Messed!Up
On Thursday 25th of September, Pierce the Veil took to the largest arena in Europe to celebrate 18 years of playing shows to the masses. Playing hits from all of their albums, including their debut “The Jaws of Life”, the tour celebrates their roots and brings fan favourites to the stage as they take to a world arena tour. Supported by three brilliant and trending bands; Crawlers, Hot Mulligan and Cavetown. Each of the opening bands hyped up the crowd for the long awaited anticipated headlining band. The energy in the arena during opening acts was electric. Anticipation was rife in the arena for the show where fans were celebrated by their favourite band. Many people waited holding banners, signs, cardboard cut outs and flowers to celebrate the band. Some people had been waiting outside the arena from the day before. The dedication of the fans was so clear from the moment the arena roared during their intro, as was the dedication of Pierce The Veil to their fans.
The band opened their set with piles of smoke onto the stage. Then, the Lady of the Veil symbol was displayed on the screen, signifying the tour’s striking beginning in the city of Manchester. They opened with a beautifully popular song, “Death of an Executioner” followed by their hit songs “Bulls in the Bronx” and “Pass the Nirvana”. A song that inspired the name of the “I can’t hear you” tour. Delivering such an impactful start to the gig had the entire crowd buzzing with energy that didn’t falter a single time during the whole set, despite people having waited for this gig all day. The tears of many loyal fans who have followed the band from the beginning flowed later into their set with their heartwarming tributes to Vic’s wife “Emergency Contact”. The entire duration of the gig felt like a huge service to all of the fans watching. Hearing their favourite songs as well as a Pixies cover clearly felt like a dream come true for so many, myself included.
Every member of the band performed with such dynamic movements, constantly changing positions on the stage to interact with as many fans as possible. The headbanging, the jumping, the movements were reciprocated by every member of the audience. There was not one still person in the room. It was impossible not to be swept up in the energy and excitement of the on stage performance and the intensely energetic pits.
Pierce The Veil have progressed in their style so much as a band, whilst also always staying true to their roots. At COOP Arena, everyone acknowledged the band’s commitment to their craft, and felt personally commemorated every time the band thanked the audience. I cannot wait to see what these guys do next and continue to celebrate their career progression.
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Photographer: Eliza Waite
