City And Colour - Dallas Green
Dallas Green brought his City And Colour project back to Manchester last night for an ambient, relaxed evening that cemented Green as a very special talent.
From the opening of 'We Found Each Other in the Dark' through the duration of the hour and a half-long set, Dallas Green made Academy 1 seem like a huge venue, and gave this show a great mood from the offset.
The former Alexisonfire front-man surprised many people when he began City And Colour back in 2004, but he's gone on to establish himself as a truly great singer-songwriter with a phenomenal voice that sounds just as clear and soaring live as it does on record.
Although not always keen on being the centre of attention (Dallas sings from stage-right during the live shows), he steadily became more confident and involved the crowd inbetween songs.
Whilst the slight awkwardness is part of his charm, he did respond to the crowd well, keeping people engaged despite the show feeling larger than this room would usually allow.
Although the performance was the focus, the light show deserves a mention, simply for fitting so well with each and every song, adding so much without detracting from the music.
One beautiful moment (which is becoming a staple at City And Colour's shows) saw Dallas ask the crowd to just put their cameras and phones away for one song, and just remember the show while it was happening.
After an empassioned speech about people living for the moment, instead of letting a gig fly by as they film a poor-quality recording and forget to enjoy the show, the crowd obliged and became united as Dallas went into a beautiful rendition of 'Body In A Box'.
From here, he asked for more crowd participation (as, remarkably, most fans actually stopped filming songs for the rest of the set), and the whole room faithfully sung along to 'What Makes A Man'.
As a set highlighted by superb performances of 'The Girl' and 'Little Hell' drew towards its conclusion, Dallas seemed genuinely grateful and moved by the evening.
Despite telling us earlier in the day that Manchester Academy 1 could sometimes lack character, the crowd proved him wrong, reacting wonderfully to 'Sometimes (I Wish)' as the show built to an amazing climax.
City And Colour haven't quite reached the level of success in the UK as they have in the US or Canada, but it'll only be time until Dallas Green gets a wider appeal.
A versatile and seasoned live performer, Green went from the Royal Albert Hall in April to a stunning show last night in Manchester, proving himself as one of the best in the game.
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