CONCERT REVIEW: Pierce The Veil Return To The Netherlands

A year ago, Pierce The Veil set the alternative music world abuzz with the announcement of their European tour, celebrating their new album “The Jaws of Life.” Tickets flew off the shelves, leaving fans buzzing with excitement for months. Finally, last night, the long-awaited concert took place.

The evening kicked off with Dayseeker for us, as we were not in time to watch Holding Absence’s set. Dayseeker had their own reasons for playing shows in Europe, as they recently released a new album and came over to promote their album “Dark Sun.” The band made a strong impression, clearly resonating with the crowd. Many knew their hits like “Sleeptalk” and “Without Me,” and their performance undoubtedly won over new fans among the 3,000 Dutch attendees. A highlight was when Lucas Woodland from Holding Absence joined Dayseeker on stage for a touching performance of “Starving To Be Empty.”

After waiting another 30 minutes, the lights finally went out for the last time that night. It was time, after a year of anticipated wait, for Pierce The Veil to grace the stage in front of 3,000 of their ecstatic Dutch fans to properly promote the release of their album ‘The Jaws of Life’, which saw the band’s older fanbase reignite their passion for the band, as well as introduced a whole new generation to the unique music that Pierce The Veil are cherished for.

The band’s show became a testament to their experience, as well as their capacity to evolve. Older songs like “Caraphernelia” received a very warm welcome from the legion of (mostly) young fans, while new songs also received quite the praise. Pierce The Veil even made space on their setlist for a Nirvana cover of ‘Karma Police’ right before playing the lead single off of their most recent effort, “Pass The Nirvana”. A song which translated exquisitely well to a live rendition. As is common knowledge amongst the PTV fans, the band can also tune the energy knob way down, as they did tonight for songs like “Hold On Till May”, as well as an acoustic rendition of “Bulletproof Love”, showcasing the versatility of the band’s discography.

After taking some time for some slower songs, the energy quickly turned back to mayhem with fueled performances of “Hell Above” and “The Jaws of Life”. Production-wise, Pierce The Veil brought along confetti and CO2 cannons, but the main attraction of the show truly was the music and the fact the band had not been in Europe for an extensive period. Truth is, the band could not have screwed this up even if they tried to, as a lot of the fans sang along so loudly that at times, vocalist Vic Fuentes could not even be properly heard himself. Get a glimpse of what the show looked like in the gallery below and let us know if you are attending any of the upcoming Pierce The Veil shows.