Meeting Anthony Green and him performing Lustration!
I wanted to share my experience with meeting Anthony Green for the first time this week, and such a cool, special moment he was able to give us all who attended VIP in Tacoma. It genuinely made me so happy and it was such an amazing experience! Feeling a bit shy about posting, but thought people would enjoy the story! This is a bit of a long post, so hopefully it’s worth the read!
I have seen Anthony two times prior to yesterday night (L.S Dunes in 2023 and then this year when he opened for Microwave), but this was going to be the first time I actually would meet him and have a conversation with him. He is one of my favorite artists and I admire him so much, so I was super nervous, but I have heard nothing but amazing things about his fan interactions.
Naturally, I adore Circa Survive, and my favorite Circa album is The Amulet. I decided to bring my vinyl to the meet and greet to see if Anthony could possibly sign it. I had some reservations about bringing it, since VIP already receives pre-signed items, but I figured I could try my luck. The album means a lot to me and it’s one of my favorite things he has been apart of making.
So I get to the venue and we all get inside for VIP, and I meet some very lovely people. We are chatting and waiting, and then who I assume to be the tour manager comes out and lets us know he is going to grab Anthony and that if we brought things to sign, he could sign one item. I was pretty excited that he would be able to sign my vinyl! For anyone that isn’t aware as well, VIP also included an intimate, short acoustic set separate from his set later that night.
So Anthony comes out and starts going down the line and he finally gets to me, and I remember I just started to nervous babble (my nerves lol) that it was my first time meeting him and I had seen him a few times prior and it was so awesome to finally meet him. He thanked me for coming out to the show and gestures to my vinyl, asking if I brought something to sign. I showed him my vinyl and he goes “that’s my favorite Circa album!” I excitedly tell him it was mine too and I mentioned that Lustration was one of my favorite songs on it and he lights up and goes “that’s my jam!” I then told him that I really loved the acoustic renditions he has done of the song and I think it’s really pretty. I didn’t think much of the comment as I was just geeking out at him, but it seemed like a little light bulb went off for him. He is quiet for a bit as he is signing my vinyl, then goes: “…you know it’s been some time…and I may mess it up, but maybe I can play it for you guys. I’m not sure if I remember it though.” And I immediately freaked out internally (and a bit externally) because I was like no way would he perform it! So then he calls out to the tour manager and tells him “Remind me to play Lustration.” So we take our photo and I thank him, and he continues going down the line to meet the rest of VIP.
After everyone finished with their photos and chatting with Anthony, he goes to the back and then comes out on stage for the acoustic show. I’m standing at the barricade towards the left of the stage and he comes and sits his chair directly in front of me. He then addresses the crowd and lets us know that he decided he would play a song that he hadn’t perform for a really long time…and he started playing Lustration! It was absolutely beautiful to hear it in person on acoustic and I was in so much shock! I genuinely didn’t think he was going to perform it and I was over the moon!
After he had finished performing the song, he looked down, addressed me directly and said “I hope it was okay…I think I forgot some of the lyrics.” And I immediately told him “No, no! It was absolutely amazing! It was incredible, thank you so much!”
I know I must have been cheesing so hard, because wow it was so incredible to experience him perform that song!
He performs the rest of the acoustic set, then closes out by thanking everyone again as he stands up to leave. He then makes eye contact with me and thanked me for reminding him of Lustration, because it gave him the challenge to jog his memory to be able to try and perform it again and it’s a song he really enjoys. I told him thank you and then he walked off the stage. The friend I had made at the show literally turned to me and was like “did that just happen???” And I was like “I know! I can’t believe that just happened!” My cheeks hurt so much from smiling so hard. I genuinely didn’t have any ulterior motive when mentioning Lustration, so the fact he decided to perform it and then personally thanked me is literally so insane to me and has made me the happiest fan! Literally feels like a fever dream. I also love that everyone there got to experience Lustration as well and it was such a magical moment! I had a few people come up to me afterwards and tell me Lustration was their favorite Circa song and asked how I managed to get Anthony to perform it. I told them I didn’t even ask (I would never! He could honestly perform Old MCDonald Had A Farm for all I care and I would be grateful haha)… I guess I just unintentionally planted the seed and he decided to go for it! Just a mutual love for Lustration. But it was honestly such a wholesome and amazing experience, especially since it was my first time meeting him! :,)
If anyone is ever on the fence about either purchasing VIP or going to a show in general, I would highly recommend it. Anthony is so personable and honestly such a kindhearted, sweet and amazing person. He gave me a memory I will treasure forever <3
TL;DR: Met Anthony Green, he signed my Amulet vinyl and it inspired him to perform Lustration acoustic for VIP!
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Edit: Wow! I did not expect this post to get so much traction!!! Thank you everyone for all your kind words! 🥹
I am honestly still a bit in denial that yesterday really happened because it was so crazy!
I’m happy we all can bond over our love for Lustration together haha and it’s nice to hear from some of the other concert goers from last night as well! I really hope everyone that is going to support Anthony and the gang for the remainder of the tour has the most amazing time! ✨
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Edit #2: Thank you everyone again for being so kind! I’m usually a lurker and never really post, and it’s been so lovely talking with everyone! No one else in my personal life listens to Circa Survive or any of Anthony’s projects, so it’s been nice getting to talk with everyone and nerd out! 😆 I was really nervous about posting, and I’m really glad I did!
I genuinely also have enjoyed all the people sharing their stories about meeting Anthony as well! It’s been such a treat to be able to hear all the amazing experiences everyone has had! 💖 Thank you everyone on both this sub and the Circa Survive sub for being so kind and inviting, as well as the people at the show! 🥹