Pierce The Veil at the O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester.

By Jessica Greenwood.

It was another packed out show for Manchester Victoria Warehouse on Saturday night, hosting Pierce The Veil and their supporters. I’m sure most fans will agree with me when I say that Pierce The Veil’s shows are a coveted experience, something to be treasured, after their long 7 year hiatus, and if there was anyone to ready the fans for their set, Holding Absence and Dayseeker fit the bill perfectly. 

Photo by Anthony Tran.

The Cardiff natives, Holding Absence, kicked off the evening with unparalleled energy, bursting onto stage and heading straight into their first song, ‘Like A Shadow’. Lead Vocalist, Lucas Woodland, bounced from corner to corner of the stage in his famous denim jacket, taking the crowd with him every step of the way. The venue shook with the force of the bass and the crowd fed off it, ready for the night ahead. Lead, Lucas, kept the fans engaged and alive with his lively high kicks and passion. The fans were loud for ‘Crooked Melody’ and listened intently when the band talked about their memory of Pierce The Veil’s ‘Collide with the Sky’ album being on Youtube for the first time and how honoured they are to be supporting them on this tour.

Holding Absence finished their segment with ‘Afterlife’ to a loud reception.

Dayseeker continued to entertain the crowd with their air of darkness and sophistication, looking smart in matching suits. Lead, Rory Rodriguez, exuded confidence as the band opened with ‘Gates of Ivory’, standing tall and unwavering as he serenaded the fans. His voice captivated the crowd as he effortlessly transitioned from smooth crooning into heavier, more powerful vocals. Drummer, Mike Karle, looked to be at one with his kit, fully immersed in giving the performance of his life and matching the passion of the rest of the band. It was evident Dayseeker are a tight knit band in how they interacted with each other and seemed to be synchronous as they performed. Toward the end of their set, lead, Rory, took to the stage alone and invited Holding Absence’s Lucas Woodland to join him for ‘Starving to Be Empty’ off their upcoming acoustic album. Dayseeker closed their portion of the night with a heartfelt speech about their final song ‘Neon Grave’ being influenced by the passing of Rodriguez’ Father. 

The event everyone had been waiting for was fast approaching, fans got rowdier and shouts got louder. 

The lighting dimmed and traditional Spanish music rang out through the venue, teasing us with the imminent arrival of Pierce The Veil. Drummer, Lionel Robinson, affectionately known as ‘Lonnie’ was first to enter with the rest of the band exploding onto stage soon after and sending the crowd into a frenzy, kicking off their set with ‘Death of an Executioner’, from the album being toured, The Jaws of Life

Photo by Anthony Tran

Being a longtime Pierce The Veil fan, the feeling of seeing them was indescribable and Guitarist, Tony Perry, is as cute as the day I first laid eyes on him as a little 14 year old emo. Despite the long hiatus, it appeared nothing had changed, Lead, Vic Fuentes sounded as unique and brilliant as the first album and bassist, Jaime Preciado, had as high energy as he always had done. The band made sure to dish out plenty of fan favourites between newer songs from the latest album. ‘Caraphernalia’ and ‘Circles’ had fans nearly blowing the roof off with the noise, timeless classics. 

Vic took the time between songs to talk to everyone gathered and express how happy they were to see us, but also to tell us how much he, and the band respectively, were missing their families. This transitioned beautifully into the lead asking those of us there with our ‘Emergency Contacts’ to reach out and hug or high five them, coincidentally segueing into the track with the same name. 

A highlight of the night, not only for the crowd in general but for one gig-goer in particular, was when Vic claimed that 2012 track ‘Hold on Till May’ no longer belonged to the band but to the fans instead, as we had made it our own entirely with the way many had adopted the lyrics. Said fan was brought up on stage and gifted lead, Vic’s, guitar who then serenaded them during the track. The envy was palpable, as I’m sure you can imagine. 

Photo by Anthony Tran.

With the night not yet over, the main act continued to gift the crowd with an acoustic version of ‘Bulletproof Love’ which was received gratefully and enthusiastically. Before ‘ending’ the night with title track ‘The Jaws of Life’ and exiting the stage. I think we were all old enough to no longer be fooled by this facade and ferociously screamed for more, over and over.

Of COURSE the band obliged and Pierce The Veil took to the stage once more to give us ‘Besitos’, showcasing drummer, Lonnie’s, talent with a solo despite not being the band’s original drummer.

Hundreds of phones filled the air as everyone waited to capture the moment many had been waiting for, hungry to scream those familiar lyrics of the famous song. ‘King for a Day’’s opening chords sounded through the venue and for the final time of the night, the crowd went WILD.

And as my parting gift to you, reader of this review, here’s a little ear worm…

You told me think about it, well I did.