The Audio Perv

Circa Survival of the Fittest (by Britnee Foreman)

I’m going to out on a limb and say that the Circa Survive show is the best show I’ve been to in a while, maybe my whole life. While you may read this and think I must be exaggerating for the sake of interest, I am being completely honest with you. Should you happen upon anyone else that went to the show at the Highline Ballroom, they’ll probably tell you the same.

The show was high energy, with stage diving, balloons, confetti, crowd-surfing and as the jaded New Yorker that reviews music it’s almost embarrassing to confess how much I enjoyed this show, almost.

The band is currently doing a support tour for their recent album Blue Sky Noise; and with filming for the Jimmy Fallon show earlier in the afternoon, it would be easy to assume that their set would not be as energetic as it actually was. The band certainly brought their best for the sold out crowd, and it was obvious how appreciative their fans were. The crowd was singing along to every word of every song, even the new ones. And at one point Green, the lead singer, threw his sweaty shirt into the crowd, of course inciting a tug of war for the prized possession. Three songs later the fans are still tugging at the shirt, but they decided it would be better to rip the shirt into pieces so that everyone could have a bit of it. So, they proceed to rip it, with their teeth. That’s dedication.

There was definitely an element of fun and camaraderie during the show. I almost fell over a few times as the crowd moshed/aggressively swayed. It was all in fun so I couldn’t do anything but laugh, enjoy, and sway along. Then the large inflatable balls came out for crowd to bat around. You can imagine the jokes that came from the stage at that time, with Green insisting that we hit him in the face with our balls. At one point during the set he grabbed one and clung to it for dear life huddled over center-stage.

It was a great show all around. Even the opening act Kilimanjaro was great despite the technical difficulties of the speakers blowing out during the first song. Handled like professionals. Well done all around. Circa Survive is a must see, it will greatly improve your quality of life, seriously.