Concert Review: Turnover w/ Citizen, Keep, 10 Years of Peripheral Vision Tour The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA

The notion of the anniversary tour has become more commonplace within the live music scene as of late. The driving factors behind these tours comes from multiple angles, whether it be due to a growing population of music lovers who weren’t around during the eras these tours highlight, the opportunity for older fans to relish in the nostalgia and reconnect with pivotal works from their earlier years, or simply the occasion for bands to celebrate albums that put them on the map with the people they love. In the case of Turnover’s 10 Years of Peripheral Vision tour, the answer comes from all of the above.

Turnover is a Virginia-based rock band that came up through the DIY pop-punk scene amidst the early 2010s, putting out multiple projects within a quick time span of three years. Most notably, their debut album Magnolia felt quite at home within their scene, albeit a little too at home. Their emo-tinged rock inspirations were impressive and well written, but it wasn’t until their 2015 album Peripheral Vision where they found their niche. The pivotal 11-track record finds a punk-inspired emo band toying with dreamier aspects of indie music and post-rock tied with lyrical threads of youth, longing, and psychedelics. The album turned out to be a smash hit for Turnover, ushering in a new era of what it meant to be an “emo” band in the DIY landscape.

While Turnover tends to keep their setlists mainly focused around Peripheral Vision, this is the first tour where they played the entire album front to back. I found myself at The Fillmore in Philadelphia, PA on a dreary Tuesday evening with an eagerness to see whether or not the band could successfully execute a night of energy like they did in 2015. What I found at the Peripheral Vision tour was a delightful time capsule of an era I was not present to witness at its peak.

Turnover walked into a sea of green light as the opening notes of “Cutting My Fingers Off” wafted through the air, and as guitarist and vocalist Austin Getz played the beginning guitar riff, a rapturous cheer emerged from the crowd. It was clear Philadelphia knew what they were about to watch, and they kept the energy up throughout every moment. Vocalist Austin Getz consistently thanked the audience at every chance he could, and while his demeanor could be characterized by some as subdued, it was clear he meant every word he said. One of my favorite aspects of Peripheral Vision is the sustained ambient blanket of sound that ties each song to the next, and subsequently it has become a defining characteristic of their live set, giving the group a wonderful flow to let their live experience move through naturally.

After the main festivities of the evening, Turnover kicked off a second set with two unreleased songs that harken back sonically to their earlier days as a band, even before the release of Peripheral Vision. They played a rare Peripheral Vision B-side “Change Irreversible” along with “Tears of Change” from their most recent record Myself In The Way. Finally, the group pulled out setlist staple “Super Natural” and concluded their set with a rare Magnolia cut, “Most Of The Time.” Turnover’s set felt like a beautiful collision of past, present, and future for the band and the audience they have grown up playing to.

TURNOVER

Acting as direct support for the Philadelphia date of the tour were the stalwart Run for Cover labelmates and longtime friends from Citizen. Vocalist Mat Kerekes looked just as energized to be there as the rest of the room, leaping up and down and reaching out the microphone to the audience. Much like the headliner, Citizen also seemed to lean more towards their earlier works, with a majority of the setlist coming from their seminal 2013 classic Youth. After an ambient intro track, Kerekes went into the beginning lyrics of “The Night I Drove Alone” and was met with a rapturous call from the audience. Once the drums kicked in, the motion was nonstop throughout their entire set. It was great to see Citizen wrap up their touring cycle for their 2023 record Calling The Dogs with some of their oldest friends in the touring world.

CITIZEN

Opening the show were the fellow Virginians in Keep. Fresh off the release of their latest record Almost Static, the genre-defying group slammed listeners with their walls of sound almost immediately. Vocalist and drummer Nick Yetka found his stride quite quickly, pulling off an immense exercise in focus with ease. Their live performance saw the group sticking mainly to Almost Static tracks, along with older tracks such as “Latch” and “Old Man,” all of which felt like they belonged in the context of the ethereal world Keep brought to life. It was a great start to the evening and an example of the great music you can find when you show up early for the opener.

KEEP

While the 10 Years of Peripheral Vision tour is wrapping up this week in New York, the band have proven there’s something to look forward to in the near future. It’s going to be exciting to see what Turnover has in store with album number six, but for now, it’s been quite a humble pleasure to celebrate this phenomenal record.