Press
Published February 14, 2008 · The Post and Courier
Clarence Greenwood, aka Citizen Cope, seen here during his weekend performance at The Performing Arts Center.
It seems that as the years go by, it becomes increasingly difficult to find artists who march to their own drum.
Part of the fault lies with the bigwigs in the music industry, who strike gold with a musical act, and then shove a dozen or so more clones down our throats, even when the original act wasn't all that revolutionary to begin with.
You want an example? Three words: Fall Out Boy.
Fortunately for all of us, there are still musicians who do things in such a way, that others don't bother copying.
Such is the case with Citizen Cope. The only artist I can think of who even comes close to what Cope is doing these days is G. Love and Special Sauce, but even that act is not quite in step with Cope.
Cope, whose real name is Clarence Greenwood, has perfected his mix of blues, hip-hop and soul to create what is essentially his own music genre. Much in the same way that Jack Johnson has cornered the market on the acoustic surf folk sound, so Cope has cultivated his slack-jawed vocal delivery.
During Friday's Citizen Cope show at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center, the singer seemed to keep the crowd entertained, although there were a few incidences that threatened to turn the crowd on Cope.
First, Cope's show was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. With no opening act, Cope and his band finally made it on stage at 9 p.m. Apparently not wanting to waste any more of the crowd's time, Cope launched into a set that included the one-two punch of "Back Together" and "Bullet and a Target," as well as songs such as "Sideways" and "Hurricane Waters."
Standout songs included "Let the Drummer Kick" and "Hurricane Waters."
"I got a brother named Lee, he looks just like me," drawled Cope before performing "Brother Lee." That song was followed by a long pause as Cope tuned his guitar and chatted with his band.
The momentum temporarily stalled, Cope was soon able to get it going again with songs such as "Contact" and a great reggae-infused cover of Radiohead's "Karma Police."
After the Radiohead cover, Cope and his band bid the crowd good night.
While it was a good set of music, I don't think the fact the band had only played for an hour was lost on anyone, and some rumblings among the crowd about expecting Cope to play for longer began to ripple across the auditorium.
A couple of female fans actually hopped up on the stage Fortunately, Cope was only getting started.
He returned to the stage and performed a solo acoustic version of "Pablo Picasso." The band then joined Cope again for "Salvation," "D'Artagnan's Theme" and a great version of "Son's Gonna Rise."
Other songs in the sizable encore included "Holdin' On" and "Friendly Fire."
Clad in a retro-looking leather jacket and with his hair knotted back in a ponytail, Cope got the crowd going early, and kept things going, despite the fact he barely said anything to the crowd.
Citizen Cope's performance definitely rose above the late start and the shorter-than-expected main set.
Here's hoping he stays just as original, and that perhaps he will invest in a watch.
Contact Devin Grant at
chucktowncritic@yahoo.com.
Tour Stories, Cinemax (July 24, 2010)
Get Hooked: Citizen Cope, YoungHollywood.com (April 13, 2010)
In Concert: Citizen Cope at the Wiltern, Los Angeles, LiveDaily.com (April 8, 2010)
Review: Citizen Cope delivers on latest disc, Associated Press (March 2, 2010)
Citizen Cope Learning to Cope with Stage Fright, Spinner (March 2, 2010)
Citizen Cope: Thinking outside the box, Chicago Sun Times (March 1, 2010)
Citizen Cope Sold Out Three Nights in Boston, Blog Critics Music (February 27, 2010)
Review: CITIZEN COPE - PRINCE ALBERT (GREAT ESCAPE) , (May 16, 2009)
Citizen Cope, Relentless7 Celebrate Clinch , Jambands.com (December 11, 2008)
Concert Review: Citizen Cope at the House of Blues 10.9, Pegasus News (October 10, 2008)
Solo acoustic act keeps crowd on its toes, The Ithican Online (October 9, 2008)
The Audacity of Cope, Relix Magazine (October 8, 2008)
The dope on Cope: songwriter to come to the State, The Ithaca Journal (September 25, 2008)
Dates set for acoustic Citizen Cope tour, TicketNews (June 30, 2008)
Music : "Coming back", The Martha's Vineyard Times (June 26, 2008)
Citizen Cope sets the summer standard, Spark (June 25, 2008)
Citizen Cope live at the 100 Club, LIVE (March 15, 2008)
Artist Review: Citizen Cope 2.22.08, DetroitChic.com (February 22, 2008)
Citizen Cope looks to broaden his audience, Pittsburg Tribune-Review (February 14, 2008)
Greenwood proves how to 'Cope' without a watch, The Post and Courier (February 14, 2008)
From the Recher Theater, Citizen Cope astounds, The Loyola Grayhound (February 12, 2008)
Citizen Cope: Thinking outside the box, Chicago Sun Times (November 30, 1999)
