City and Colour chose to start their current tour in Kelowna last night and delivered the type of performance that will keep the band fueled for their upcoming gigs and Okanagan fans stoked about having witnessed a truly incredible show.
The band started by taking a few moments to set the mood for the evening by vamping out with some funky rhythms underneath some tasty staccato bursts of distorted single notes and chord fragments coming from the lead guitar. It fell somewhere between a slow churn and an incendiary burn with an oscillation that was more than a little compelling. It drew everyone in and had them waiting to burst into a roar when things really started rolling. Masterfully executed. Not to mention the minimalist lighting for the opening, which played well with the opening number being “We Found Each Other In The Dark”.
Given the tempo of the majority of City and Colour songs being on the slower side, the band and the lighting director created very real energy by weaving contrast into the songs both sonically and visually. At no point was there a feeling of things dragging or energy waning. The only complaint about the lighting was that at times it was very hard to see Dallas Green’s face. However, I don’t know if that was a necessary sacrifice in order to create the shifting of moods that was evident and that provided a large part of that always there, always churning, energy.
While there were a few technical blips from the band, which is common at the start of tours, they were never glaring enough to distract their clearing adoring fans. The energy ebbed and flowed, the band and the crowd bobbed and weaved together, and it was a unique and pleasing shared concert experience.
As a side note, keyboardist and pedal steel player Matt Kelly, actually hails from Kelowna. That was gladly pointed out by Green to the delight of the assembled audience.
Green returned alone to the stage to start his encore. Playing his acoustic guitar, he sang Tragically Hips’ Bobcagyeon, likely as a sign of support to their lead singer Gordon Downie as he is currently dealing with a terminal diagnosis. Respect.
Opening for City and Colour last night was Austin, Texas Americana artist Shakey Graves. His joy in playing his first arena gig was obvious and he celebrated it by delivering a stellar set before the headliners. I won’t give away how he opened his set, but instead encourage you to catch him on this City and Colour tour. Definitely one of those concerts when you absolutely do not want to miss the opener.
This concert was trip. It felt really, really good. Of course there were great songs and Green’s pristine vocals and good playing, but beyond that, in a very unique way, it simply felt good. Some exotic kind of blend of comfortable and exciting and compelling and wonderful and…. Well, I actually don’t know how to end that sentence. An awesome concert that people are talking about today and will be all weekend.
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