LIVE REVIEW: Citizen @ The Electric Ballroom, London

As part of their worldwide Calling The Dogs album release tour, CITIZEN took to the stage at a sold-out The Electric Ballroom in London with support from VIJI and DRUG CHURCH. For their largest London headliner to date, the group made it look like light work, and if this concert is anything to go off, they’re just going to keep upgrading to larger venues.

First up to the stage barely 30 mins after doors is singer VIJI (Vanilla Jenner), backed by a three-piece band. With a bold costume and the strut onto the stage, expectations are high for a THE PRETTY RECKLES or IN THIS MOMENT leaning vibe, but instead, the audience is met with a one-note performance. Whilst, understandably, support acts know the audience isn’t always there for them, Jenner makes no effort to communicate at all or engage with the onlookers, instead choosing to barrel through their set of songs with no clear beginning or end to create a feeling that is disappointingly monotonous.

The best way to describe the set is background music, the kind you would hear as filler during a montage in a coming-of-age movie. The musicians seem glued to their spot on the stage and don’t stray from it, apart from about ten seconds during Sedative where Jenner haphazardly attempts to get the audience to sing along to the track. Whilst this slow indie pop might be successful in other scenarios, it feels out of place in a lineup with DRUG CHURCH and CITIZEN, they do nothing to hype up the crowd, if anything they seem to sap the energy out of the onlookers instead.

Rating: 5/10

DRUG CHURCH waste no time in picking up the slack, with a mosh pit starting before their first song even fully kicks in. Vocalist Patrick Kindlon and guitarist Nick Cogan immediately give 100% to their performance. Throughout the entire set, Cogan barely stands still, even bunny-hopping across the stage while performing at one point. This is not to say that guitarist Cory Galusha, drummer Chris Villeneuve and bassist Patrick Wynne are slacking, because they’re certainly not, but Kindlon‘s strong raspy vocals are a standout.

Kindlon displays unexpected charisma for a hardcore frontman, managing to orchestrate the crowd to do what he wants with a simple gesture. From mosh and circle pits to clapping and singing along, and even a good old dance, this crowd do it all during the DRUG CHURCH set and seem to just be having a grand old time. At one point, the mosh pit even reaches the barrier, with Kindlon remarking to be respectful to those who don’t want to mosh, but for those who do, to go all out and encourages as many crowd surfers as possible to make up for the fact they couldn’t have stage divers.

As DRUG CHURCH perform their hits Myopic and Bliss Out, boy, d0 the crowd listen, with at one point the barrier having a backlog of people waiting to be lifted down (props to the people underneath for still holding them). Whilst on paper, the songs may not be groundbreaking, as they close out their set with Weed Pin and the crowd enthusiastically scream “pay shit rates, get shit labor” it’s clear that their live shows and the experience are what propel them forward.

Rating 8/10

Closing the night with a mammoth 18-song set, CITIZEN take the audience on a journey through up-beat anthems and slow ballads resulting in somewhat emotional whiplash but somehow it works. Playing The Night I Drove Alone, Sleep and When I Let You Down should not work, but somehow CITIZEN pull it off with ease and have the audience screaming their lungs out at every opportunity.

Mat Kerekes‘ undeniably raw vocals paired with Nick and Eric Hamm on guitar and bass, Ben Russin on drums and Mason Mercer on rhythm guitar create a recipe for perfection. They all blend in this seamless stage presence and even when jumping around onstage they manage not to crash into each other which is an impressive feat. It’s clear to see how they’re all tuned into one another and it results in a faultless performance. Whilst Nick Hamm has an impressive solo during the set, the others could have done with having a moment to shine also – but that’s just us getting nitpicky.

Though there is some form of reverb or distortion on the mic in parts, Kerekes‘ vocals are impressive, managing to flit between singing and yelling without cracking or sounding strained is not simple, yet he does it with ease whilst jumping about onstage. We would even go as far to state that CITIZEN sound better live than they do on record.

Throughout the entire 18 songs the band give it their all, with Eric Hamm and Mercer barely standing still for more than the time it took to drink some water. Every single member of CITIZEN are at 100 for the full duration of their set. Alongside the clear favourites, tracks Jet, Blue Sunday, How Does It Feel? and The Summer are all highlights of the performance, and for an album release tour, a strong third of their set is from the new release.
Blue Sunday creates this call-and-response with the crowd which is a fun addition to an already strong set.

Hearing a sold-out Electric Ballroom scream the lyrics to The Night I Drove Alone is a heart-wrenching moment that sends chills down your spine. With their infallible stage presence, undeniable talent and incredibly catchy songs, CITIZEN have the recipe to make it big, if they keep releasing albums as good as they have been, the world is at their feet.

Rating: 9/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in London from Anne Pfalzgraf here:

Like CITIZEN on Facebook.