City And Colour @ The Enmore 5/4/11

A sea of flannel, beards and tattoos were on hand to witness the first solo tour of Alexisonfire’s guitarist and Juno award winner Dallas Green. (The moniker comes from his name Dallas=city, Green=colour) First up were label mates and fellow country men Hey Rosetta!

Hey Rosetta! set the mood with their multi instrumental, layered, melancholy pop. I have never seen a packed room for a support band at The Enmore. I figure mostly it was due to the huge fanbase and excitement in seeing Dallas, but the room were appreciative of Hey Rosetta! and their sound.

It’s hard to imagine a post-hardcore punk singing sweet folk ballads but thats exactly what City And Colour is. Dallas has an amazing harmonious voice and backed with acoustic guitars, he turns from punk to balladeer. Dallas was appreciative of the response, claiming he has “wanted to do this, come out here for ages.”

Playing tracks off his two released albums (Sometimes & Bring Me Your Love) plus a smattering of tracks from the soon to be released Little Hell (out in June). Hearing songs like The Girl and Save Your Scissors were almost magical, with the subtle yet brilliant lightning of the stage and the competency of his supporting band.

Before Day Old Hate Dallas commented that “if you told me in 2005 when I wrote this song in the basement, that years later I’d be in Sydney, Australia playing it I would of punched you in the face!” His banter between songs was equally entertaining. Making light-hearted jokes and dealing with hecklers making fun of the Canadian accent.

Two hours flew before anyone in the crowd realised it was over. The shows for this tour sold out fast, a true indication of the popularity of his music. Whether it be punk fans who knew him from Alexisonfire or just fans of City And Colour, his reputation as a brilliant songwriter and performer is what drew the crowd. Hopefully this convinces him to tour down here more often. More people need to witness this talent.

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