Russian Circles

One of the best post-rock shows I have had the pleasure to see in Toronto. Lee's is a fantastic venue for this kind of show. Well organized and polite staff but still a relaxed atmosphere. The venue is the perfect size to be comfortable and have good sightlines to the stage for everyone.
Windhand was a great opener with a shortish set. Very to the point but overall a well executed doom metal performance. Drummer busted a stick during the closer but got right back into it like nothing happened. Windhand went on about 8:30, very prompt but hey it was a Sunday show and they have the rest of NA to get to. Russian Circles hit the stage about 9:45.
I cannot overstate the quality of the atmosphere that Russian Circles cultivated. The lighting was sparse and dramatic. The stage antics were reduced to headbanging and power stancing. No microphones, no stage banter, no "hey how you doing Toronto?" Not even a thank you. No encore. They were there to fucking rock and that is the full extent of what they did. From the minute they hit the stage the non stop drive of the drums led the entire show. They nearly never stopped. One boneshaker of a track to another. The reverb would ring, guitars would be quickly exchanged and then they were flowing into the next tune mercilessly.
Mike Sullivan is a discrete mad scientist, guitar up high on his chest as he clicked back and forth on a laboratory worth of effects and pedals. Having never seen them live I half expected them to play tour with a rhythm guitar. With just three pieces they managed to sound gigantic and ruthless. The beautiful interplay of guitars is all done live and all by Mike.
Brian Cook, with slightly less on/off switches to worry about was the most dynamic stage presence. Backlit and haloed by fog machine he laid down a mighty chugging beat for the duration looking like a giant viking bass god.
Dave Turncrantz meanwhile and throughout led the show. With hero hair fans gently lifting his beautiful locks quite often it was the drums seamlessly leading you down a garden path at the end of one song and into the deep dark of the next banger. With a lot less buttons and knobs (but not none) he handily kept the beat driving as Mike and Brian would set up for the next riffing masterpiece.
What an astonishing show. I can't wait for another tour. If you get the chance, see this tour.
Bring earplugs though.

Post-rock and black metal have never sounded this good together. Russian Circles manipulates the sweeping beauty of instrumental rock music and meshes it together with the "slit-your wrist" depressed style of doom metal. It is always fascinating to have two extremes paired together. Reflective sensitivity and ear shattering nihilism intuitively have no place together, but Russian Circles makes it work. They can linger in the beauty of quite atmospheric tones, but rupture the silence with sonic waves of clashing cymbals and heavily distorted / detuned bass.
There really isn't much apparent melody in the performances of Russian Circles and their live presentation at best is stoic. However this does not mean they are boring to see live. If the incredible loudness of the performance doesn't shake you into absolute mesmerization than the technical connectivity of the band will. They weave pieces of noise into interesting textures and create auricular palates consisting of sounds that offset each other in interesting ways. The drums provide a barbaric and simply calculated beat, at other times they are unpredictable and complex. The guitar is used primarily for textural construction introducing sharp hisses of noise, reverberated echoes and soft soundscapes. The bass adds a huge punch to the music really accenting the drum beat and keeping the overall structure of the song on track.
For a three piece band Russian Circles offers a wide array of sounds. Going to one of their concerts you could be basking in the ambience and beauty of such tracks as "Memorial" or feel like you are battling against the baltic winds on a viking ship with brooding pieces such as "309".

A great evening of music let down by the shocking quality of the venue unfortunately.

Cloakroom (the support act) were enthusiastic even though the harsh ,muddy sound in the venue made them sound completely different to any of their recorded output.

Russian Circles are the real deal-totally pro.A great performance with minimal production in this setting.
Surely this band are ready to step-up to playing decent sized venues and not dank,unsanitary holes like this venue....
I can only live in hope.

The gig was obviously oversold-people pressed like sardines all the way to the back of the narrow room.which made for an antagonistic ,negative vibe.
Movement around the venue felt claustrophobic,arduous and frankly unsafe at this capacity.
Having to push and shove your way to access the facilities is just shit.

