On Valentine’s Day 2025, thousands of fans ditched romantic plans to spend the evening at the O2 Academy with Circa Waves on the Death & Love tour. Joined by bands Peace and Corella, the band toured the fifth show of this leg in Birmingham to a crowd of buzzing fans.
Corella took to the stage at 7:30 to an already-bustling crowd, starting their show with the song ‘Drifting’. Fans immediately engaged, intently watching the performance as Corella transitioned into ‘Head Underwater’ and ‘Bloom’. Nearing the end of their set, lead singer and guitarist Joel Smith headed into the circle pit formed in the crowd to join fans, the energy at an all-time high.
Followed up by the band Peace, the crowd was the loudest yet; many attendees were already familiar with the band. Beginning with songs ‘Bloodshake’ and ‘Wraith’, the crowd danced with their hands in the air, many singing along to every word. After performing songs such as ‘Lovesick’ and ‘California Daze’ to an energetic crowd, Peace ended their seven-song-set with ten-minute track 1998 – despite its unusual length, the crowd maintained engagement and sang through the whole song.
At this point, it was safe to say that the crowd was warmed up and ready for Circa Waves. Excitement was high – attendees bustled around the venue, grabbing drinks and merch before they took to the stage. Before we knew it, the lights were shut off and the room sat in complete darkness. Screams erupted from the crowd as the excitement reached its peak, and Circa Waves burst onto the stage to perform the fast-paced song ‘Do You Wanna Talk’ from their 2023 album Never Going Under. Everyone jumped into action, only getting more and more energetic as the band moved from ‘Like You Did Before’ to ‘Hell On Earth’. Talking to the crowd, the band then introduced the song ‘Let’s Leave Together’ as a new one, which was responded to with screams of encouragement and hands held high in the air. As someone who is usually amongst the crowd near the front, it was electrifying to watch this show from afar. Seeing a crowd of people jump up and down and wave their hands in the air in unison with one another highlighted the energy Circa Waves brought with this show, completely bringing the room to life.
‘Move to San Francisco’ was introduced by lead vocalist Kieran Shudall. Talking to the crowd, he asked: “Shall we have a little singsong, Birmingham?”. Of course, the crowd delivered. A somewhat slower-paced song to start with, the voices of fans singing were as audible as ever as the song built up to the more upbeat chorus. Followed up by every single person in the crowd jumping to ‘Sad Happy’, Circa Waves flew through their set before slowing it down for the song ‘Lemonade’. This song was almost mesmerising to watch from the sidelines, watching the hands of hundreds of people move back and forth to the beat as the lights panned across the room.
This slower energy did not last for long, the song ‘Goodbye’ being introduced as “A bit of a heavy one” and inciting the crowd to return straight back to jumping and shouting. It seemed that Circa Waves fans did not come to give minimal energy – this crowd were there to give it their all and have a night to remember.
Circa Waves put on such an incredible show that it felt like ten minutes as we flew through songs like ‘Jacqueline’ (to which they dedicated to a random fan in the crowd with the same name) and ‘Fire That Burns’ (which had everyone clapping along in the lead-up to the chorus). Before we knew it, the band were off stage and the chants for the encore began. They left very little time before returning to the stage, evidently eager to give the people what they wanted.
‘Carry You Home’ was the first song of the encore set – a fast-paced, upbeat song that had the crowd re-electrified after the short break. ‘Be Your Drug’ was introduced with the blunt, and pretty obvious, statement: “This one’s about drugs.”, which earned a chuckle from me and another photographer. It was a shame to know the show was nearing its end as they began the final song, shouting that they “wanna see everyone dance!” as they kicked into ’T-Shirt Weather’. This song in particular received the biggest roar of the night, and fans sang the loudest they had yet as they began the first verse. My attention could not divert from the fan in front of me dancing like he was the only person in the room, doing star jumps and leaping from side to side with his drink in hand.
The end of such a brilliant show left the room with a bittersweet feeling. This concert sits high in my favourite shows I’ve attended, and I expect everyone else in the room to have felt the same.
