Pierce The Veil Roll Back The Years In Scotland

Scene stalwarts Pierce The Veil rolled into Glasgow tonight with the highly anticipated Jaws Of Life Tour, the first of two nights at the world famous Barrowlands Ballroom. Both nights were sold out months in advance and the fans were absolutely raring to go.

Opening the evening are Welsh rockers Holding Absence. A band who have really been on the come up as of late. Coming off the back of their 2023 album The Noble Art of Self Destruction, the band are on a massive trajectory. As the opening band, we only got 6 songs from Holding Absence but they certainly made the most of it. Opening with Like A Shadow, Lucas Woodland shows exactly what makes him one of the top frontmen in the UK. I thought they sounded absolutely brilliant throughout the set and the whole band were in top form. Their set hit a crescendo with the massive track Afterlife, which had the whole room singing along. This was a really strong showing from Holding Absence, making the most of their limited stage time and bringing all the energy.

Now the main support tonight is a band that I’ve heard a lot about but this is our first time crossing paths. Dayseeker are gaining a lot of notoriety for themselves coming out of California with their huge post-hardcore sound. The crowd seemed absolutely hyped for this one. Opening with Gates of Ivory, Dayseeker are bringing it from the get-go. I can see why these guys have built a name for themselves, they sound incredible. This one is a bit of a longer set for the main support so we get a wider array of the Dayseeker repertoire. Songs like Crooked Soul, Homesick and Without Me all get an outing. Lucas from Holding Absence comes out for Starving to Be Empty, which was brilliant to see. As expected, they closed out the set with Neon Grave and set up the crowd perfectly for our headliners. I really enjoyed this one and would love to see a Dayseeker headline in the future.

I first saw Pierce The Veil in 2011, before Collide With The Sky and while they were still playing Like A G6… and over the years I’ve seen them grow into the powerhouses that they are now. Tonight feels special, the sold out Barrowlands is full of anticipation and ready to lose their minds for Pierce The Veil. As the lights dim and the crowd scream; Vic, Jaime, Mike & Lionel make their way onto the stage and break straight into Death of an Executioner. This track sounds absolutely huge live and has the pit going absolutely wild. No rest for the wicked as they go into Caraphernelia and Circles. Vic Fuentes’ vocals live are brilliant and he conducts the crowd, flaunting his years of experience. When you consider some of the songs that were missed from this setlist, the inclusion of their cover of Karma Police by Radiohead feels odd but it did sound great. The band continued their set playing some massive songs including A March Into Water and Emergency Contact. 

If you’ve been following Pierce The Veil as of late, you’ll notice their new trend of bringing a fan on stage for Hold On Til May and giving away one of Vic’s guitars (the guitar bill on this tour must be astronomical!). Well tonight was no different, Vic Fuentes brought a fan up and they sat on the stage while he sang Hold On Til May. This might have been the most wholesome thing I’ve seen at a gig in quite some time. The set kept on moving with a mixture of old and new, with a personal highlight of mine being Hell Above. For some reason, this song just makes everyone go feral and I absolutely love it. As the band came back out for an encore they played a blast from the past in Besitos, followed by viral sensation, King For A Day. This was an absolutely phenomenal set from Pierce The Veil. They may be one of the best live acts I’ve seen in some time. A must see.