The Stellar Evolution of Citizen at The Opera House

Michigan’s Citizen made their return to Toronto’s The Opera House on Friday, October 20th, 2017 with their biggest and most impressive performance to date. The band’s currently touring through North America with Great Grandpa and Sorority Noise, supporting their ambitious full-length release entitled As You Please (via Run For Cover Records). 

I was stoked as I made my way to The Opera House for this show. The last time I saw Citizen was when they were at The Mod Club with Turnover and unfortunately I was feeling super shitty with a cold and couldn’t enjoy the show as much as I wanted. Not only was I excited to see them play in general, but I was also psyched to hear/see them perform new songs off As You Please. 

Their new record is the band at its best, maturing to a more refined and ownable sound that I think sets them up for many more impressive albums in the future. The new songs made for an eclectic set with up and down moments spanning across their discography from Youth (2013), Everybody Is Going To Heaven (2015), to As You Please (2017). Their evolution as a band not only showed on the newest release but in their live performance as well. They were solid and tight-knit on stage. They’ve never sounded better, especially the new songs including "Jet," "In The Middle Of It All," "Fever Days," "World," and "I Forgive No One." These new tracks were the shining moments in their set.  

Don’t get me wrong, the old stuff is killer and I love it. Like when they broke out into "The Night I Drove Alone" and had the entire venue screaming along with them. It was a standout moment in the setlist, but by the end of the set I kept going back to the meticulously crafted new songs being the real highlights of the night, especially when they came out for an encore performing their intimate new song "Flowerchild." It struck a chord with me emotionally along with everyone else in attendance as we swayed back and forth wishing the show wasn’t about to end.

I can’t wait to see what the band has in store for us next but until then, don’t miss the photos from their set above as well as the opener Sorority Noise.

Citizen Setlist:
1. Jet
2. In The Middle of it All
3. Sleep4. Cement
5. Control
6. The Night I Drove Alone
7. Figure You Out
8. Roam the Room
9. Sick and Impatient
10. Fever Days
11. World
12. I Forgive No One
13. Yellow Love
14. How Does It Feel15. The Summer

Encore:
Flowerchild

Words / Photography by: Steve St. Jean

**All photos © Beyond The Watch. Do not use or reproduce w/o permission**