Favorite Music Friday: City And Colour

A couple weeks ago in the Game of Tag post my reply to the best concert ever was a City and Colour concert I went to a few years ago. This is what I said about the concert:

I think my favorite was City & Colour at the Lakeshore Theater in Chicago, IL on 1/22/09. I came down from Milwaukee, WI on a bus by myself to go to the concert. I rushed to the concert venue but ended up being at the back of a long line waiting to get in. Lucky for me, since I decided to go alone, there was 1 seat left in the front row. And to my surprise, although it was way off-center, Dallas Green set up his chair right in front of my seat!! It was one of the most powerful concert I've ever been to. Everything was just perfect. I could hardly hold back tears I was so excited and moved. And to make things better after the show I got to meet Dallas!!! He signed all of my CDs, took pictures with me, answered all my silly fan questions, and remembered seeing me during the show sniffling.

So this week I will be bringing to you the ever so lovely City And Colour. City And Colour is a side project of Alexisonfire former singer' Dallas Green (get it, dallas: city, green: color). If you are unfamiliar with Alexisonfire, they are a hardcore band. I got into the hardcore/screamo genres after dating someone for a few years who played drum/bass in several hardcore bands. Once it gets into your blood it doesn't leave. Now don't worry, City And Colour is Dallas' soft side.

Dallas has said that he deals with life by writing songs. He feels happier getting out his thoughts and feelings on paper. Between tours with Alexisonfire, Dallas put together a demo of the songs that he wrote recording only with an acoustic guitar. All I can say about the first album is that it is haunting in every possible way. His voice is emotional, raw, tender, and smooth. I can't even really describe his voice other than creamy, smooth and true to him. His first CD Sometimes is an emotional one for me. The songs themselves are weighed down with raw emotion from Dallas, but the CD also served me as a break-up album. I now generally listen to the album when Im feeling mellow, spacey, or sad. The concert that I referred to was the first time I got to hear most of the songs from that album live. It was heart wrenching and amazing all at the same time. I could not stop smiling, but every so often he'd hit a note that would be so familiar to my pain and Id start silently sobbing. The people sitting next to me probably thought I was crazy. In his sophomore album, Bring Me Your Love he added a folky twang. But it was still true to him and clean. Unfortunately I ended up not getting into his third album, Little Hell. It seemed a bit too worked for his style. Some songs that I initially loved live I can't get into because of how they were reworked. His voice is all I need.

The song I want to share with you is actually an Alexisonfire song that he covered. You immediately feel the pain and weight of the words he is singing. I never listened carefully to the lyrics of the original version. I knew all the lyrics when I was singing along, but never really listened if that makes sense. But with Dallas' version, you hear and feel every word. I hope you enjoy this live version of Boiled Frogs!