Images: Circa Survive, Touché Amoré, Balance and Composure, O’Brother October 10, 2012 at Club Nokia (Los Angeles)

Occasionally excellent tours mistakenly skip Vegas when planning their route, so we venture out on Punks in Vegas field trips. On Oct. 10, I drove out to Los Angeles to see the Circa Survive, Touché Amoré, Balance and Composure and O’Brother show at Club Nokia.

This was actually my third time seeing Atlanta, Georgia’s O’Brother. They have such a rad sound that’s heavy and droning, but somehow still intelligible. Their set list was comprised mostly of songs from their full-length Garden Window and the crowd went crazy when they performed “Machines Part I” and “Machines Part II.” If you haven’t seen these guys live, you should check them out as soon as possible!

Balance and Composure were up next. Their set was mostly made up of songs from 2011’s “Separation,” but they did play a deep cut, “I Can’t Do This Alone” from 2009’s Only Boundaries. These guys were responsible for some of the most energetic crowd sing-alongs of the night.

The crowd was yelling for Touché Amoré before the guys even hit the stage. The first four songs were played back-to-back, melting into each other without a second to spare. When they did stop to talk to the crowd, it was to mention how happy they were to be back in their home town of LA. Half their set was songs from their full length Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me, but we were also treated to two new songs, “Whale Belly” and “Gravity Metaphorically.”

Club Nokia was very near capacity by the time Circa Survive came out. They opened the show with “Sharp Practice” from their new record Violent Waves and then went straight into “In the Morning and Amazing…” Kids started flipping over the barrier like Circa was handing out hundred dollar bills. It got craaaazy. As they played “Through the Desert Alone” the whole band paused to shoot a TON of confetti over the crowd and then proceeded to rip through the bridge. These guys are showmen to say the least. I was so damn impressed.

I would have loved to have seen this tour come through Vegas, but I was happy to represent PIV in Los Angeles!

-Tyler Newton | http://500px.com/spottedlens