As North American sports begin to have their all-star weekends, Victoria’s Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre had an all-star night of its own. On February 6th 2024, City and Colour began their Canadian tour with Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats and Ruby Waters. It’s been awhile since I visited the stadium for a show, but it’s been even longer since I’ve seen Dallas Green perform live. It’s been 11 years since City and Colour headlined Rock The Shores 2013 and, prior to this show, I wondered if they would be just as good today. Only one way to find out: join me as I revisit an incredible night.
Ruby Waters started the night off with one of the shortest sets I’ve seen of hers. I was expecting this since it is a stadium show and set times are usually condensed, but that didn’t stop Ruby from having a fantastic set. Playing a ton of hits while still having time to debut a new song, Ruby was able to give the crowd a stellar opening set. This was my third time seeing her perform and, each time I see her, I am reminded of how great of a performer she is. With this new song, I’m looking forward to the fourth time I get to see this icon in her world.
Don’t hate me, but I didn’t know who Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats were prior to this show. However, I’m definitely ashamed that I didn’t because if there was any highlight of the night, it was their set. Think R&B meets Motown meets Folk; those genres combined really define Nathaniel and his band. Speaking of Nathaniel, the performer is multi-talented as he played piano, guitar, tambourine, and even danced away while playing those instruments. By the time the end of the set was near, I finally clued in to who Nathaniel was. With hits like You Worry Me and S.O.B playing on the radio, I understood why the crowd packed for this set. The energy Nathaniel gave was like a headlining set all on its own and the crowd matched that energy with singing, dancing, and phone lights turned on. A very warm welcome for Nathaniel’s first show in Victoria and I hope he returns real soon.
Finally, it was time for City and Colour. My first thought was on the order of appearances tonight. We had Nathaniel Rateliff perform with an intense energy and moved towards a calmer sound from Dallas Green & his band. I thought this would be too abstract of a change but oddly enough, it turned out. The grittiness of City and Colour showed as they performed a phenomenal set. There was even an emotional moment when Dallas shared that the last time he saw the late Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip was in Victoria’s Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Before he played Sleeping Sickness, Dallas asked the crowd to sing this song for him. To add to the moment, the show took place on what would’ve been Gord’s 60th birthday. An incredible set which featured a roller coaster of feelings.
11 years later, City and Colour have still got it. This concert also reminded me how much I miss stadium shows. Normally, my only concern with these kinds of shows are the shorter sets. However, I felt quite fulfilled by the end of the night seeing all the bands give all-star like performances. If there’s any sign that you should go to a stadium concert this year, this is it.
