Like many other venues the Bootleg Theater is very small and by looking at it from the outside you wouldn’t think that it was a venue. But it is and that’s where my friend and I made our way to see Circa Survive. I knew it was going to be a great night once everything started. The Bootleg Theater itself is a pretty small venue. I’ve heard it being referred to as a barn because of how it looks inside. It’s an intimate venue and small venues are my favorite. Before the show started the band was walking in and out of the backstage area. Anthony was being very nice, signing autographs and taking pictures. The show didn’t start until about nine and by then my friend and I had been waiting for about three hours.

O’ Brother
O’Brother was the only opening band for Circa Survive. They’re a band from Georgia and they’ve toured with a lot of amazing bands. I saw them before when they opened for Manchester Orchestra but that show was full of technical difficulties and I couldn’t really enjoy the music. This time was a lot better. They were extremely energetic and I enjoyed watching the members of the band head bang in unison. Most of the band members have long hair which adds to how amazing their headbanging was. They’re music is heavy and head bang worthy. The crowd seemed to like O’Brother and they were nice enough to stick around after the show to sell their merchandise and talk to fans. My guess is that if you like Circa Survive you would like O’Brother.

Circa Survive
If you’ve ever seen Circa Survive perform I guess I won’t have to tell you how amazing they are. I always listen to albums at home and wonder what it would be like to be at a show listening to the songs live and Circa Survive is on the top of my list of amazing live performers. Their energy is simply amazing and Anthony Green continually interacts with the crowd which is always hilarious. They opened with their newest single Get Out and the crowd seemed to go crazy. Apart from the show where the band walked out in dresses and Anthony Green proceeded to disrobe himself, this has to be one of the best Circa Survive shows I’ve been to. The crowd sang along to every song and they jumped around and matched the band’s energy. They played a lot of older songs but only a couple of their newer songs. I was happy that they played one of my favorite songs from their new album I Felt Free. It was so amazing to hear that song live. At one point Anthony was talking about someone in the front of the crowd who had big hands. Through out the show he would talk about “Big Hands” and give funny jokes about what it means to have big hands. He was really mesmerized by how big this man’s hands were and everyone found it extremely funny. They played Stop the Fuckin’ Car, On Letting Go, The Great Golden Baby, Oh, Hello, The Difference Between Medicine and Poison Is In The Dose, The Greatest Lie. Before their intermission they played the hidden track that is on their first album Juturna, House of Leaves. During their intermission each member of the band lied down on the floor. Since I wasn’t close enough to see what was happening I made my way closer to the stage and saw that a member of the band had his feet up in the air. It was funny to see and it was something I’d never seen before which was nice. The band eventually got up and started playing In Fear and Faith followed by Imaginary Enemy. At this point I had made my way towards the front and I was being pushed around like crazy. If you don’t know me personally then you don’t know how small I am. I’m almost five feet tall and I was surrounded by men who were like six inches taller than me. It was truly amazing because I was really close to Anthony and I was just happy to be in the crowd with all of the other fans. At one point I did see some guy smoking a cigarette while in the middle of all of this pushing around which was surprising. The song ended and I made my way back to my friend who was smart enough to stay out of the crazy crowd. I was drenched in sweat, not all my own might I add, and then me and my friend made our way home. It would have been nice to hang around and try to meet the band, I’m sure they were nice enough to stick around after the show, but my friend and I were tired and we’d had too much excitement for one day.

In the end this show was one of the most amazing shows I’ve been to. I think I say that about almost every show I go to but I honestly mean it. Since I’m usually in the thick of it all when it comes to crowds I didn’t take any pictures but I wish I had. I will next time though. Circa Survive is going on tour to promote Blue Sky Noise, it’s about time too. They’ll be playing at the Avalon in Hollywood and you should be there. That is all for this post and hopefully I’ll be going to more shows soon so I can post more of these reviews. Later Days.

–Laura