Live Review: Pierce The Veil – Live In The UK Tour – O2 Forum Kentish Town, London

Often you find that time makes the heart grow fonder and that most certainly seemed to be the case for the UK fans of Pierce The Veil. Their return would see them spend two nights in London’s Kentish Town Forum and with support from both CarolesDaughter and Against The Current, they were set to be a truly triumphant return. Here’s what went down on night one!

Eccentric, bold and unique is exactly the way I would describe CarolesDaughter as she took to the stage in front of an already packed Forum. An explosive opener in the form of ‘My Mother Wants Me Dead’ quickly caught the attention of the London crowd and the band used their charisma and personality to really hook those in attendance. Whether it was a performance of an unrealized track titled ‘Car Keys’ or it was a climactic finish with their biggest song ‘Violent’, CarolesDaughter did a great job of setting the standard high for the rest of the night.

Against The Current would be next in line to take to the stage and they wasted little time before unleashing ‘that won’t save us’ onto the eager crowd. High energy and emotionally driven lyrics were exactly what the Pierce The Veil fans needed to prepare for the impending headline set and that’s exactly what they got. Tracks like ‘Wildfire’, ‘lullaby’ and ‘Wasteland’ did well to start warming up the dancing shoes of the elder emos and the band left the crowd in an emphatic way with both ‘Legends Never Die’ and ‘weapon’ closing out their set.

You could feel the tension rising as the clock drew ever closer to the arrival of Pierce The Veil and the moment ‘May These Noises Startle You In Your Sleep Tonight’ started playing, there was no turning back. ‘Hell Above’ would see the mosh pit crew open for business while ‘Pass The Nirvana’ was most of the crowd’s first chance to hear newer Pierce The Veil live and they ate it up!

You’d have thought the band had hired a choir by the way the fans sang ‘Bulls In The Bronx’ back to them. It was clear the extended absence away from the UK was already worth the wait just 4 songs in. Emotions were always going to run high during this show and tracks like ‘Circles’ and ‘Texas Is Forever’ really opened the floodgates for a lot of fans in attendance. There is something beautiful about fans singing at the top of their lungs while letting all their emotions loose together.

Not wanting to offer any solace, ‘Emergency Contact’ continued pulling on the heartstrings before ‘Hold On Till May’ reignited the spark and the crowd seemed energized once more. Unfortunately, the night wasn’t going to last forever and while ‘Caraphernelia’ and ‘A Match Into Water’ offered some beautiful sing-a-long moments, ‘I’m Low On Gas And You Need A Jacket’ would bring a close to the main portion of the set.

Normally you see encores start with an explosive track however, Pierce The Veil opted for an acoustic rendition of ‘Stained Glass Eyes and Colourful Tears’ which reduced a lot of the crowd to tears. So while everyone’s eyeliner was running down their cheek, the band chose to do the only thing they could to remedy that by dropping ‘King For A Day’ to a behemoth of a roar from the crowd. What a way to end a show.

As a whole, this night felt truly special. Both older and younger fans could be seen having the time of their lives as they forgot about whatever troubles they had for a few hours of unadulterated emo pleasure. Pierce The Veil proved they still have what it takes to captivate a crowd and they may have cemented their place at the top of the scene once more.