Pick Up Your Phones and Put Them Away: City & Colour

I was unsure how seeing City and Colour live would be. Acoustic guitar is one of my favorite instruments but I'm used to some hard rocking concerts.  City and Colour is one of my go-to rainy day bands.

Well, there I was a few feet from lead singer, Dallas Green, and I was captivated. My eyes never left the stage. The light show was perfect. Hearing their song's live gave me the chills. Very impressive stuff.

They played a wide variety of their stuff from their first album "Sometimes" to their new stuff and everything in between. Check out their new album, "The Hurry and The Harm" if you haven't already. Amazing stuff.

It's hard to let other people get under your skin when you're seeing live music, but these two very immature young ladies in front of me were watching the majority of the show through their iPhones. They may as well have stayed home and looked up live performances on YouTube. Videotaping, snapping FLASH photography, tweeting and FaceBooking during the show.

I said a few choice things in their direction like, "Give me front row if you don't want it." Or "Put your damn phones down!" Or my most favorite, "AT LEAST TURN YOUR FLASH OFF!"

Then almost halfway through the show Green says something along the lines of, "For this next song, I want you guys to pick up your phones... AND PUT THEM AWAY!"

It was awesome. The crowd cheered. Most people put their phones away. The girls in front of me did for a few minutes then they were back to thinking people cared about their tweets.

It's live, raw talent that you pay money to see. It's years of hard work and struggles you know nothing about. It's music. Stand there, shut up and enjoy it. Disconnect from your phones and reconnect to this artistic reality. This is what life is about: true experiences.

That's one of my favorite things about City and Colour. They are real. Green's lyrics are raw and beautiful and you can find your own connection in each of his stories.

Another thing that I love about the band is how humble and appreciative they are of their fans. I bought a ticket to their show and I got a thank you email with a free download of their newest album "The Hurry and The Harm.'

If you haven't given them a listen yet, I ask that you do. And if the name Dallas Green is ringing a bell to you, you may have grown up in the "emo" boys wearing girl pants age like I did. He was the vocalist and and guitarist for the post-hardcore band Alexisonfire. City and Colour is on the opposite side of the spectrum. Enjoy it, and not just on a rainy day.