The Jaws of Life was probably one of my top albums of 2023 - all parts punchy, introspective and chocked full of insane breakdowns, it was an album that truly celebrates both Pierce the Veil's musical talent, but also their legacy as a scene band with something to say. And of course with the new record came another tour announcement, and I know what your thinking - dude you were at a gig Tuesday on practically the other side of the UK, what the fuck are you doing at Ally Pally? To that I simply say, I've had this ticket for a while, and although travel is almost always a ginormous pain in the ass, it's one I'd happily suffer through for more live music. So, last night I found myself at Alexandra Palace for the first time, to see a band who's music I've really gotten to fall in love with over the last few years and enjoy what they had to offer. With that in mind then, here's my breakdown and review of Pierce the Veil live at Ally Pally.
Venue
Alexandra Palace is massive. I really mean that. I'd never been before, and although from where I am the train journey was a little tricky, it was still relatively alright to get there - just get to the station and join the gigantic line of emos up the hill and there you are. It was ginormous. The scale hits you as soon as you join the line to get in. You're surrounded by thousands of people at all sides as you slowly inch further and further towards the front entrance. The line in was fine and pretty straightforward, but I have to add that the amount of litter and food on the ground at some points was bordering on unacceptable. I completely understand that staff can't get in and sort it out when ten thousand people trample their way in and carelessly lob shit on the ground - I'm saying concert goers, there are bins inside the venue, wait five minutes and put it where it's supposed to be! Beyond that however, the layout of the venue itself was brilliant. As soon as you walked in, you came into a little annex surrounded by food trucks and catering stalls, all serving a pretty wide array of food and drink. However, this is London prices people, pints were at a staggering £7/8, with even just a Red Bull (which has marked on the can 'please sell me for £1.49') were £3.80. Again, it's London pricing, but holy shit is it not budget friendly. Past that is the actual venue itself, and again, I felt absolutely dwarfed by it. I have never once been in a concert space that feels like that. I usually go to these gigs alone, and this one was no different, and this is the only time the scale of the venue made me feel just a touch out of my depth. But, it was a comfortable space, with plenty of room, and had some attentive staff, so overall I'd recommend if any of your favourite bands decide to come down, it's definitely an experience.
Merchandise
Now, keeping in mind London prices here people, merchandise was insanely pricey. These things fluctuate a lot between venues, with of course all places taking a different cut of sales and such, so you never really know how much any of this will set you back. But, this was an example of merchandise prices that just didn't work for me in particular. I'm a student, I'm on a bit of a shoestring budget at the best of times, and when T-shirts are £40 each, and hoodies at £60, I'm going to swerve it all all costs. The prints looked decent, and they looked pretty well made, but for that price I really couldn't justify making the leap, especially when on their website you can get a shirt for £30 plus a little on top for P&P, it feels more sensible to wait to see if extra merch hits that later on down the line to pick up at a bit more of an affordable price. It's a shame, because I'm an absolute sucker for gig memorabilia, I love getting a shirt with the tour dates on, wearing it around as a memory of a brilliant night out, but at those prices, I'd rather be able to afford my next food shop.
Support Acts
There were two support acts for this show, Holding Absence and Dayseeker. Now, I realised when they came on stage that I actually know a song by Holding Absence that was in my playlist a little while back - a track called Birdcage that I blasted a lot a few years ago, so I was really excited to see what else these guys had to offer. They were really good, with some electric stage presence and seemed to really be giving their performance 110%. Their tracks were catchy, all parts dynamic and brilliantly heavy, with extreme vocals and some awesome double pedal bass that properly punched you in the ribs. They were on very early, and only played a few songs, but the crowd was up for it, and seemed to really connect with them in the shorter time they had.
I have to admit that I've never heard of Dayseeker however, and it seemed I was in the minority - which was actually pretty cool to see. I love discovering new bands, and these guys seemed pretty brilliant from their opening set. Seemingly veterans of the American hardcore scene, these guys shredded through their set, with their frontman giving off the swagger of some sort of post modern kickass Morrisey, with his open shirt and laid back presence. But holy shit does his voice rip. The extremes he can do live are stunning, and really surprised me, and through their short set, I found myself really enjoying what they had to offer too. Both bands were a brilliant choice to open up for PTV, not only because they were all in the same genre, but because each band did that genre with their own little twists that made the opening experience really enjoyable.
Pierce the Veil
There are a few things that, for me, make up a really brilliant live show. First off, you need to have passion onstage, you can't just be complacent and not interact with your audiences. Secondly, you need to really make it something to remember, so I'm talking about spectacle, I'm talking some awesome shit that will make people remember this shit for the rest of their lives. And finally, you need to cater to every side of your fanbase - that means some deep cuts, stuff for the real day one's and veterans, whilst balancing that with your newer, more successful tracks that people know - it's a fine art, but it means that your audience really get the whole range. And holy shit, did Pierce the Veil do all three of those things. As soon as the intro for Death of an Executioner came on, the crowd was roaring with excitement. There was such a palpable energy in the audience, one of real pure enjoyment from the offset that was both palpable and totally infectious. The band flew onstage and from the second they ran on, they owned that stage and had control over those 10,000 people. These guys have insane talent too, and they're another band that I've seen live that sounds almost identical to how they do in the studio recordings. The guitar was punchy, the bass springing and weaving around the mix, and the drums slammed on and on. The sound mixing was great, and the acoustics of such a large room were actually really impressively succinct to the ear.
The setlist also walked that perfect line between some really pleasing deep cuts and more of their new record. Being a fan of their newer stuff, as well as both Selfish Machines and Misadventures it felt like there were some real choices to balance all the stuff they've ever put out. And, I know, but I'm not all to big a fan of Collide With the Sky past King for a Day but there were a load of songs from that too, which I could tell made people really happy. The tracks from The Jaws of Life really flourished in this live setting, and had the crowd moshing and jumping around, even as far back as I was. This was also the last night of the tour, so you could tell these guys were giving it all they had left - Vic Fuentes was on insane form, and his voice live was just awesome. Have a look at the setlist from the show, courtesy of Setlist Fm:
Death of an Executioner
Caraphernelia
Circles
Karma Police (Radiohead cover)
Pass the Nirvana
A Match Into Water
Emergency Contact
Hold On Till May (With fan onstage)
Resilience
Bulletproof Love (Acoustic)
May These Noises Startle You in Your Sleep Tonight
Hell Above
The Jaws of Life Encore:
Besitos
King for a Day
What a setlist. Tracks like Pass the Nirvana had the audience screaming along, Emergency Contact had everyone cuddling up to their loved ones, and Bulletproof Love was such a brilliant reinvention of the iconic track. Plus, the crowd were loud, and sometimes even dwarfed the band's own voices shouting along. During Hold on Till May they even pre-empted the band in going on to the next verse, and sang it for them. They seemed genuinely grateful for that, and you could really see from them that it really meant a lot to be there performing for all 100,000 people in the crowd. It was pretty clear to see this was a band at the top of their game, and this concert reflected that in all it's beautiful punk-rock glory. Have a look at a couple of shots I got at my place in the crowd:
Overall
What a concert man, what a celebration of music. I had a blast, and between the overpriced merch and feeling like a very small fish in the worlds biggest and fanciest pond, the music made up for it tenfold. Both support acts came on with determination and style, and the main act blasted through all of my expectations and played a truly memorable performance. All parts rip roaring, emotional and insane, the closer of this tour felt pretty monumental, and I felt pretty damn lucky to be there to experience it. What a night.
Rating: 9/10
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