Venue: *SCAPE Warehouse, Singapore
Date: 15th February 2013
Promoter: Live! Empire
Review by: Nadya H.
Special Thanks: The Live! Empire team
Photos by Alvin H. – Achilous and Pierce The Veil
For many Pierce The Veil fans, their wait for the band to perform in Singapore has finally come to an end. Singapore being their first stop in Southeast Asia saw the band give an energetic show that hyped up the audience at *SCAPE’s Warehouse. Pierce The Veil is a post-hardcore band from San Diego, California, consisting of members Vic Fuentes, Mike Fuentes, Tony Perry and Jaime Preciado. I’m personally a big fan of Pierce The Veil and of course, I was enthralled to be watching them perform.
Local outfit Achilous went on stage first, playing some of their songs including “Save Us To Save Us.” Prior to this concert, I had never heard of this band before but I must admit that they were impressive band and even got me moving on my feet! People were clapping with John Mahathir, Achilous’ lead singer, as the band performed. A member from Avalanche also made a guest appearance and sang with them. For those of you who have yet to listen to this band, I recommend you check them out! Trust me, you won’t be disappointed! They left after playing about three to four songs before allowing Pierce The Veil to take on the stage.
Fans were chanting “PIERCE THE VEIL! PIERCE THE VEIL! PIERCE THE VEIL!” in their eagerness for the band to start their set. I have to say, the time spent waiting for Pierce The Veil to come out was torture. Everybody else was just as impatient, we just couldn’t wait for them to play! Members of the crew came out to paste “PTV” on the drums and stick the setlist onto the floor. I tiptoed over the front of the stage to catch a glimpse of the setlist and was definitely squealing at the top of my lungs when I saw the list of songs that will be performed. I felt like an ultimate fangirl. Finally, after the dreaded 15-minute wait, the band came on stage.
The lights went out and the crowed instantly let out screams of excitement. They roared for them, screaming “PIERCE THE VEIL!” over and over again. With strobe lights practically flooding the room, the band played songs off Collide With The Sky which included “Hell Above”, “I’m Low On Gas and You Need A Jacket” (it was their first time playing this song live, ever), and “Bulls In The Bronx”. Not forgetting songs from their sophomore record Selfish Machines, PTV also performed “Disasterology”, “Besitos”, “Bulletproof Love” and “Caraphernelia”.
I liked how PTV played a mix of heavier and slower songs, especially “Hold On Till May”. However, my personal favourite performances of the night would have to be of “Bulletproof Love”, “Hell Above” and “King For A Day”, even though I loved all the songs performed and have a hard time choosing between them. The crowd was beyond great, quite literally bursting with energy as they jumped and held up different hand signs, with some serious headbanging and moshing! The atmosphere was thick with sweat, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that all of us were having the best night of our lives!
Before playing “Hold On Till May”, Vic told us that the song was dedicated to his brother, who had beat cancer. We let out cheers for Vic’s brother. After playing 8 songs, the band stopped for a short while, teasing the crowd and tricking them in to thinking that the show had ended. We were not dumb, of course, and yelled for “King For A Day” to be played. PTV then gave us a sick performance of the song, with Vic taking over Kellin Quinn’s parts. Nevertheless, it was awesome! In between the concert, Vic told us that we were the band’s main inspiration for Collide With The Sky. We were obviously moved by this fact and screamed our lungs out!
With King For A Day serving as an ending to the concert, the lights dimmed out and the room was soon cleared. Pierce The Veil definitely gave a heck of a mindblowing concert, leaving the crowd wanting more. As the lyric “Bet you never had a Friday night like this!” goes in “King For A Day”, I certainly have never had a Friday night like this. It was, hands down, the best night of my life. Pierce The Veil, please do come back down to Singapore, we love you here!