Photos and review by Carolyn Wang
@carolynwangphoto

On June 25, Pierce the Veil brought their I Can’t Hear You world tour to a sold-out crowd at the Toyota Pavilion in Concord, CA, with support from Sleeping With Sirens and Beach Weather. Fans showed up dressed to the nines in fishnets, tour merch, DIY costumes of characters on album covers and in music videos, and makeup inspired by the band’s aesthetics. Billed as an eras-style tour, the show was a love letter to the fans who have grown up with the band over the last 18 years, while also embracing a new wave of younger listeners who’ve discovered them in the past few years.

Beach Weather opened the evening with a breezy, upbeat set, and the real momentum kicked in when Sleeping With Sirens took the stage. The fanbases of Pierce the Veil and Sleeping With Sirens are deeply intertwined, with many longtime PTV fans also growing up with SWS as the two bands rose together in the same Warped Tour–fueled scene. Frontman Kellin Quinn’s powerhouse vocals soared through the amphitheater against the backdrop of golden hour, with a set that spanned eras: from “Bloody Knuckles” off their latest record Complete Collapse to “Better Off Dead” from 2015’s Madness, and closing on the iconic “If You Can’t Hang” from their 2011 breakout Let’s Cheers to This. It was a perfect tonal setup for what was to come.

As the stage transitioned to Pierce the Veil’s set, Sleeping With Sirens’ backdrop dropped to reveal five massive banners hanging from the rafters, each bearing a symbol representing one of PTV’s five albums. As Vicente Fernández’s “El Rey” rang out over the speakers—the mainstay opening to their show—the crowd buzzed with anticipation. Then, in one swift moment, the banners fell, revealing the full stage, and the band tore into “Death of an Executioner” from their latest album The Jaws of Life. Pierce the Veil wasted no time igniting the crowd. From the headbang-inducing ferocity of “Pass the Nirvana” to the blistering chaos of “I’d Rather Die Than Be Famous” from their 2007 debut album A Flair for the Dramatic, the crowd’s energy never let up—mosh pits formed and reformed like whirlpools in the GA section, and crowd surfers were launched into the air with each breakdown. For longtime fans, it was a special treat to hear songs from A Flair for the Dramatic performed live again after nearly a decade. An acoustic version of “Today I Saw the Whole World” from their 2016 album Misadventures offered a moment of calm halfway through the set before ramping up the energy again for the rest of the night, playing through more favorites like “Hell Above” from their 2012 album Collide with the Sky and “Disasterology” from their 2010 album Selfish Machines. In total, they played 18 songs that honored every chapter of their discography.

While Vic Fuentes held it down on vocals with raw emotional clarity, Tony Perry shredded through solos with precision, and Jaime Preciado brought his signature chaotic energy—jumping, spinning, and sprinting from one side of the stage to the other. Behind them, touring drummer Loniel Robinson drove the whole thing forward with thunderous, airtight rhythm. The most emotionally charged moment of the night came during “Hold On Till May,” a special and meaningful song to many fans, and the crowd raised their phones’ flashlights in unison, lighting the Pavilion in a soft ocean of heart-shaped colored lights. That emotional crescendo gave way to one last surge of energy: the explosive encore of “King for a Day.” As the opening notes rang out, Kellin Quinn returned to the stage to reprise his iconic feature. The energy was at its peak—Vic and Kellin traded off verses seamlessly, Tony whipped his guitar in a full helicopter spin, Jaime tossed his bass high into the air, and thousands of voices screamed every lyric back at them in ecstatic release.

Pierce the Veil is wrapping up the first leg of their world tour with three sold-out nights at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, an incredible and impressive feat that speaks to the band’s longevity and resurgence. The I Can’t Hear You world tour continues through the rest of the year, with a European leg, a second North American run, and Latin American dates closing out the year.

For the latest tour updates, check out their page at ptvmerch.com/pages/tour.