Dallas Green at Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is a venue reserved only for the most exclusive events and on Thursday 24th July the city of Sydney heard Dallas Green (of City and Colour) as he sang his way into our hearts. Walking into the Opera House Concert Hall I notice how the layers of the building as seen from the exterior are mirrored accordingly. The room is arranged around a stage that seems to squeeze out of a condensed space of mezzanine levels, with balconies that hold seats filled by shadowy figures. My first impression of this space is of a blanket fort made from layered quilts and sheets. This theme of intimacy is heavily drawn upon as Dallas Green invite us all for an evening simply with Dallas, his guitar, and a harmonica.

Inside The Concert Hall, Dallas shared vivid stories of love, loss and spirituality in the form of his signature soulful vocals. Strange to describe but at moments during the night I could almost feel the entire auditorium breathe as one in these unison sighs. I imagined I could feel all the patrons express an inaudible feeling, triggered by the flow of effervescent sounds within the music that we all shared. Highlights of the evening were "Coming Home" and "Body In A Box" but it's difficult to choose favourites as the set was beautifully arranged with a variety of songs taken from Dallas Green's discography. "What Makes a Man" saw Green conduct the audience in a special Opera Concert Hall choir, which was very fun to be apart of. Another memorable part of the evening was Dallas honesty in describing the background of "The Grand Optimist" a lovely song with a powerful family message.

The set was finished like the majority of City and Colour sets with "Coming Home". I think the connection to blanket forts was made because in a special way I participated in a sacred ritual of blanket fort story telling that evening. It was inside these private spaces where secrets were whispered into the ears of invited friends, and lasting memories were made after the fort was demolished.

{ image taken on iPhone 5 by Shenay Spinelli }