LIVE REVIEW: Citizen @ EartH Hall, London

Tonight is the second of two sold out London shows to kick of a 10 date UK and European tour from Ohio’s CITIZEN, celebrating the release of their recent album Halcyon Blues.

Opening the night is THISTLE. from Northampton, with the venue filling up it doesn’t look like many people are familiar with their music, but with a handful of people singing along and jumping in the crowd the room is engaged in this set. The set blended some slower moments, with more louder and punchier moments which complemented each other well. The lighting in the venue helped build the atmosphere for their music, at points you couldn’t see the band on stage which gave people an opportunity to focus on the music. The bass particularly came through in these moments. A good start.

Rating: 7/10

MODERN COLOR had a bit of a longer journey for this tour the evenings openers, significantly more considering they hail from Los Angeles. By this point the room was filled and the loud applause that accompanied the band as they walked on stage made it clear they already had a lot of fans in tonight’s crowd. Offering a sound that blends elements of post-hardcore with grungegaze, the set was high energy and full of movement, not just from the band, but the crowd as well. With a few songs in the set you could almost hear the crowd shouting back the lyrics over the band, showcasing the connection between band and fan.

Rating: 8/10

When the first crowd surfer makes their way over the barrier during the first song, you know you are in for a good show. Opening with Good Fortune, the crowd immediately reacts. With movement both on and off the stage, the band and crowd seems to be feeding off each other’s energy. Despite the start of the set being comprised of material from their newest release, the crowd knew every word and the barrier was full of people finger pointing and singing along. However when The Summer is played, the crowd starts to drown the band out.

Halcyon Blues, the album’s title track, provided a slower moment to somewhat calm the crowd, however, it still had everyone in the room singing along. A stand out moment of the set was Always The Last One To Leave, again a cut from their new album, but here, there’s something about that song which felt larger than the room it was being played in. You can easily picture this being played in much larger venues, so it feels special hearing it in a slightly smaller room.

After a slightly calmer point of the set, the energy immediately returned as CITIZEN played a trilogy of cuts from their album Youth in Roam the Room, Sleep and How Does It Feel?. It’s clear this album will always be a fan favourite as it felt like everyone in this room was shouting the lyrics back at top volume. Matador had one of the largest pits of the night and the song had the whole room jumping from front to back, showing that while people will always love the band’s older discography, the new songs are able to get just as much love.

The energy did start to dip for a moment, but when Highs and Lows was introduced as the “last song of the night” the energy picked back up again. After the band left the stage and a very enthusiastic chant for one more song, they returned to the stage to close the night with The Night I Drove Alone. If there is one takeaway from tonight, let it be this. Tonight’s set has proved the strength of CITIZEN‘s discography and how much their fans love their music.

Rating: 9/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in London from C Wilkinson Media here: 

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