By: Chiara DiAngelo (@chiarabella) –
The picture-perfect landscape of Niagara-on-the-lake hosted a coming home party of sorts for City and Colour on Saturday night, which was co-organized by The Edge 102.1 and Dine Alone Records. The sold-out concert offered a range of up-and-coming and established Canadian and Dine Alone talent to the 18,000 fans in attendance at Butler’s Barracks.
Beyond the music, foodies delighted in the gourmet food truck offerings, tasted the various Dine Alone Foods sauces, as well as the label’s “Dine Alone Acoustic Lager” brewed by Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery. Sets ran on time and there was plenty of space to spread a blanket out on the grass and hang out for the day. While there was a brief bout of rain towards the end of the night, the skies remained clear and bright for the majority of the concert, which served as a great way to begin the Canada Day weekend, let’s hope this becomes an annual tradition!
______________________________________________________________________________________
City and Colour
______________________________________________________________________________________
\
Completing the day was a local homecoming of sorts for St. Catharines native Dallas Green of City and Colour. While some showgoers were frightened off by the rain and opted to leave before Green took the stage, the crowd was still going strong. Much of those in attendance were his friends, family, and those who take pride in calling him their hometown hero, were excited to have him back after a lengthy absence.
Beginning with “Forgive Me”, the theme of coming home was soon evident with second song “Of Space and Time”, which describes his search for a “direction home” as well as the moving track “The Grand Optimist”, dedicated to his parents. He spoke of searching for happiness while on tour but being unable to find that happy place – not so today – humbly expressing “I’m having a hard time looking at all of you.” Following this first with new track “Paradise” and then with the older song “Coming Home”, it surely lit up more than just one heart.
There was a quiet strength to his voice that made you fall in love, which was paired with a grittier new touring band who accompanied his new release, The Hurry and the Harm. Consisting of Dante Schwebel (guitar), Matt Kelly (pedal steel, keys), Jack Lawrence (bass) and Doug MacGregor (drums), the rockier edge they provided gave much of the new material, such as single “Thirst”, plenty more teeth to it than some of his previous folkier efforts. Normally Green’s sets can leave fans a bit sleepy but not tonight as it was all they could do was swoon over his revel-worthy performance that culminated in powerful vocal harmonies on “Waiting” and an intense version of “Sorrowing Man”.
Before beginning his encore, Green first expressed his gratitude for the two people – Joel Carriere and Tricia Ricciuto of Dine Alone Records/Bedlam Music Management – who offered to help him put out some songs 16 years ago, and still continue to do so. Somewhere along the way – from a basement in St. Catharines to today – a congregation of thousands of diehard fans came along and he thanked all in attendance for being there. While he noted that many people had tweeted and taking videos throughout the day, he asked – just for one song – that everyone please put away their cell phones, saying that it was possible “to just have a memory.” With thousands of phones lowered, voices instead took up the words to “Body in a Box” and “The Girl,” and in this act, the audience became one, joined in some inexplicable way that can never be broken. It was nothing short of a magically memorable night for all those in attendance.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Metric
______________________________________________________________________________________
As the skies continued to darken, Toronto’s Metric took the stage. While their set opener wasn’t strikingly memorable, the full-throttled warbly electronic tones and voice effects added to the male backup vocals on their second song “Youth Without Youth” from last year’s Synthetica had toes tapping. By the third song, “Artificial Nocturne,” frontwoman Emily Haines’ ghostly hollowed bell-like voice and spooky dynamism finally overtook the light show as the main attraction of the set. A bombshell of a beacon, she drew the crowd’s full attention to her even as the rain began pounding down, washing away the day’s sweat and dirt. Taking up the tambourine for “Empty”, she shouted at the audience, “What are you afraid of? A little rain?” It clearly didn’t dampen spirits at all, as the audience merely pulled out ponchos and rain gear and continued dancing, drunk off the heat and the band and the day’s beer consumption. It was full speed ahead for a full-throttled performance of “Help, I’m Alive” before the band slowed things down with “Breathing Underwater.”
