Words by Rosette Rouhana Photos by Rhys Bennett
"One thing I know for sure, City and Colour know how to captivate the room, leaving them wanting more every time."
Walking into the Hordern Pavilion on a Thursday night brought on a sense of nostalgia, and childlike excitement as I weaved through the crowd and planted myself amongst fellow fans of tonight’s line-up. There’s no greater feeling than being in a room with other people who appreciate an artist you’ve been listening to for almost twenty years. The last time I saw Dallas Green play at the Hordern was almost 8 years to the date during Alexisonfires 2017 tour, so it felt exhilarating to see him back on that stage with City and Colour.
Alex Lahey set the perfect tone for the evening. Her songs are heart on your sleeve, raw and honest and it was made abundantly clear that herself and her band have been relentlessly touring as they made the stage their own for half an hour of soul-baring indie goodness. Lahey and co are a well oiled machine and a welcomed addition to the tour.
Changeover begins and it is established that Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats aren’t your average blues band. With an impressive 8-piece ensemble, Rateliff is sure to spare zero detail in crafting his signature sound. They had the room singing along from the very beginning, with much of the crowd dancing like no one is watching. The band all seemed to be having a great time alongside one another, each member feeding off the others’ liveliness, coupled with the beautiful layering of Rateliffs vocals had my eyes and ears fixated on their set. Crowd favourite SOB had the Hordern Pavilion absolutely howling. I would gladly see The Night Sweats tour alongside City and Colour any day of the week.
"Each song brought me back to various moments in time, where every album found itself accompanying significant life events, and in turn, would become sacred and revered listening experiences."
As a long-time fan of City and Colour, I’ve lost count of how many times I have seen them play – whether it had been Dallas Green playing a solo set at The Standard that had been situated above the Kinselas Hotel, to their full band shows at The Enmore, City and Colour have always left the crowd captivated and longing for more. Opening with ‘After Disaster’ off of their most recent album ‘The Love Still Held Me Near’, Green’s soulful and rich voice echoed across the room, sending goosebumps across my skin. The set continued with a mix of old and new tracks, honouring a discography spanning across two decades. Each song brought me back to various moments of time, where every album found itself accompanying significant life events, and in turn, would become sacred and revered listening experiences.
The set list included ‘Harder than stone’, ‘Weightless’, ‘The Love still held me near’, Two Coins’, ‘Meant to Be’, and ‘Little Hell’. During the set, the band dedicated a song to Alex Lahey, and Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, playing a cover of Alice in Chains ‘Nutshell’. This was followed by ‘Atronaut’ where Dallas invited the crowd to light up the room with their phones, which sent shivers down my spine as I looked around to see a sea of lights accompanying such a heartfelt song. Not only was the sea of lights a highlight of this night, watching the band vibe out to the outro rounded it off perfectly as they used the stage to lose themselves while they jammed the end of the song out together. To finish the main set, the band finished with ‘Hard, hard time’, ‘Underground’, ‘We found each other in the dark’, and ‘Bow down to love’.
Dallas Green returned to the stage following the encore with solo acoustic version of ‘Northern Wind’, leaving the crowd hypnotised with this moving song about love and longing. As one of my favourite tracks off of Little Hell, it left me teary and reminiscent of a much simpler time. The room became lively as the band filled the air with the lyrics of ‘Lover come back’ and ‘Sleeping Sickness’, as the crowd sang-along layered against the bands sweet harmonies and their bodies danced across the floor. To conclude the encore, the final song blew my mind as the band played a sensational arrangement of ‘Sometimes (I wish)’ from their debut ‘Sometimes’, released in 2005, with a beautiful mash-up in the chorus of Sade’s ‘No Ordinary Love’. Dallas Green and Pink covered ‘No Ordinary Love’ as part of their You + Me project, and in my opinion, is one of the best covers I’ve heard. The closing song would have to be the highlight of the set for me, leaving me wanting more of City and Colour as usual.
One thing I know for sure, City and Colour know how to captivate the room, leaving them wanting more every time. I left the room in awe of these fellas, as well as grateful to have had the opportunity to see them play another memorable set. Let’s hope another tour graces our shores in the near future.
