Switching between solo and full-band setups allowed City and Colour’s Dallas Green to indulge both of his performance personas. Photos by .
Dallas Green is one-fifth of the award winning Canadian punk/screamo band . In , his side project, his melodic vocals and virtuoso guitar playing are magnified and laid over a solid foundation of Neil Young rockers and hushed acoustic ballads. At his sold-out show Sunday night at , his voice, humility and humor easily won over the potentially unruly crowd.
I missed the band’s entrance, but luckily got there as they were playing their second song, a full-band version of “Sam Malone” from Dallas’ first solo record, “Sometimes.” I was immediately struck by the voice soaring out of the speakers and noticed a strong affinity for Jeff Buckley. I’ve since come to learn that Dallas would be very happy with that assessment as he cites Buckley as his favorite vocalist.
The mournful “The Waiting” and the desolate “Sometimes (I Wish)” followed, the band fleshing out Green’s impassioned and simple songs. Lyrically, the songs were inoffensive and failed to be provocative. This would be my general feeling throughout the night, but where the lyrics left me underwhelmed I couldn’t escape how pure and powerful the vocals were. I’d liken it to bands such as Coldplay, who don’t necessarily break new ground lyrically but who nevertheless win me over solely based on their simplicity and attention to aesthetics.
After the first four songs the band left the stage, leaving the leader of City and Colour to perform a couple solo acoustic songs. The band would leave the stage three times throughout the set to allow Green to do what he apparently does best, playing his acoustic guitar and letting his voice fill the room. “Day Old Hate” was the first of these songs and noticeably affected the audience as I watched a couple kiss in front of me and another squeeze each other a little tighter. “The Girl,” written for Green’s wife, Leah (host of “So You Think You Can Dance Canada”), had me writing “wow” in my notebook.
Between songs Green asked the band and audience if anyone wanted to tell a story while he tuned his guitar. Initially the banter coming from the stage seemed awkward (a comment about how Thai food wasn’t the best choice for dinner), but quickly became entertaining, relaxed and funny. The band, and in particular Green, seemed to get looser and more entertaining as the show went on.
Green handled the would-be hecklers with ease. When someone blurted out “YEAH!” in the middle of a quiet section, he continued unfazed. After the song was over, he acknowledged the guy by asking, “Who was that with the scary scream? That scared the s**t out of me. At least wait until the song is over.” It was this simple approach to calling out the “woo” guys that earned their respect and kept the show from veering off course.
Three quarters through their 16-song set, the band played two covers — “Boiled Frogs” by Green’s main project Alexisonfire and “Murderer” by slowcore pioneers Low. The Low cover was particularly arresting as the harmony vocals from the bassist sounded extremely similar to those of Low’s Alan Sparhawk.
Before “As Much As I Ever Could,” Green announced it would be their last song and recalled a time playing another show when a fan gruffly yelled “F*** YOU!” for making the same announcement. The bluesy rocker was obviously not an apt ending point, so Green came back on the stage to close with “Body In A Box” and crowd favorite “Comin’ Home.” Halfway through “Comin’ Home” the backing band came out and closed the night on a high note. I left a fan, humming the guitar melody to “Comin’ Home” as a parade of smiling kids spilled out onto Colfax around me.
Paul Custer is best known for inventing the Herky Jerky, the Backwards Hopscotch and the Funky Zombie, among other popular dances. His moves and life have been the subject of the biopics “The Flailing Whirlwind — A True Story” and “Liquid Vertebrae.” When he’s not busting dance-move burglars he can be found passing on dessert, identifying scent combinations and playing with dirty cats.
is a Denver photographer and a regular contributor to Reverb.
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