Focusing much of their set on new songs, the band did still find time to delve into older favourites, including “Sick Muse” “Dead Disco”, and “IOU”. Towards the end of their set, the rain slowed and the sun peaked back out from the clouds, resulting in a glorious rainbow stretching across the sky. A beautiful sight, they finished with “Gimme Sympathy”, revealing a softer side and tender moments of band member interaction, before they took their bow and left the stage.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Jimmy Eat World
______________________________________________________________________________________
Proving they are still relevant as more than just a late 90’s-early 2000’s memory were Arizona rock veterans Jimmy Eat World. Starting their set with “I Will Steal You Back”, the lead single from their new album Damage, which was released on Dine Alone Records in early June, it was the second song “Praise Chorus” from Bleed American that kick started our rock and roll hearts – as well as the waves of nostalgia. The audience – at least those of a certain age – reached back into their pockets and pulled out those memories of high school when Bleed American meant the world to them. There was a youthfulness still within frontman Jim Adkin’s voice that made you feel young again too – young enough perhaps to even crowd surf, which many in the audience did.
While the new songs included in their setlist didn’t hold the nostalgic factor possessed by their older discography, the lightness of “Damage” and lyrical strength of “Lean” grow on you slowly – especially experienced live – until you realize they’ve been stuck in your head for the past hour. Followed by “The Sweetness” and “Bleed American” however, you could feel – and hear – the distinct and massive change in crowd responsiveness with the turn back to the old favourites. So lost in the set, it was easy to remain oblivious to the storm clouds beginning their descent in the sky until everyone was on their feet for set closer “The Middle”. Thanking Dine Alone for inviting them to the party, it was quite apparentthat the crowd was just as happy to have them there.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Serena Ryder
______________________________________________________________________________________
Juno Award-winning Serena Ryder had the crowd right into her performance from the very beginning, clapping along as she wildly swung her hair. While Yukon Blonde’s set earned them some new fans, it was obvious that she already had a solid fan base who were in attendance. Towards the end of her set, she was able to turn the microphone over to the audience for parts of “Weak in the Knees”, and nearly everyone’s arms were in the air for the more electric hit single “Stompa”. Putting on a “Sing With Serena” contest for each of her shows, this date’s winner, Jessica, was invited up for a moving duet performance of “Please Baby Please”. An additional highlight of her set was the jazzy “For You”, an ode to all of that genre’s greats.
Ryder’s songs have a bit of a mainstream adult contemporary/country feel to them that isn’t for everyone – and her radio appeal is a turnoff for some indie music purists – but seeing her live, you can’t deny her prowess as a performer and the fact that she knows how to get an audience into a blazing mid-afternoon performance.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Yukon Blonde
______________________________________________________________________________________
A crowd had already begun to amass, and continued to filter into the grounds, as Vancouver’s Yukon Blonde opened the day in the blazing sun. Their laid-back guitar riffs and sunshiney douses of classic rock fit the atmosphere perfectly. There was a buzz in the crowd during and following their set people for whom this was the first exposure they had to the BC band. After the rocking “Stairway”, they finished with the moody and expansive “Nico Canmore”. While this is a setlistmainstay, unfortunately much of its intricacies were likely lost on the new audience who just wanted to dance and have a good time.
Aesthetic Magazine | Album Reviews, Concert Photography, Interviews, Contests 
What was the name of the last song city and colour played during the encore? I know they played a few
Posted by Sarah | July 1, 2013, 4:08 pmHere’s City and Colour’s set-list:
1. Forgive Me
2. .Of Space and Time
3. The Lonely Life
4. The Grand Optimist
5. As Much as I Ever Could
6.Weightless
7. Comin’ Home
8. Northern Wind
9. Paradise
10. We Found Each Other in the Dark
11. Sleeping Sickness
12. Harder Than Stone
13. Waiting
14. Thirst
15. Fragile Bird
16. Sorrowing Man
Encore:
17. Body in a Box
18. The Girl
19. Sometimes (I Wish)
Posted by Aesthetic Magazine Toronto | July 1, 2013, 5:11 pm