As London venues go, the Royal Albert Hall must be one of the most iconic. The striking red brick, terracotta façade and domed roof have hosted a multitude of performances for over 150 years. The inside of the auditorium is no less impressive than the exterior of the building, with more modern additions of the floating “mushroom” acoustic diffusing discs and pivoting seats the only subtle departures from the original Victorian design. Perhaps equally as iconic amongst the audience this evening are the songwriting skills and exquisite voice of Dallas Green, otherwise known as City and Colour. The first half of tonight’s show sees Green perform 2005 album ‘Sometimes’ in its entirety, with the second half celebrating the rest of City and Colour’s rich history.
As the house lights dim, Green makes an understated entrance, lit by a spotlight centre stage, greeting the audience with the rhetorical question “Everybody knows what we’re doing here right?”, before opening with the crystal-clear vocals of ‘…Off By Heart’. Armed with just an acoustic guitar and a microphone, Green manages to captivate everyone from the front row to those at the back of the balcony from the very first notes, the stillness of the audience serving to amplify the simplicity and clarity of the music.
We see the first of many guitar changes for second track ‘Like Knives’, Green explaining that when he wrote anything “as a child”, it was all in different tuning. This sentiment is echoed again a little later when Green, typically humble, thanks the audience saying, “I don’t play a lot of these songs… I don’t personally connect to where I was as a baby when I was writing them… you’ve allowed me to connect to them again”. There’s a sense that it’s this connection to the songs that has made City and Colour so important to so many people. A quick glance over the seated crowd at any point during both sets sees people with their arms around one another – they could be friends, lovers, family – but the thing they all have in common is that these songs have meaning in their own lives and connections with one another.
The lighting shifts to bathe the stage in purple and teal for the emotive ‘Hello, I’m in Delaware’, with gentle guitar trills leading into pining lyrics. The lighting design over the entire evening helps to set the tone of each song and add atmosphere, with diffused lights at the rear of the stage casting a gentle glow in a myriad of colours in contrast to the brighter spots. There’s a warm golden glow for the more upbeat ‘Save Your Scissors’, followed by ‘In the Water I Am Beautiful’ which showcases the raw power of Green’s voice.
“I guess you all know what song’s next”, says Green, eliciting the first of many cheers for ‘Day Old Hate’. After ‘Sam Malone’ we’re told it’s story time, where Green tells how ‘Comin’ Home’ was written about an argument in a pay phone down the road. “Leave it up to me to forget the words” he says at the end of the song, adding “that was a test”, prompting a gentle chuckle from the ever-appreciative audience. Following ‘Casey’s Song’, the first set ends with minimal acoustic guitar for closing track ‘Sometimes (I Wish)’.
Returned from the break and now lit with a cluster of fairy lights around the base of the mic stands on the stage floor, Green introduces multi-instrumentalist Matt Kelly, who switches between guitar and pedal steel, adding harmony and depth to the deep dive into City and Colour’s back catalogue. The audience begin to add their own vocals too, joining in for the wordless refrain in ‘Constant Knot’. We also learn that it was Matt’s birthday yesterday, which leads to perhaps one of the most restrained versions of ‘Happy Birthday’ that has ever been sung at a gig.
If the playthrough of ‘Sometimes’ served as an opportunity for Green to reconnect with personal songs written 20 years ago, then it feels like the tracks chosen for this second set give the audience more of a chance to connect with City and Colour over the years. This is displayed by the number of times the audience are encouraged to sing along for songs like ‘Waiting…’ which we’re reminded is a joyful song, despite the somewhat macabre lyrics. The rhythmic groove of ‘Underground’ has people swaying along in their seats, and there are more cheers at the end of the bluesy ‘As Much as I Ever Could’, which opened with Green and Kelly facing each other on guitar, a moment of connection on stage shared with everyone in attendance.
The emotion is palpable as Green dedicates ‘Blood’ to their “dear friend Horse”; producer Karl Bareham who tragically died in 2019. The audience remain captivated for a live debut of ‘Rain’, then there’s an extended break to tune a guitar for ‘Confessions’ – the gentle tone of the pedal steel keeping the room from sitting in silence. Green mumbles into the microphone, “Sorry I fucked it up, I was reading it backwards. It’s gonna be worth it, I promise”. Guitar tuned, Green ends the song at maximum vocal power, bringing the energy back up for closing numbers ‘The Girl’ and ‘Sleeping Sickness’ which see the crowd return to top singalong form.
With an acoustic show that’s this stripped back and raw, it really is the music that counts, and it’s Green’s ability to write and perform songs that matter to so many people that has made tonight’s City and Colour show so special.
ELLIE ODURNY