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NIGHTLIFE MAGAZINE - MARCH 2006 Here's the text as this one's hard to read... By Melissa Ruth Tuesday, March 7th normally retains its quiet stature. Not much more than a night of renting videos and the possible caffeine high via a 24 hour coffee house exemplifies Tuesday nights here in Phoenix. March 7th disproved the norm. While some of you went out to Scottsdale for ‘She Wants Revenge’ (see page 3), those who heard from a friend of a friend, the “in the know” crowd as they say, set out for what was happening in the underground. It was a night rejuvenating a music lovers appreciation for the art. The venue also did its part reflecting the intensity and meditative theme of the night. After an ‘American Idol’ guilty, garbage pop, pleasure television hour, we were able to head down to the venue. With only a few directional difficulties, we found our way to the Phix Gallery by way of the relatively young crowd’s positioning on the downtown Phoenix sidewalks. Minus one band, we were able to catch all the bands on the bill that night. Of course the headlining band was last to perform, only adding to our anticipation. The exclusively word of mouth crowd stood outside between each band, quietly anticipating Circle Takes The Square. It was all anyone could talk about, and besides the occasional peak into the Phix, all anyone desired to see. Although Junius was a surprise that brought most in from the sidewalks before the main event. To go to the street beyond the door meant looking to my left to see someone working on geometry homework, and to my right a girl reading a book. Phix Gallery owner, Lee, did kept us company for awhile as we soaked in the opening acts, outside on the packed sidewalks, but you know you stick out when the man claiming to be the oldest person there at 40 years, gravitates to you. Yet, his description of the environment and night was absolutely relatable, despite his interesting exterior. He compared this night to his glory days in the Chicago underground, and memories of the hardcore punk bands of the time, i.e. the Pistols and Iggy Pop, playing in similar venues. Only somehow tonight was different slightly and with no time to sleep on that idea, it was time for Circle Takes The Square. Nothing less then anticipated enthusiasm lined the night. Nothing less than anticipated enthusiasm describes the band. While the other acts used the stage, Circle preferred a view of their fans by performing on the ground. I wondered if this was the norm for them, as this was my first time seeing the band live. Drew Speziale, guitar/lead vocals, and Kathy Coppala, bass/vocals, had a few comments on the subject. “Its not like a band policy, we like to keep our options open. I was nervous a few times [tonight]. You are playing goalie and trying to play at the same time” commented Drew. Kathy added, “sometimes we get a mic in the mouth.” Everyone was completely respectful of the band’s space. No one wanted to interrupt their energy and was therefor respectful as to hear a complete set. Circle Takes The Square took control of the crowd with every song. Intros and instrumental breaks could be only described as quiet meditative serenity only building the vigor. Anticipated enthusiasm prior to defiant thrashing, plus a dash of indie rock dance, was the perfect eclectic mix, bringing a crowd out who knew every lyric screamed into microphones. Circle Takes The Square has been out on the road since mid February for this tour. As this was an outstanding show by all accounts of the night, I had to inquire about the rest of the tour. Of touring and this tour, Drew said and Kathy agreed that, “It’s more fun, not playing in Savannah. We have to go on tour to have good shows. So we have to tour. I think Savannah may be over us. It’s way more fun once we get even a few more hours outside the city.” Specifically about this tour he added, “[it’s been] full spectrum, it has really run the gauntlet from awful to amazing and everything in between. This is our third full us tour but our fourth large scale tour. There’s no end in site, we are not making any commitments as far as after this tour because we don’t know when we are going home. One thing that stands out is that we can be miles and miles away from our home and have people excited about what we are doing. Getting to meet amazing people on the sideline its really a rewarding experience. It keeps me inspired.” If you haven’t heard until now about Circle Takes The Square, the band has been around, and together, besides the addition of a new drummer, for approximately five years now. “When we first started we didn’t have much ambition, we were just playing shows,” describes Drew. “Not thinking about things as much. Now, just in terms of other aspects of the band not just the music, we’ve been trying to be more of an efficient entity. We tour a lot now but we are pretty focused on what we are doing and trying to be good. It was never really that important before now.” He added that, “We had all reached a point where we needed to make a decision. We decided this is what we wanted to try to do. We were at that stage where it could go either way. Decide to pursue music or pursue what we went to school for or whatever. We decided to be serious about our band. We are trying that out now.” As with their music, this talented and extremely modest band, looks for the same thing when shopping labels, as is apparent with their current, Robotic Empire. “Run by people who put out music that they like and feel 100% about and thats the most important aspect of it,” remarks Drew. Although this tour with Junius has been a “rock ‘n roll fantasy” for Drew and the rest of the Circle crew, if you missed this time around, you can see them at the Clubhouse in a week with Fear Before the March of Flames. (check www.circletakesthesquare.com for dates) Even though they can’t go back in time and tour with Dylan and other innovative, experimental artists Circle Takes the Square has an exemplary history of being part of great underground bills. Now you know it’s not a show to be missed.