Toledo emo-turned-indie veterans, Citizen, returned to Boston for the second time this year, this time opting for a more intimate venue, Big Night Live. The band is currently on tour to commemorate their fifth studio album, Calling the Dogs, released in early October on the Boston-based Run For Cover Records, joined by Modern Color and label mates, Narrow Head.
Historically speaking, the gang behind Citizen are no rookies. The core group, comprised of Mat Kerekes and brothers Nick and Eric Hamm, formed the band in 2009 and quickly became favorites in the midst of an emo/pop-punk revival. Touring alongside other big names such as The Story So Far, Basement, The Wonder Years and Turnstile, the band has put in their fair share of work to get to where they are today. Citizen went through a couple lineup changes in previous years, but they are finally cemented with full-time members Mason Mercer (guitar) and drummer Ben Russin, formerly of Title Fight.
The band took the stage as the crowd cheered and roared, and Nick Hamm immediately swung into “Hyper Trophy,” the second single released from the new album. Before the first note even finished ringing out, a sea of crowd surfers appeared out of nowhere, beginning a neverending cascade of bodies over the audience. The band wasted no time revisiting their older catalog, jumping directly into “Jet,” the hit single from their third LP, As You Please.
Following two more newer tracks from the most recent records, Kerekes takes a moment to acknowledge the crowd and segue into older material from Youth and Everybody Is Going To Heaven. “I watched you burn and I felt it,” sang Kerekes before the crowd completely took over to cover the lyrical duties of “The Summer.” The early days of Citizen were marked with emotion, pain, angst and anger; though Kerekes may not resonate with those emotions any longer, he still puts everything into the performance and reclaims the suffering from a decade ago. Some other early tracks performed were “How Does It Feel?” “Yellow Love,” and a personal favorite, “Stain,” arguably one of the heaviest songs in the band’s discography.
It was clear from the performance that Citizen put extra care into the curation of their setlist, covering ground from almost every release over the past ten years. Marking the halfway point between their third and fourth records, the band released “Big Mouth,” a one-off single that has become a staple in their sets. The track marked a sly, yet deliberate transition in the band’s style as they shifted away from the emotional and introspective sound to a more up-beat and calculated, somewhat dancey version of themselves. Though their sound has changed pretty significantly over the years, Citizen has never abandoned their roots and made it quite clear that they are back and better than ever.
The Calling the Dogs tour has wrapped up this time around, but don’t expect Citizen to stay quiet for too long before catching them live again soon.
LISTEN TO CITIZEN HERE!
CATCH CITIZEN ON TOUR HERE!
