From the outside, the Royal College of Music seems the least expected venue for any artist associated with a hardcore/emo group. Amongst the clutch of students discussing classical compositions are a smattering of youthful types dressed in the whirlwind of Topshop’s finest. They are here as the college’s Haden Freeman Concert Hall is playing host to Alexisonfire’s charismatic and emotional singer Dallas Green, under his moniker City & Colour.
Born in 1980, Green has much success as one part of Canada’s finest emo types, and is now about to release his second solo album, the fragile and introspective Bring Me Your Love. I greet him in a cluttered backstage area, bounded on one side by a refreshingly healthy rider, and on the other side a full size gong for the next door performance of Pirates Of Penzance. Green laughs at the news that he has a double booking with Gilbert and Sullivan: “That would be funny,” he says, “if they came in midway through not knowing what to do.”
It is not unusual for Dallas to find himself facing fans in a seated arena as though he were a tutor. “It makes a change to not have beer thrown at me,” he jokes. “A lot of my Canadian shows are theatre shows, just me with a guitar. Most of the set is just me with a guitar, so it’s good for those who want to pay attention.”
The approach makes people more likely to concentrate, the singer explains, wearing a large pair of gold-rimmed glasses and a lumberjack style coat, something like a rougher Jack Peñate. “Yeah, people who are usually loud are quiet and have to concentrate. I like that it is a change for this kids too.”
He goes on, “It is beneficial to all if I speak to those kids who, you know are
there recording a gig on their phone? They want to remember it but aren’t
watching the gig, just through their monitor or screen.”
The first release as a solo album, “Sometimes”, is an album touched by the chill of lost love. A lot of the songs are personal, admitting the lyrics can be quite introspective. “Whatever is kicking me that day, whatever is on my mind. It is a very personal thing. Whatever takes my eye or my ear. I can’t write any kind of way else.”
“This stuff doesn’t follow some pattern, and if that means most of the
influences aren’t planned, like if I want to play a banjo or something.”
His fans may not be all fresh teens, but they are all more likely to be downloading albums and videos than queuing up at a theatre, a point he is happy to explore. He shakes his head at the very mention of the word “blog”. On the verge of laughing at the thought of it all, he says “It’s funny and weird how before I put my head on my pillow, a gig or a single is already on YouTube.”
He hits his stride, continuing, “I don’t like the idea of knowing everything about a band. I think there has to remain some mystery. It was so much cooler when I was a kid, when I would flick through magazines, see a band I liked, see what band t-shirt they were wearing...”
On the eve of a rare month rest, Green makes for the theatre floor, maybe secretly hoping for members of the Pirates cast to be sitting in the front row.
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