Circa Survive and Emanuel Live at Troubadour in West Hollywood

What do you get when you mix This Day Forward, Saosin, and Taken? You get dark and spacious musical landscapes and range-defying vocals known to us as Circa Survive. 

The history of Circa Survive goes like this: Singer Anthony Green, at the time with Saosin, flew home to get his wisdom teeth removed and as he put it, spend time with his good friend Colin Frangicetto. Colin was just getting over the split of his band This Day Forward when Green came back home to Philadelphia. The two jammed during Green's visit, but didn't think too much of it. 

The time came for Green to leave, he boarded a plane bound for his layover in Phoenix. Needless to say, he wouldn't make it back to Orange County to rejoin Saosin. 

The turning point happened right there in the airport, "I went to the lady at the front desk in Phoenix and was like, 'I made a mistake. I need to go back,'" [Green] reveals. "She must have thought I was a runaway or some messed-up kid." He called Frangicetto and told him to pick him up at the Philly airport the following morning. The next day, the first Circa Survive song was born, "Handshakes at Sunrise."

With a full lineup, [Green, Frangicetto (guitar), guitarist Brendan Ekstrom (ex-This Day Forward), bassist Nick Beard (ex-Taken), drummer Steve Clifford], the support of Equal Vision Records, and a year and a half behind them, Circa Survive finds themselves in West Hollywood headlining the Troubadour.

The opening band of this evening, Get Back Loretta of San Diego, had a shocking sound for this type of show, but was quite refreshing as it broke up the monotony of such events. They brought with them songs that have glimpses of Ska, Big Band, and Elton John. Ya, Elton John. The band, obviously inspired by another SD act, one Blink 182, offered up some comic relief with their ditty, "Isaac Have Sex With Me" - a song written about the bands' drummer.

After the laughs subsided, The Outline took the stage. They have a decently big sound, but lose it when the second guitarist moves to keyboard. Coheed and Cambria minus the vocal pitch, plus The Kinison best describes The Outline's sound.