Circa Waves
Roundhouse // London, England // 26 April 2019
Photos and review by Rachael Dowd
A mere three weeks following the release of their third studio album, What’s It Like Over There?, Circa Waves returned to London for a night to remember. Greeted by screams and shouts from the overly energetic crowd in the legendary Roundhouse, Circa Waves was quick to remind everyone as to why they are one of the most entertaining bands in rock music right now.
Opening up their set with “Wake Up”, a hard-hitting rock tune off of 2017’s Different Creatures, sparkling fireworks ignited on the stage as the whole venue broke out into a frenzy, the audience releasing all of the energy they had built up throughout the night in anticipation of that very moment.
“Movies” was a memorable moment during their set, fans singing the lyrics louder than vocalist Kieran Shudall as they swayed on each other’s shoulders. Witnessing the song live for the very first time, there was not a still body in the whole venue, showing that fans were as excited to hear new material as they were to hear old favorites.
Although they have a brand new album of material to play, Circa Waves did include a number of old favorites throughout the night including “Get Away”, “Stuck In My Teeth” and “Fossils”, all of which received enormous amounts of applause the moment each song kicked off.
With a set list full of carefree lyrics reminiscent of summers and memories that have long since passed, the upbeat nature of Circa Waves’ music seemed to influence each person in the Roundhouse that night. Fans were on top of each other’s shoulders screaming the lyrics and smiling to each other while others clinked their beers together in contentment, showing that Circa Waves’ music has the power to not only bring people together, but also allow listeners to forget about their life troubles for a little while and lose themselves in their music.
After twelve songs, Circa Waves ended the night with a two-song encore of perhaps their most beloved tracks to date. “The Way We Say Goodbye”, off of their recent album, has quickly become cherished within the fandom, the candidly honest lyrics about missing the one you love hitting home for so many people. The performance not only showcased the vocal capabilities of Shudall, but the sound of the fans’ voices powerfully ringing through the venue proved that this is a song fans will want to see Circa Waves perform for many years to come.
Chaos ensued for the final performance of the night, “T-Shirt Weather.” Hyping themselves up by singing along to the song’s opening guitar chords with rhythmic “do do do do,” the audience broke out into a wave of excitement as the song kicked in and confetti shot up into the air. As a tune that has been out for well over four years, “T-Shirt Weather” will forever be a moment in Circa Waves’ sets that fans are the most excited about, exerting the most energy during those few minutes than during any other performance.
“T-Shirt Weather” sent the entire night off on a high, many emerging from the pit covered in sweat and confetti with massive smiles of their faces as they reminisced about the night they will be thinking about for a very long time.
