Breathe Carolina’s ‘We Are Savages Tour’ came to Gramercy Theatre in New York City on Friday March 21st with supporting acts Jonny Craig, Ghost Town, and Divided by Friday. Since last year’s departure of one of Breathe Carolina’s founding members, Kyle Evans, co-founder David Schmitt has been working hard to keep the band going strong as they set to release the new album titled Savages April 15th. A sold out crowd poured into the theater as soon as the doors opened; filled with excitement.
Kicking off the evening hailing from Laurinburg, NC was the pop band Divided by Friday. Together now since 2005, the trio consists of Jose Villanueva (vocals), Matt Morgan (guitar/piano),and Al German (drums). Releasing their newest EP Modern Memoirs in October 2013, the band gave audiences their vision of well-crafted pop music. Taking the stage with confidence, the band performed a solid set of their tunes which mix pop, rock, and some punk elements all into one. Their interesting style and sound is worth checking out.
Firing in with a mix of electronic and rock, Ghost Town got busy on stage next with entertaining riffs, powerful drums, and the refined vocals of frontman Kevin Ghost. Coming from Hollywood, CA these men are no strangers to glitz and glam lifestyles and what it takes to make it in this world. The combination of the aforementioned Kevin Ghost with Evan Pearce (electronics), Alix Monster (guitar/vocals, and MannYtheDrummeR (drums) mix extremely well for this band’s invented style. Their performance was quite a pleasure for ears and eyes as they made their way around the stage and kept the energy soaring. Fans seemed very pleased with their entire set and cheering grew with each song performed. Keeping themselves busy over the next few months, Ghost Town will be taking part in the ‘Red, White, & Black Tour’, then head over to the United Kingdom in May, returning to North America for ‘Van’s Warped Tour’ this summer.
Following, and setting the energy for the headlining act, was none other than Jonny Craig. Residing in Sacramento, CA now a day, Craig has been pushing away his old reputations of negativity and focusing on showing the world he is reborn and still that vocal powerhouse we all love from his past works in Dance Gavin Dance and Emarosa among others. Following up his overwhelming positively reviewed and successful first release A Dream is a Question You Don’t Know How To Answer (2009), he has brought fans the Find What You Love And Let It Kill You EP in 2013; a powerful title for an album that bares all and gives light to Craig’s journey.
The crowd showed affection and enthusiasm with a roaring cheer as soon as Craig stepped on stage. Kicking off with “The Open Letter”, Craig made it look effortless as he belted out and controlled his voice with the ease most could only dream of. While playing mostly new material from the latest EP, everyone had each song memorized and sang along throughout. With fan favorites “ 7am, 2 Bottles, and the Wrong Road” and “I Still Feel Her (pt III)”, it cannot be denied the talent that Jonny Craig has alongside the bright future and amazing music that will come. If you did not have a chance to catch him on the tail end of this tour, he will be touring later in May with his new band Slaves supporting Hands Like Houses.
The sold out crowd were wired and ready to go by the time Breathe Carolina took the stage. Having stood their ground strongly on ‘The Feel This Tour’ in November 2013 after Evans’ departure in October, Breathe Carolina are primed to continue strongly and fans support them with passion.
Starting things off with a bang, Breathe Carolina opened with new song “Savages”. The lights were low while lasers and strobes scanned the crowd as frontman Schmidt hopped around on stage with the band behind him. The crowd danced along while singing all of their favorites and it appeared the band has not skipped a beat and are excelling forward. Fans were pleased with the balanced delivery of a good variety of songs from all of their albums including some new material from Savages.
With so much energy flowing through the theater it seemed to feel that within no time the band blasted through an eleven song set concluding with “Blackout”. Upon exiting the stage, everyone inside Gramercy Theatre were cheering, screaming, and begging for more; and one more is what they got. Launching back out on stage, Schmidt kicked off the song “Mistakes” and the positive feel good atompshere hit a new level. There are only good things in store for Breathe Carolina, so be sure to pick up Savages and get ready for them on Van’s Warped Tour in a few months.
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