Page 55 - Black Velvet Issue 91

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PIERCE THE VEIL / LETLIVE. / CREEPER – BIRMINGHAM O2 ACADEMY, 26.11.16

“This tour is the best tour we’ve ever been
a part of,” says Will Gould of Creeper. The tour
in question is Pierce The Veil’s UK tour in sup-
port of their 2016 release, ‘Misadventures’.
Creeper and Letlive. are supporting on the
tour. If you’re a fan of AFI, chances are you’ll
love Creeper. The Southampton-based band
have only been together for two years but have
already been signed to Roadrunner Records
for a year. Their non-stop energy throughout
songs such as ‘Suzanne’ and ‘Black Mass’ no
doubt impressed the label, as did their old
school horror punk rock-styled tunes. There’s
a sea of lights for ‘Misery’, their final tune, one
of the slower songs in the set, pulling at the
heart strings as it builds to a climactic ending.
The intensity is turned up to 20 for Letlive.,
a band that do not do things by half-measures.
Their set begins with the five-year-old ‘Rene-
gade 86’, a musical tornado, packed with fran-
tic aggression. ‘That Fear Fever’ keeps the
visceral vigour at a high. Jason Aalon Butler is
a sterling frontman. He knows exactly how to
keep all eyes on him. At one point in the set,
he picks the carpet up from off the stage (it’s
pretty big) and throws it into the crowd. Later
on in the set, he finds his way up to the bal-
cony. He jumps around, crouches on the floor
and tells us, “Fuck Donald Trump”. Yes, we like
Jason. Letlive. are also the kind of band you’d
like to know; one with intelligence, one that
speaks out against the wrongs and injustices
in the world. Jason tells the crowd “If any man
thinks he can put his hand on a woman or take
what’s hers, I’ll be at the merch table to fuck
you up” – before the band play ‘Muther’, a
song filled with emotion, which is let out on-
stage. Respect to Letlive..
The crowd go wild as an animated cartoon
is played on a backdrop. Pierce The Veil arrive
on stage in white suits like astronauts, before
they unzip them to reveal their usual clothes.
They dive into their set with ‘Dive In’ from their
new ‘Misadventures’ album as confetti blasts
over the audience and stage. The crowd sings
almost as loud as Vic Fuentes in the likes of
‘Caraphernelia’, ‘Hell Above’ and ‘Bulls In The
Bronx’. Newer song ‘Texas Is Forever’ sees
Mike Fuentes pounding away at high speed on
the drumkit, while ‘Bulletproof Love’ is what Vic
calls his favourite part of his set, and sees him
inviting a fan on stage. He sings to Rowen
while she sits on a stool, even bending down
on one knee, before the song kicks in to a pop-
pier punk number. ‘Floral & Fading’ Vic says
was written for his girlfriend Danielle, who he
points out is at the side of the stage. It’s a song
saying ‘fuck you’ to internet haters. ‘Kissing In
Cars’ (a song written ten years ago as a wed-
ding song for a friend) is played acoustically,
with all four members coming together at the
front of the stage. Jason Aalon Butler joins the
band to sing ‘Tangled In The Great Escape’;
first he adds the hardcore screams before mor-
phing into a softer jazz style, while ‘Circles’ and
‘King For A Day’ are kept for the encore. Vic,
Jaime Preciado and Tony Perry all constantly
move around, jumping onto and off risers and
the band put on a great show that everyone in
the room enjoys. Both confetti and steam is
blasted out as the set reaches its end. Hell
may be above but seeing Pierce The Veil is a
lot like heaven.
YYYYY
Shari Black Velvet
Vic Fuentes (Pierce The Veil) Photo By Shari Black Velvet

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