The restroom facilities were flooded,toilet plumbing smashed up,leaking piss all over the floor.Doors hanging off-you know the score...
Dirty,unclean and unacceptable today.
Not punk-rock,not rock and roll,just shit.

The organisers of this show and the club owners must realise that this level of venue need to be invested in financially and to be dragged into the 21st century.
It is neither cool or edgy to experience this level of poor quality.Just shit.

They're obviously making good money judging by the turn-out at these gigs so maybe it's time to give a little back to the people that are lining your pockets.

In the last 20 I have worked in many countries as a touring engineer and this has to be one of the top 5 worst clubs that I've ever seen.

Dirty,unprofessional and frankly not a place that i'll ever return to.

What a joke.

2008. Russian Circles grasped my attention with “Verses”. 2011. I unconditionally fell in love after hearing “Schiphol” for the first time.
It took me 9 years to catch these folks live. Well, I can tell you; these 9 years were worth the wait.
As they entered the stage, the lights were down, we could only catch a glimmer of shadowy figures taking place. And then those first notes. HOLY SMOKES. A smile appeared on my face, goose bumps all over my body, that didn’t go away until quite some time after the concert. The drummer sounding divine (ok, maybe the previous sloppy drums from the support band had something to do with it), and the snares making the audience drift off. By far the best concert in ages. But I might adjust my opinion after Gojira tonight. ;)

With the single exception of seemingly everyone in my immediate vicinity passing gas throughout, this show was one of the best I've seen. The pleasure of watching three highly skilled instrumentalists do their thing was matched only by the thrill of rocking hard to their most crushing sounds. The sound quality at Music Hall is outstanding (and well done, guys in the back). I suspected that the too-cool Brooklyn crowd would sneer at the idea of a mosh pit, but a big one broke out early and grew in size and intensity as the show went along. These dudes don't even put a mic on stage to speak to the audience between songs. They just destroy, wave, and then split. What a pleasure. What a joy.

This was an amazing show! Possibly 60 people there in total. They had chairs and table set out for those who wished to sit. I'll admit I did this at one point myself. Mainly to save my energy for the main act though, Russian Circles! Who were astounding. Such an intimate show with such power, energy, ambiance, and vibe... It was all there. I don't think I'll have another chance at a show quite like this one. But as for a review of the band Russian Circles playing live; They are on point with everything musically, even with improvising live. Taking everything you've heard and know by them to an extreme new level. It's an experience worth taking. -*10/10*-

I've been a fan since their first album, and eagerly gotten each release as it came out. These guys just keep. Getting. BETTER. The concert at the Teragram was my first time seeing them live and THEY DID NOT DISAPPOINT. They somehow managed to build upon the nuance of the records while eviscerating my expectations of heaviness. Hearing Mladek and 309 live was a high point of my concert going experience (Empros is my favorite record, so I may be partial). The crowd was a typical LA group...largely quiet and motionless, and the band had zero "patter" between songs BUT WHO CARES. They blew the roof off the joint. I can't wait to see them again.

Phenomenal show. Intense. Atmospheric. Driving. Instrumental prog metal. Highly recommend. Not a boring moment. Even the interludes while they re-tune are masterfully crafted.

Why must "A review be at least 30 words long?" That makes no sense because it's a stupid requirement that makes it unlikely for people like me to ever submit a second concert review on Songkick. You ought to make it easier for people to participate, not more difficult.

Russian Circles sounded fantastic from the line. The Electric Factory was not prepared for this show and doors opened 30min before Russian Circles went on. Electric Factory had 6 people doing security and the line went around the building literally two times! We arrived at 2:30, got in line, and by the time we got in the second band (DTP) was taking the stage. This was a huge disappointment! The rest of the show was outstanding!

¡Espectacular!, el único fallo es que la organización estuvo PESIMA para algo tan simple como es el hecho de informar la dirección del evento, estuve media hora dando vueltas alrededor de la dirección indicada y después de mirar en la web en otra página descubrí que era era EN OTRO LUGAR.

Pero la banda... IMPRESIONANTE.