Queen of Jeans, La Dispute, and Circa Survive rock The Underground
November 30th, Charlotte, N.C.: The Fillmore’s younger, edgier brother, The Underground, hosts a show consisting of three bands at very different places in their careers.
Queen of Jeans: The young band stood out immediately, three female vocalists who simultaneously harmonized vocals and guitars. The peak of their performance was a very interesting take on the 1998 R&B song “Are You That Somebody,” originally made famous by singer Aaliyah.
While not a bad performance, the very slow, melodic sound of the openers didn’t quite meet the energetic tempo expected by fans of the co-headlining duo. Coupled with simply being a smaller band, the result was a fairly indifferent reaction from the crowd.
Queens of Jeans has something special, and they seem better suited touring with similar bands while attempting to grow their fanbase.
La Dispute: Admittedly it’s difficult to be objective, as they are my favorite band, but these guys stole show. What this experimental rock group’s following lacks in size it makes up in dedication. Rabid fans packed the first few rows, and matched the band’s high energy and seemingly sand along with every word of their 12 song set.
Highlights included transitions between a number of different styles offered by the bands extensive discography, and the always great reaction to crowd favorite “King Park.”
The show also saw band frontman Jordan Dreyer praising those who had stuck with his band through it’s 15-year existence, preaching inclusiveness and acceptance in the alternative music community, and a big ovation for the announcement of long awaited new material in the coming year.
Circa Survive: This was the third time that I’ve seen this band close a show, but they’ve never felt more like a headliner.
With a capacity 750, the Underground isn’t exactly an amphitheater. From front to back no one was standing still, as the energy from the indie rock veterans permeated the punk venue.
This hit a peak during the outro to their forth and heaviest song, “Child of the Desert” and plateaued throughout the duration of Circa’s 17 song set.
The performance concluded with a double encore, featuring crowd favorite “Get Out” followed by the lesser known and much slower “Meet me in Montauk,” and served as a nice one two punch to close the show, with vocalist Anthony Green letting the fans know it was time to “GET OUT!” and then serenading them on their way to the door.
The Underground was the perfect venue to host a show like this, and barring the openers feeling a bit out of place, it was a fantastic night of live music.
