It was slightly weird as the venue filled with tattoos, piercings, fringes and skinny jeans, a crowd very much juxtaposed to the venue. This is not a place for Alexisonfire and City And Colour fans. Just being sat down as opposed to being jostled around in a sweaty moshpit, in such a venue, seemed a little surreal and even uncomfortable for most. This is the job of support, to warm up the crowd and get them ready for the main act. That night the support was provided my a new favourite of mine, James Vincent McMorrow, much more suitable than Sharks who had supported the previous year, and he more than stepped upto the mark. It may have been daunting warming up a crowd of Dallas and Alexisonfire adorers especially when he's very much in the same singer-songwriter category, but it did not show. James' voice was just as powerful and emotional as the one that would follow, you could feel the songs and lyrics. Boy did good.
Then it was time for Dallas Green as City and Colour. As he walked onto the stage with his band, the noise level went up with cries of adoration and admiration from the crowd. It was soon clear that Dallas only gets better. I hate to repeat the words powerful and emotional, but those really are the words that can't be avoided when you hear Dallas live. The set followed a familiar format, with band, by himself and then rejoined by his band of hometown friends. It is when he holds the stage alone that you get sucked into the performance, it's memorizing and intense. His performance of Like Knives (video I filmed below) was one of the highlights for me, he told us that it was one of the first songs he wrote and played it to his mother for her approval.
Between songs Dallas spoke to the crowd with his usual shyness and humanity (saying "it's not me up here and you down there, we're all here together"), yet he proved he has wit and humor to match many. (As he asked for the house lights to be turned on to see the venue and crowd someone yelled "I've got an erection!", only for Dallas to reply "Well it's taken 9 songs to find the funny guy in the audience".) There was one stage, just before Body In A Box, where he asked the crowd to put away their phones and cameras, just for one song. Not because he had a problem with people filming or taking pictures, but because he felt that everyone tries so hard to make memories on an event, they forget to enjoy the event as it happens. Very true. He then apologised for sounding like a Dad. His setlist was a perfect mix of some of his earliest songs to tracks of his new album, out in June. Although one of the surprises of the night was his cover of Adele's Hometown Glory (below). Covers are often overused, and just seem like they are performed for the sake of it. However this cover seemed perfect, Dallas even said he wish he had written the song himself, not just in terms of a match of incredible voices but you could feel Dallas sing the lyrics, though it not his own song.
The gig could have gone on and no one would have minded apart from the Albert Hall staff, though there are worse ways to be earn a living than watch Dallas, but it had to end at some point. Even in the encore Dallas surprised the crowd with his song choices. He turned the end of Comin' Home into James Blake's Wilhelm Scream, a nice touch. And he then sat down at a piano for the first time that evening and performed a "sort of cover", Happiness By The Kilowatt, by his other band Alexisonfire (below). It was a special moment to see him draw on a song he helped write so many years ago, for a band so different to his solo performance, to end a special night. It's hard not to love Dallas Green, he's talented, emotional, funny, shy and humble and puts on a wonderful night on a consistent basis it would seem. I simple can't wait for him to come back this autumn.
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