City And Colour Headlines at Tribute Communities Centre, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, February 20th, 2024

 

 

It was an exciting night in the city of Oshawa, which is a bit east of Toronto, Ontario. Dallas Green’s critically acclaimed project City and Colour made a stop at the Tribute Communites Centre with a packed crowd throughout the arena. Dallas and his band are still on a high, performing show after show in support of his latest album, The Love Still Held Me Near. There are no signs of stopping for the band as they will be on the road again to perform numerous shows in Europe and a headlining show at Born and Raised this summer in St. Catherine’s, Ontario.

Singer-songwriter Ruby Waters opened the night with her mix of rock music and her distinctive and powerful vocals. Ruby and her band did their best to entertain the early crowd while some still took their seats. I have become a fan of her music after seeing her headline early last year in January. But it is fantastic to see Ruby be an opener for a famous and respected artist that is City and Colour. Hopefully, the audience got to know her music because she is a talented artist that deserves to be recognized more.

 

 

With the crowd almost filled up, Nathaniel Rateliff approached onstage, and the crowd shouted in excitement. Accompanied by his 10-piece band, The Night Sweats, They performed a captivating set of Americana and rock songs that got the audience moving. Halfway through the set, Nathaniel dedicated “And It’s Still Alright” to an audience member whose uncle had passed away. It was an emotional ballad that got the crowd cheering for the tribute. Ending their set with the crowd singing in “S.O.B.” and “Love Don’t,” Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats energized the Oshawa audience and welcomed the band in open arms in their city.

 

 

Setlist:

1. Suffer Me

2. Intro

3. I Need Never Get Old

4. I’ll Be Damned

5. Survivor

6. Look It Here

7. You Worry Me

8. A Little Honey

9. Wasting Time

10. Heartless

11. And It’s Still Alright

12. Hey Mama

13. Coolin’ Out

14. S.O.B.

15. Love Don’t

 

 

The lights dimmed down for the arrival of City and Colour. Dallas Green and his band members arrived onstage to a sold-out crowd before starting the set with “Meant to Be.” For the next hour and a half, the band performed a mix of classics and new songs filled with soulful and emotional tunes. Having seen City and Colour last summer, the setlist hasn’t changed much. A welcome change for me was Dallas performing “Waiting..” which is one of my favourites from the acclaimed singer. He sang the song in a much higher tone than the audio, which still surprises me. The fact that he prefers to sing in a higher voice is a testament to his powerful and memorable voice after so many years of performing. Halfway through the set, Dallas thanked Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats for joining the Canada tour, as he mentioned that not many American acts would play on a Canadian tour. He declared Nathaniel an honorary Canadian, which brought a loud cheer from the crowd.

The night couldn’t end without an encore of City and Colour classics. Dallas arrived solo to perform “Northern Wind.” Band member Matt Kelly joined Dallas to perform the memorable playing of “Comin’ Home” with Alexisonfire’s “This Could Be Anywhere in the World” in the final chorus. Dallas sarcastically honoured “Lover Come Back” to the crowd as some started leaving the venue before ending the night with “Sleeping Sickness,” where the crowd loudly sang the late Gord Downie’s verse. Oshawa was treated to an unforgettable night of music, which brought new memories for the audience to remember. 

 

Lineup:

Dallas Green – Vocalist, guitar

Matt Kelly – Guitar, pedal steel, backing vocals

Erik Nielsen – Bass

John Sponarski – Guitar, backing vocals

Graham Vincent Jones – Drummer

 

 

Setlist:

1. Meant to Be

2. Runaway

3. Thrist

4. The Love Still Held Me Near

5. Two Coins

6. We Found Each Other in the Dark

7. Weightless

8. Underground

9. Astronaut

10. Waiting…

11. Hard, Hard Time

12. Hello, I’m in Delaware

13. Bow Down to Love

Encore:

14. Northern Wind

15. Comin’ Home / This Could Be Anywhere in the World

16. Lover Come Back

17. Sleeping Sickness

 

 

 

 

 

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