Pierce the Veil, letlive & Creeper @ O2 Academy Birmingham, Saturday 26 November, 2016
From the moment this tour was announced there was something that didn’t seem quite right about the bill. Pierce The Veil, shrill darlings of the very youngest end of the scene, went big and bold and fearless with their selection of touring buddies, and fair play to them for that.
Creeper are the band in the UK right now, letlive firmly established as a favourite of modern punk rock’s most credible fringe. Both are formidable acts to follow, but never doubt the impact the room can have on a show; San Diego’s award-winning titans have a fanbase to be reckoned with.
Creeper playing to a near-full Academy is a sight that should make rock fans very happy, and one that reflects well on the headliners’ choice. Will Gould and his black-clad associates slowed down opener ‘VCR’ and fan favourite ‘Black Mass’ before unleashing their latest single, ‘Suzanne’, to a rousing response.
The fresh material seemed to lift the performance to a new high and Creeper roared towards their final song at breakneck speed. ‘Misery’ swallowed the Academy whole, demonstrating Creeper’s compatibility with a rabid PTV audience. The emotions of adolescence never go out of style.
Any thoughts of letlive being overlooked by sarcastic thirtysomething reviewers ruminating about how this bill will be upside-down in five years were scuppered emphatically by a support set that put even Creeper in the shade. Singer Jason Butler is brilliant and frantic in equal measure, and his performance as letlive ripped through a 45-minute set was exactly as advertised.
The band’s new material slotted seamlessly into the show, ‘Reluctantly Dead’ marginally wrenching the glory from an explosion of older songs that we hope will have won them a ton of new fans on the road this month. ‘Muther’, preceded by a speech brimming with Butler’s renowned authentic fury, was another highlight. Drummer Loniel Robinson would be worth watching on his own.
letlive left the stage triumphant and most headline acts would find following them a daunting prospect. But there were clues throughout the evening that Pierce The Veil would play to a crowd drooling at the mere prospect of seeing Vic Fuentes step out on stage. A pre-Creeper play of Bring Me The Horizon’s ‘Throne’ popped like a Wrestlemania babyface turn; this ain’t our scene anymore, fellow oldies.
Sure enough, PTV’s presence alone sent the atmosphere through the roof. Musically, they’re technically impressive. Drummer Mike Fuentes is a breathless, hard-hitting performer and a huge part of a live band that sounds massive, plays great and has its fans in the palm of its hands from the first note to the last sweaty knockings of a show that gives the kids exactly what they want.
If it’s believability you’re after, Pierce The Veil on stage aren’t for you any more than they’ve won you over in their recorded material. The whole set feels choreographed and crafted to Bieberian levels, the music within lacking the outright legitimacy and conviction that oozes from letlive.
But as a gateway band for youngsters – a band with phenomenal popularity but impressive musical technicality, a canon of riffs and a verve for volume – you’ll do well to find better than the live performances of PTV’s older songs. On this showing, shrieked and occasionally one-paced though it inevitably was, Pierce The Veil are a plus rather than a minus for the future of heavy music.
Review – Chris Nee
Photographs – Dave Musson