Pierce the Veil
at Manchester Academy in Manchester, UK
words by Daniel Tsourekas, photos by Dylan Maggs

One of the lingering questions within the alt community six years since the release of Misadventures in 2016 and its follow-up tour leading into 2017, has been “When and is Pierce the Veil coming back?”. The band dropped off the face of the earth in terms of live performances, providing updates every two years about the progress of their fifth studio album.

2022 would signal a wave of exciting announcements for them, starting with their feature on When We Were Young fest’s line-up. Subsequently and to no surprise a whole UK tour was announced shortly after. On September 1st, they returned with the lead single off their newly announced album The Jaws of Life. ‘Pass the Nirvana’ was a thrilling return for the band, successfully mixing their standout sound with grungy undertones and catchy baselines.

Fast forward to Thursday, December 8th. The queues outside Manchester Academy signal an exciting sold out show. Lines of people freely expressing themselves with a vast majority of impressive and cool styles, whether it be the hardcore fans showing up in older tour merch, or people dressed up head to toe in Drop Dead, being a part of this amazing moment, celebrating and embracing the resurgence of the emo and alt communities within the UK the past few years.

Heading into the venue, the show begins with Carolesdaughter, an interesting first act considering her sonically mellow direction and general style. Regardless of the aesthetic difference, the performance sets the tone for the acts to follow and highlights a promising and interesting future career for the artist, considering one of her songs, ‘Violent’ has become quite a viral track on Tiktok.

Next up on stage, Against The Current provides quite an amazing support show, keeping the audience constantly in motion and energetic. Chrissy Constanza’s vocals are truly phenomenal and should be placed alongside the best the scene has to offer. The setlist is fun and features an exceptionally executed cover of Taking Back Sunday’s ‘makedamnsure’, as well as one of their own biggest hits and collaboration with League of Legends ‘Legends Never Die’. The crowd is excellently responsive, and alongside their manager, make sure to playfully wish the “sexy son of a bitch” guitarist Dan Gow a “happy fucking birthday.”

Leading up to the headline act’s appearance on stage, the audience turn Academy into a 2.600-person karaoke bar. The changeover section’s playlist is perfectly curated to appease the fandom’s tastes, whether it be through Paramore’s ‘Ain’t it fun’, Green Day’s ‘Basket Case’, and a multitude of pop punk and metalcore anthems.

Suddenly, the lights shine bright as the familiar sounds of ‘May These Noises Startle You in Your Sleep Tonight’ send the crowd into a burst of excitement and cheers. Followed by absolute chaos during the seamless transition into ‘Hell Above’ it’s quite easy to tell that this is shaping up to be one of the most fun shows of 2022. The band’s energy is unmatched and resonates perfectly with the crowd who seamlessly open and close moshpits depending on the atmosphere and the songs. ‘Pass the Nirvana’ and ‘Emergency Contact’ hold their own amongst the setlist full of classics and fan favourites, the prior having one of the biggest moshes of the night. A spot-on mixture of Collide with the Sky and Misadventures has the crowd revisiting their childhood and teens, while it allows the current generation to enjoy a catalogue that remains timeless within the metalcore and post-hardcore community.

Whether it be the emotional performances of ‘Circles’ and ‘Hold on till May’ leading the crowd to tears, or the amped up energy featured in ‘A Match into Water’, ‘Caraphernelia’ and ‘Bulls in the Bronx’, there isn’t a second in which the band and the audience are stood still. An example of this chaotic energy can be described with the lead vocalist and guitarist Vic Fuentes launching his guitar across the stage before he runs back to get another one. The performance also features an impressive light and strobe show constant throughout the duration of it, featuring some surprise confetti and smoke cannons.

As the band depart the stage following their supposed final track ‘I’m Low on Gas and You Need a Jacket’, the crowd chants for the usual encore to begin. Vic walks on stage with an acoustic guitar, asking if people want to hear an acoustic version of ‘King for a Day’. “I’m joking I wouldn’t do that to you guys” he chuckles as he starts playing a phenomenal acoustic version of ‘Stained Glass Eyes and Colorful Tears’. Finally, the remaining members come back on stage to perform the one song that has skyrocketed them to modern fame on Tiktok. While ‘King for a Day’ attracts a surge of phones recording for social media, it still amasses an insane amount of energy for a crowd that can easily go on for hours more.

In conclusion, Pierce the Veil prove that they are still a force to be reckoned with, and one of the best acts out there with their first show back in Manchester since 2017.

PIERCE THE VEIL: MANCHESTER UK

CAROLESDAUGHTER

AGAINST THE CURRENT

PIERCE THE VEIL