“There’s no greater vengeance than learning to enjoy again.”
What has slingshot Pierce the Veil to even greater heights? In 2022 their London shows were a pair of sold out Kentish Town Forum dates. Just two years later, they doubled capacity and filled out Ally Pally. The Jaws Of Life was certainly a successful record (they doubled their monthly listeners and retain those peak numbers), but it still doesn’t quite explain this. My guess is that it’s a hybrid effect. Swarms of new fans were out there finding the joy of emotive rock music – the audience was startlingly young which warms the heart to see. Many old fans will finally have got their foot in the door for a show post-pandemic Pierce the Veil show. Then there’s my category: ‘elder emos’ discovering that this band really are the best at post hardcore pop. I only started spinning the band a few weeks ago, and it sound cliché, but they’re absolutely a new favourite. Whether you had been there since day one, or only knew “King For A Day“, Ally Pally was the place for you. Two smashing support bands (Holding Absence and Dayseeker) solidified the night, exposing many to some of the new talent in modern rock and metal.
Words by Dobbin T, photography by Angelina Emmanuel.
Holding Absence
In 2023 Holding Absence played a staggering 130 shows, so it’s a marvel I hadn’t seen them yet. Why not make the first time their biggest ever show? Lucas Woodland’s vocals hadn’t tarnished from the long tour, and the mix was mostly in their favour, providing a solid rendition of the Holding Absence sound: heart-on-sleeve catchy post hardcore, with a bit of glitter in the mix to seal the deal. Woodland was beaming, explaining the privilege of playing not just to Ally Pally, but also in support of Pierce The Veil (someone’s got to dig up the vocal cover he did of “King For A Day”, for the emo archives). Woodland asked for one, then two, then three mosh pits, and I think he got the all. Their six song set touched on the whole discography, with a deep cut in “Aching Longing” from their Alpha Wolf split EP. The biggest audience response came from the newer tracks “Her Wings” and “A Crooked Melody” as well as their classic “Afterlife”.
Stage arrangement meant good photos were nigh impossible for their set – we’ll work to feature Holding Absence again in a photographic capacity, which shouldn’t be a challenge given the band’s commendably intense touring schedule.
Dayseeker
Much like Holding Absence, tonight would also be Dayseeker’s biggest show of their career. To manage that outside of your home country speaks to their success. For the tremendous occasion, most of them suited up, later peeling them off for even cooler mesh tops. Their background is much more aligned with metalcore than the rest of the line-up, but their Dark Sun era brings pop influence and synths into focus, tempered with modern djenty breakdowns. And if you’re going to go pop, you need the vocals to match. Rory Rodriguez was stunning, executing clean and harsh vocals with passion, transitioning between them like night and day – it was as if a different person was grabbing the mic between different lines. The big screens showed his incredible mic control. Any singers observing will have been scribbling notes to match Rodriguez’ ability to self-modulate between delicate and destructive moments. He did a solo acoustic song from the imminently releasing Replica, “Starving To Be Empty“, which brought a gentle pause to their set. Woodland of Holding Absence guested for even more stunning harmonies, and will even be on the studio release. The set was massive, with five songs from each of Dark Sun and Sleeptalk, with my highlights being “Dreamstate” and “Crooked Soul” for those sweet vocal harmonies.
Pierce The Veil
A band this mature as Pierce the Veil must make some difficult set list choices, and each audience member would come up with a different ‘perfect’ setlist, myself included. “Circles” was the only track from Misadventures, and they didn’t venture to any material from before Selfish Machines. Confusingly, they covered Radiohead’s “Karma Police” – it looked like they had fun playing it, but I’d have taken literally any of their own songs over it. The Jaws of Life tracks included “Emergency Contact”, too sickly-sweet for many, but a delight for me and a sing along for the audience. It gave the band a chance for the band to explain how they were excited to return to their families at home. “Resilience” was performed acoustically and then followed by the oldie “Bulletproof Love” in a uniquely acoustic rendition; charming, but I’d have rather seen the band throw down fully for it. Of course, the celebrated tracks from Collide With The Sky had to be played, including “A Match Into Water” which really started movement in the audience, and the celebrated “King for a Day” as the encore. My minor complaints aside, the setlist was broad and carefully selected. I’m a bit spoiled by tight pacing of modern heavy shows, so the pauses for acoustic gear swaps and larger big gaps between songs reminded me how nice it was to take a breath during a rock headliner.
Across the set there were all sorts of theatrics. The basics were all there: incredible sound, fantastic vocals even on the final tour date, spinning guitars and big smiles. I particularly liked Vic Fuentes’ hybrid vocal-guitar style; any moment where the guitar wasn’t being played was a chance to grab the mic and wander free. The mini arena gave them even more space to have fun: confetti cannons fired on multiple occasions, including spaghetti-like tendrils, pyrotechnics, and a surprise banner drop for “The Jaws of Life”. A step too far for me was the exchange with a lucky fan, brought on stage during “Hold On Til May”. Even if handing over his guitar was a nice gesture (perhaps explaining why he was playing a Squier), it seemed like Fuentes indulged in his ‘heartthrob’ status a bit too much. This aside, I’m delighted to have seen them play Ally Pally, and the band will have plenty of big stages to play on this summer as they support Blink 182 across North America.
The tour might be over, but you can check out our coverage of the latest records from Holding Absence, Dayseeker, and Pierce the Veil at Boolin Tunes.