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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

arts

Citizen Cope performs at Bluebird Nightclub

CAROUSELCitizen Cope

The room went quiet and audience members pushed closer to the stage where Citizen Cope stood facing them, wearing a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a black dress shirt with only a guitar and a microphone to accompany him.

Cope came to the Bluebird Nightclub Thursday night as a part of his solo/acoustic performance tour.

Signs lined the Bluebird walls, asking audience members to “please be respectful to the artist” during the more quiet performance.

There was no opener, just Cope with his guitars.

He opened with “Salvation”at 9:30 p.m. Audience members paid $30 for general admission to the show.

His music is “southern rural, big sky lonely, concrete urban, and painfully romantic,” according to a biography on his website.

Cope’s given name is Clarence Greenwood, and his music draws from the places he’s been, including “Greenville, Miss.; Memphis, Tenn.; Vernon, Texas; Austin, Texas; Washington, D.C. and Brooklyn, N.Y.” according to his website. His first self-titled album dropped in 2002.

The acoustic versions of his songs bring out their original meaning, Keir Bailey, Cope’s merchandising partner, said.

“This is how his songs are originally written before production,” Bailey said. “They were simple with just the guitar as back up.”

Bailey has been with Cope and his team for over six years. He works with Cope to develop logos and branding, and he uses his art school education as well as artists he hires to create the brand for Citizen Cope.

He said he travels with Cope as he tours and enjoys the perks of the ride.

“We’re a small group and we’re all really good friends, so getting along makes it fun to be together,” Bailey said.

Bryce Gorsuch and David Meer came to the concert together because they’ve been fans since high school. They showed up an hour before the doors opened at 8 p.m. to get as close to the stage as possible.

“We love Citizen Cope,” Gorsuch said, pointing to his new navy blue “Cope” sweatshirt. “We just couldn’t pass up such an intimate venue. The acoustic thing is awesome. It’s much more personal and different from normal.”

Meer said he likes Cope because of the nostalgic feelings his songs bring up.

“Every time I take a back road there are always a couple of his songs playing,” Meer said.

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