Emo legends Pierce the Veil are touring the world with one mission: to prove they have fans throughout the entire universe. Their Milwaukee stop helped show them right.
Thousands of people of all ages filled the American Family Insurance Amphitheater to catch the post-hardcore band on their 23rd headlining tour on Oct. 17.
Pierce the Veil frontman Vic Fuentes, guitarist Tony Perry and drummer Lionel Robinson came together to perform a curated set representing their whole career.
The show supports songs from all five studio albums: “A Flair for the Dramatic” (2007), “Selfish Machines” (2010), “Collide with the Sky” (2012), “Misadventures” (2016) and “The Jaws of Life” (2023).
With over 60 shows scheduled for 2025 alone, the tour includes supporting acts such as Sleeping with Sirens, Cavetown, Hot Mulligan, Beach Weather and Daisy Grenade. The Milwaukee stop featured Like Roses, Ecca Vandal and HEALTH as openers.
To begin the show, a clip of “El Rey” by Vicente Fernández played as the lights dimmed to commemorate the Mexican heritage of the group. The black curtain was dropped to reveal five banners with a red symbol, representing each era from their 18-year long career.
The opening song was “Death Of An Executioner” from one of their most recent album
releases, “The Jaws Of Life.”
To keep the energy flowing, the show continued with angsty and intense songs such as “Bulls In The Bronx,” “Pass The Nirvana” and “I’m Low On Gas And You Need A Jacket.”
Throughout the show, two big screens on either side of the stage switched between showing close-ups of the members and ecstatic fans in the pit.
For each song, the stage would take on a different aesthetic, such as red flashing lights to a yellow video wall displaying lyrics and tour symbols.
Before the encore, the band performed “Hold On Til May,” a song about talking to someone who is struggling and encouraging them to hold on longer. This was an emotional song for both the band and the audience.
People held up pieces of colorful paper to create a sea of blue, pink and yellow lights. Many others had signs talking about how Pierce The Veil and their music saved their life.
During “Hold On Til May,” the big screens highlighted signs of crowd members and showed their crying faces. The band performed one of their most popular songs, “King For A Day,” to close out the show.
From the video wall to heavy flashing colors and smoke, as well as Vic Fuentes’ enormous flashlight skimming the audience, the visuals and presentation of the show were perfectly curated to match the cultivated setlist.
While hopping from each album to the next, every song was performed with raw energy and kept the entire crowd hyped. There was not a single part of the show where I felt bored.