The name of the tour is All The Songs You Want To Hear, and that is exactly what Clarence Greenwood, also known as Citizen Cope, performed during his Thursday evening stop at Jersey City, NJ’s White Eagle Hall. Throughout the evening, Greenwood dug up fan-favorites from each of his past albums and even revealed a new tune from his upcoming LP, The Victory March. At the end of the lengthy set, Clarence gave further proof that it is unwise to leave a show early by packing seven additional tunes into the encore of the intimate evening.
Clarence emerged onstage flanked by a pair of guitars and approached the microphone to open the show with “Fame”. After a lackluster audience response—though they would get much more enthusiastic by the end of the show—the singer-songwriter moved on to “Pablo Picasso” and “My Way Home”. Staying on 2004’s The Clarence Greenwood Recordings, the poetic singer/instrumentalist eased into “Bullet and a Target” with an a cappella verse before moving into consecutive cuts from his 2002 debut album, Citizen Cope, with a family-friendly version of “Salvation” and a backing track-assisted solo take on “Let The Drummer Kick”.
Citizen Cope – “Fame” – 5/11/23
[Video: nyeddiem]
Next, Clarence Greenwood performed “Ms. Prada” off his upcoming LP, The Victory March. Pausing between songs, the musician retold of story of a conversation that he had had with Carlos Santana at The Fillmore in San Francisco during which the rock legend warned Clarence to stay away from the “two H’s: Heroin and Helicopters.” The creative force of Citizen Cope proceeded to preach about the dangers of all addictions, from social media to conflict, and gave examples of how political extremists are worsening the situation. (“In my lifetime, no politician has ever set anybody free”). He maintained that you can learn a lot from other people, even if perspectives don’t align or they don’t think like you. After declaring that “our only opposition is greed,” the poet put down his guitar and recited an a cappella rendition of “Duck Confit” from 2019’s Heroin and Helicopters.
Picking up speed and feeding off the audience’s swelling energy, Clarence Greenwood strummed “One Lovely Day”, the title track from his 2012 LP before returning to his earlier days for an uplifting “Hurricane Waters”. He then sandwiched the recently debuted “The Victory March” (after a false start) around two classics off 2006’s Every Waking Moment, “Brother Lee” and “107 Degrees”. “Brother Lee” featured a rowdy call-and-response with enthusiastic audience participation on “both sides of the Mississippi!”
Citizen Cope – “Hurricane Waters” – 5/11/23
Citizen Cope – “The Victory March” – 5/11/23
[Videos: nyeddiem]
Winding down the set, Clarence jammed out an extended take on one of his signature tunes, “Son’s Gonna Rise”, before closing out the set with his most well-known track, “Sideways”. The singer thanked the crowd and then walked offstage, though he was far from done.
The encore began slowly with a heartfelt performance of “D’Artagnan’s Theme” inspired by the protagonist of Alexandre Dumas’s classic 1844 novel, The Three Musketeers. Going back in time, Clarence continued to dig through his catalog and reflect on his past with “DFW” and “Healing Hands”, off 2012’s One Lovely Day and 2010’s Rainwater, respectively. Returning to Heroin and Helicopters once more, Cope performed “Sally Walks” before embracing his roots with “Penetentiary”, “Something to Believe In”, and a closing “Holding On”.
Citizen Cope – “Penitentiary” – 5/11/23
[Video: nyeddiem]
The Citizen Cope All The Songs You Want To Hear tour rolls on to the Philadelphia, PA on Friday evening for two shows at the Keswick Theater. For the a full list of upcoming Citizen Cope tour dates and ticketing details, head here. Scroll down to check out the full Jersey City setlist and a gallery of photos from the night via Otis Sinclair.
Setlist: Citizen Cope (Solo Acoustic) | White Eagle Hall | Jersey City, NJ | 5/11/23
Set: Fame, Pablo Picasso, My Way Home, Bullet and a Target, Salvation, Let The Drummer Kick, Ms. Prada, Duck Confit, One Lovely Day, Hurricane Waters, Brother Lee, The Victory March, 107 Degrees, Son’s Gonna Rise, Sideways
Encore: D’Artagnan’s Theme, DFW, Healing Hands, Penitentiary, Sally Walks, Something to Believe In, Holdin’ On
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