Fans got to experience the ultimate Citizen show on Friday. It exemplified everything we love about the band.
Citizen played a stellar show in New York City. Their new album Halcyon Blues is a fan favorite and is already receiving critical acclaim. Citizen delivered on everything we were expecting and more. For a band six albums deep, it still feels like they’re just getting started.
The first aspect to highlight is how well the new songs landed live. Every track was a resounding success. The band played their new album alongside favorites off of Youth, Life in Your Glass World, and Everybody is Going to Heaven. The new singles fit in seamlessly.
Songs like “Is It in My Brain?” And “Matador” got everyone jumping and moshing. They were instant favorites among the fans. Slower tracks like “Halcyon Blues” and “Always the Last One to Leave” got the crowd swaying and singing along. The band closed their show before the encore with “Highs and Lows.” That song in particular was the first one released from this record cycle and managed to be so impactful they could close their set with it.
Another aspect to note was the type of community Citizen has been able to foster with their music. There were dozens of fans in the crowd with point and shoot cameras. We saw fans with Polaroid cameras. Some fans had custom art and t-shirts. The music of Citizen has resonated with the scene in such a way it encourages people being artists themselves.
Brooklyn Steel was the perfect venue for this tour. Halcyon Blues has an edginess to the synth emo that fit perfectly into the warehouse turned venue. The sound was pristine. Every note was audible. Tracks like “Sleep” really brought the venue to life.
The production on this tour was minimal. The band has a backdrop behind them and a few lights pointing at the crowd. The most production of the show was when the venue’s disco ball would shoot beams of light across fans during more melancholy moments. This worked in favor with the band. Citizen have never been a flashy in your face kind of artist. Their music is deeply personal and introspective. They don’t need screens, pyro, and fancy costumes to bring their music to life. Their personality and charisma do that naturally.
The band closed their show with “The Night I Drove Alone” as an encore. The song is an anthem for the depressed. The chorus has resonated with hundreds of thousands of fans on a global scale. In the past, the band would put it in the middle of their set or open with it. However, we firmly believe this song is the epitome of a finale. The way the track builds into its final breakdown is second to none. All of New York City was simultaneously screaming the key words in the chorus, “And I should have crashed the car.” It felt like a group therapy session.
Overall, Citizen’s Halcyon Blues Tour succeeded in every aspect we were hoping it would. The band played a great set and the new songs translated well live. The LP already has the potential to be an album-of-the-year contender and this show solidified that fact. If you have a chance to catch this tour, it comes highly recommended.