “The Girl”, “Little Hell”, and “Sleeping Sickness.” Notably, these guys put on a hell of a show, with a perfect pacing of the pulse between rock and soul, transforming the space from a big light and strobe rock show to an intimate space of thought and emotion. City and Colour is currently touring with a full band of 5, however the most poignant portion of the evening was the stripped-down version of his older songs at the encore; just Dallas Green, an acoustic guitar, and a voice that echoed through the theater. Songs from his earliest records were met with excited voices singing along, and Green even offered a second chance to the crowd when they missed the cue from his popular line of “crossing the Rockies” from the track Comin’ Home.
The modest artist kept stage banter to a minimum yet found ways to draw in the eager listeners to hang on every word. Green offered small anecdotes and occasionally gave glimpses into the intention and subject of his songs. The most poignant point was when the artist broke the wall between himself and his fans and, like the sentiment most are clutching to now more than ever, is to just “be nice to each other.” Something simple, yet easily forgotten in trying and unstable times, “We are all fucked up, just different degrees,” was met with cheers and applause as audience members hugged and swayed to the notion that we all need love and support.
City and Colour is currently on tour, this is a live show worthy of the back to school late night out splurge.
Learn more about City and Colour HERE!
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