Citizen: A Decade of Youth

Citizen performing at the Wiltern, LA by Shelby Pfau

BAND CELEBRATES DECADE OF YOUTH LP

Rarely is legacy ever anticipated; it’s something that’s earned rather than expectedly owed, and yet, anyone that Youth reached in 2013 knew this record’s impact at first listen. Front to back, Citizen’s debut LP grips you by the flesh of your face and demands undivided attention; a mosaic of steely sinking tension that bleeds viscerally spirited lyrics. At times, the record itself feels like the cold metallic sting with venom something like a truth serum; it’s impossible to hear frontman, Mat Kerekes, confront confessional themes without experiencing a personal introspective reckoning. 

Citizen performing at the Wiltern, LA by Shelby Pfau

Released in June 2013, Youth quickly propelled Citizen to cult-like status among post-hardcore enthusiasts, so it’s surprising that Kerekes expressed disbelief at the scale of the band’s sold out Wiltern show Saturday night in Los Angeles. “Citizen shows have never looked like this,” he spoke with gratitude before explaining that while recording in Pennsylvania, he and guitarist, Nick Hamm, shared a bedroom and sometimes discussed what this release could mean for them. Kerekes mentioned he asked Hamm if he thought the record would go anywhere, to which Hamm allegedly responded with a comically casual “yeah, maybe;” a memory Kerekes and Hamm remembered fondly as they gazed into the sea of bodies packed like sardines in the theater; each person living, breathing proof that Youth became far more than just another record. 

Citizen performing at the Wiltern, LA by Shelby Pfau

The show undoubtedly went off without a hitch, hearing the cadence of the full album tracklist as a performance emphasized the band’s genius throughout. It was abundantly clear that the audience grew closer as a collective with each passing song, the stretch between “The Summer,” “Sleep,” “How Does It Feel?,” and “The Night I Drove Alone” fostering especially tender bonding moments. On stage the band radiated; exuding a humble pride that honored the record’s cherished heritage. Fresh into the pollinated sticky heat of early summer, Citizen’s floral garnished debut Youth continues to flourish ten-years later, giving new meaning to super blooms in California. Check out the set list here!

Citizen’s 7-date ‘Decade Of Youth’ tour concludes June 25th in Anaheim, CA. 

PS: Check out our gallery of photos from the performance!

PS: Check out our gallery of photos from the performance!