Concert Review: Tegan and Sara, City & Colour
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Concert Review: Tegan and Sara, City & Colour

Artists: Tegan and Sara, City & Colour, Girl in a Coma
Venue: The Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA
Date: October 3, 2008
Review by: Eric Pettersson

There’s something special about seeing a band play right after interviewing them. That pre-show conversation makes you feel really connected to the artist, which then transfers over to the performance. Such was the case this past Friday night when I had a chat with Dallas Green, vocalist of Alexisonfire and his acoustic side-project, City & Colour. Following our interview, I left the dressing room, picked up my tickets at the will-call office, and got in line.

Once inside the venue, I noticed I was distinctly in the minority for not being a short-haired girl. But, stereotypes aside, I was ready for a good show. Then Girl in a Coma happened. This three-piece started tuning up with a bass that sounded more like a dancey synth. Cool, this could be good stuff. Except the guitar player/lead singer didn’t quite want to go in the same direction. She sounded more like she should be singing and playing for the modern equivalent of Guns N Roses. She was obviously a rock and roll girl, maybe a little punk rock, and had no place in what could have been a dancey indie band. The tones clashed throughout the entire set, and the sound just begged to be given more time to develop into something more enjoyable.

Despite my disinterest in the opening act, I still maintained a positive attitude and much excitement for City & Colour. Dallas was finished setting up before Girl in a Coma was done tearing down. This dude meant business. He ripped through one or two old songs and several new tracks off his latest album, Bring Me Your Love, starting with “Body in a Box” (including the harmonica) and ending with the haunting and beautiful “As Much as I Ever Could,” hitting every high note perfectly and soulfully in a way that the guy behind me said gave him shivers. Unfortunately, this girl-power crowd had little interest in a contemplative crooner and his guitar, and almost everyone around me spent the entire set chatting. I was able to shut them out and pay attention to the musical goodness flowing forth from the stage, but it would have been overall more enjoyable if the rest of the audience had also been into it.

Next I have a confession to make. My impression of Tegan and Sara was greatly changed at this show. In the past, I only knew “Back in Your Head,” which I had heard on TV once and then continued to listen to on their myspace as a guilty pleasure. In my mind, they were immature 17 year old girls (no offense to those reading this, although you probably don’t count anyway because you’re not immature) who sang catchy songs and cried about cute boys. So listening to this song was something I kept secret, and I was only minimally interested in seeing them play, because I assumed that single was the exception and the rest of their songs were not worth paying attention to. However, as my fiancée talked me out of my old impression and as I saw them play, I realized they were probably in more like their mid-twenties, and they were not immature but hip indie rockers with good stage personas, good music, and good taste in general. Not being familiar with their material, I can’t name any songs played, but I will say it was all sounding good, the crowd was totally into it, and the lights were a sight to see. They also did a cover of “Umbrella,” which was fun, and they actually made it sound like a very respectable acoustic-indie song. After playing it, Sara commented, “Sometimes when I play that song, I just think about Rhianna and how much of a babe she is. And I think, and I’m sure a lot of you out there tonight think, I would stand under her umbrella. Both literally and metaphorically, I’d stand under her umbrella.” The crowd, now gushing with even more estrogen than before, let out a high-pitched cheer. A song or two later, I had been satisfied and, after purchasing City & Colour’s new album, made my way to the door, even if it did mean missing out on hearing “Back in Your Head.” I guess that’s what happens when the show starts at 8:30 and you have stuff to do the next morning.

While there were certainly great performances, this was a weird tour. In the interview, Dallas complained that tours in America are normally the same band four times, whereas in his homeland of Canada they try to mix it up and everyone likes that. And I think I could dig that, but it just kind of sucks when the rest of the crowd doesn’t. City & Colour deserved a better audience than the one present that night, and I must say the problem was the fact that this artist was the odd-man-out on the tour. Girl power followed by a heartfelt voice and acoustic guitar followed by a classier form of girl power just didn’t work out right in my opinion. Mixing sounds is good, but not when it’s two bands of one sound and one band of another sound. But besides that and my dislike of the opening act, it was a great night at The Electric Factory. Again, Dallas Green’s performance was fantastic, and both the show and interview were marked with a special note of humility and genuineness. And that new CD I bought is pretty great too. I would recommend it here, but that would you ruin the review you will see posted to this site in a few days. Tegan and Sara won my respect as musicians (and cool ones, not guilty pleasures), and I will probably pay a little more attention to them in the future.