Colouring the City

It feels like forever since I’ve written anything. That’s probably because everything I’ve written lately has been in HTML, or XHTML, rather. I needed to create a web site for an assignment for school and a friend of ours needed a web site for her business, so I killed two birds with one stone. It had to be hand-coded so it’s looking pretty primitive right now. Maybe I’ll link to it here, after I’ve got it looking a little more posh. Enough about that, I’m writing this post to tell all three of you out there what a kickin’ good time I had at the City and Colour show last week.

I had originally made plans to go with P. I figured it was the least she could do after I had accompanied her to see Matchbox 20. Alas, she had double booked her calendar and was unable to come with me because her booty call was coming to town. I ended up inviting my best friend’s granddaughter to come with me. She is a huge fan of the band and its front man, Dallas Green.

After having dinner downtown, we walked over to Massey Hall to catch the show. It was hot in the city that day, the air was thick and made our clothes cling to our skin. We were a bit early and I thought we’d have to wait outside but then I noticed the doors were opened so we made our way in. We found our seats which were a lot further back then I had originally thought.

At 8 o’clock sharp, the first opening act, The Black Lungs, took to the stage. The Black Lungs is the side project of yet another one of Alexisonfire‘s members. The lead singer looked (and was dressed like) one of the Blue’s brothers. His music was a bit more punk than I fancy, but his set was a short one.

The next band that came out was called Sleepercar. The first song they played was really folky, and I kept thinking, where are these guys from, Saskatoon? “We’re from Texas,” the lead singer announced after their first song. That explains your sound, I thought to myself. Surprisingly, the rest of their set was really good. They had a lot of energy, great lyrics and a good mix of instruments. I was so impressed by them I’ve since downloaded their album and have been listening to it a fair bit.

After Sleepercar left the stage, I suggested my guest and I go check out t-shirts. We went downstairs (along with everyone else) and checked out the merchandise. I was tempted to buy a City and Colour t-shirt, but knowing my luck, it would hug a little too tightly. Especially around the girls. My guest bought a shirt and we made our way through the throng of people back to our seats.

Then Mr. Dallas Green took to the stage. I was expecting a much more acoustic sounding show, but he really mixed it up. Most of the songs were played in a way that made them feel more like rock songs than his usual acoustic ballads. He’s your typical geek though, he came out in his standard checkered flannel shirt. He also had great interaction with the crowd, joking that those who would be there the next night would likely be disappointed by his repetitive jokes.

When he was talking about “The Girl“, he said “this is the first song I ever wrote to describe falling in love with someone, rather than being hurt by them.” Everyone in the crowd just knew he was talking about his girlfriend, Leah Miller. I thought that was pretty sweet and romantic. What girl wouldn’t want a song written for them?

I loved how he did “As Much As I Ever Could” – my favourite song on his second album, Bring Me Your Love. I just about cried when he did “Against the Grain.” (I’m going to blame that on the mensie-mood swings.) He closed out the show (and encore) with “Comin’ Home” which I thought was fitting since he’s wrapping up the leg of his Canadian tour.

It was such a great show, I think it’s fair to say it’s replaced the Franz Ferdinand show I saw a few years ago as my favourite concert ever. I didn’t even let the asshole cab driver on the way home ruin the night for me.