Jeremy's Indie Music: City and Colour, Manchester Academy 1, 17th October 2011 8.5/10

I've endured several dismal support bands in the last few months, and criticised promoters' dearth of imagination, so it's I'm pleased they were more courageous here. Hanni El Khatib might not have been an obvious choice for this gig stylistically, yet his R&B garage soul certainly stirred the rain-soaked Manchester audience to life. Ultimately, although I liked the music, the execution didn't quite come together, especially vocally. He's just released his menacing first album, When The Guns Come Out, and whilst I admire the concept, I don't (currently) think he's mastered live performance. He's still infinitely more interesting than other support acts I've seen in this venue, and I'm pleased I was given the chance to come to my own judgement about this LA artist.

A year ago, I still hadn't listened to any non-classical music. Like me, Dallas (City) Green (Colour) has been on a journey. This hardcore guitarist and vocalist's folk influenced side project gained far more popular appeal than he expected after the release of his debut album Sometimes in 2006. In fact he's come so far that Alexisonfire broke up in August 2011 due to City and Colour becoming all-consuming. His second album Bring Me Your Love is my favourite, and has more varied folk like instrumentation than Sometimes, with instrumentation including harmonica and banjo. I was a little apprehensive about this gig though, since his 2011 release Little Hell was a comparative disappointment, being too soft-centred and middle of the road.

I needn't have worried though. What I'd missed in listening to Little Hell is the direction that the more vigorous numbers signal. To my amazement, since I'd pigeon holed them as mainly acoustic folk artists, Dallas and his four piece backing band can rock, rousing numbers having surprising punch. It feels as if now Alexisonfire has ended, he's bringing some of his punk energy to City and Colour. It also gave the 90 or so minute set variety, and surprise where the calm of a quiet, acoustic opening to a song was suddenly shattered.

I'd heard that Dallas can be very witty on stage, with a wry sense of humour, but this didn't come to the fore in Manchester, and he was less chatty than I expected. That's not to say that he didn't establish a strong rapport with the audience, but this was done through music, and more specifically singing. This was achieved with a combination of spontaneous singing along to choruses and choreographed participation orchestrated by Dallas. He totally commanded the stage, and had the crowd in his hands. He ranged widely through the back catalogue and his new material; one of my highlights was Comin' Home.

The most memorable feature though is Dallas' honeyed voice, which is so lyrical and melodic. It's a mellow yet powerful sound, in which he combines with beautifully crafted tunes and amazing guitar work. I've talked about the impact of the full band, yet the solo acoustic numbers were incredibly haunting and spiritually transcendent. I have a love of Canadian music (and indeed the Canadian landscape), and I've previously loved acts such as Rural Alberta Advantage, Arcade Fire and Braids. On the strength of this live performance, I'm placing City and Colour in the top tier of Canadian music, and you really have to experience Dallas' amazing musicianship live to fully appreciate his talent.