#asyouplease

I was stoked to get approval to photograph and cover the Citizen release show October 19th at St Andrews Hall in Detroit, Michigan. Citizen is easily my favorite current band with Michigan ties. They are on a level that most just don't get to in my book, daily rotation at the Shrbrt compound. This is one of the first shows where I realized how much time to myself I really have when I go to these gigs alone. It helps for these posts because I can write about the things happening throughout the show. If there's a fight or the openers just absolutely kill it or like this night, someone got a little too drunk too early. I'll get to that later. Great Grandpa is a good band. They remind me of the innocent art school kids. Both talented and creative but also the type to believe unicorns are real. I feel like The Cat would be all about them. Their set was a welcoming delight to start the night off. They gained quite a few fans that night a long way from their home in Washington. 

Sorority Noise is fantastic, their balance of quintessential emo and post-hardcore aggression made me a fan a while ago. Although they are one acoustic guitar away from having a bigger fan out of my girlfriend than me. They told a story about the last time they played in the Shelter and Juicy J was upstairs at St Andrews Hall. I got a good chuckle out of his description of Juicy J's throne emblazoned with weed emblems and pot leafs. This story between songs helped grow my attachment to this band even more. 

Citizen started off their set with "Jet" a song I have listened to well over 100 times since its release. The video is on a level of eclectic weirdness I have come to expect from the group of Mid-Westerners. They followed the first single off of As You Please with "In The Middle Of It All" and the last song I photographed was "Sleep" off my favorite record by Citizen, Youth.

Security split the crowd during Sick and Impatient to rescue a very drunk concertgoer. Fantastic how fast they saw him faint and were able to get him the help he needed. And by the help he needed I mean they held him up as he blew chunks into a garbage can just to the left of the photo pit. I remember saying to myself "Never a dull moment in Detroit". 

Citizen has proven themselves to be a heavyweight in today's underground music. They definitely have the ability to level-up and break through the mainstream. It would not surprise me at all to see them headlining the Fillmore's and Theater venues across America over the next couple years. The new record solidifies their spot in Mid-West "Emo or Pop Punk or Post Hardcore or whatever the fuck you want to call it" history with As You Please. They back this claim (I just made) up with an intoxicating live show that made me disappointed at only getting to hear 16 songs by them, when that's well then more than they needed to play. Check out the gallery below and make sure to get the new record!

BUY As You Please HERE! Visit Sorority Noise on Bandcamp HERE! Visit Great Grandpa on Bandcamp HERE!

I’m trying something new, just to add some dynamic range. Since so many of the vinyl lately have additional items in their packaging, it can be rather difficult to incorporate everything into one single photograph.

I quickly wanted to give a shoutout to Taylor, from Run For Cover Records. She was able to help me with a mishap, and she really came through. Again, thank you!

So on to this record. ‘As You Please,’ the third outing from the band Citizen. I had been casually familiar with the band in the past, one of many I hadn’t had the chance to fully immerse myself with. But this one is just awesome, it gets stuck in your head. I’ve had AYP on repeat for over a month now, and you should too. It’s a bit rare to have a fully fledged rock album these days, with most bands leaning more towards Pop-Rock, and Synth Wave. Which is in no means a bad thing.

While I have many red colored vinyl. I felt the more vibrant, the better in my opinion, for my collection. I have chosen the LP - Blood Red with Bone and Black Splatter. It doesn’t say on their website how many pressing there are for each of the color variants, so I assume there are plenty, far and wide.