For a band to accomplish a ‘world tour’ in this day and age is really something of an achievement, as such travels are usually left to the popstars. But, having dominated their home in the US and Europe, now it was time for Sleeping With Sirens and Pierce The Veil to conquer the British Isles, heading to the capital to bring the co-headline World Tour to a close for two sold out nights at The Forum.
Up first were hardcore (with a little bit of synth and the voice of an angel) band Issues, who brought their almighty self-titled album to the UK fans. Both frontmen, Tyler Carter and Michael Bohn bounce around the stage while the bass bellows deep and the drums thrash behind them. The anthemic ‘Mad at Myself’ and ‘Hooligans’ receive bellowing cheers and chaotic circle pits ensue. Making the most of their half-hour set, they energise the crowd with ease, commanding their bodies into the air and Issues exit looking triumphant.
As soon as Pierce the Veil appear on stage, the screams in the venue are deafening and as they launch into ‘May These Noises Startle You in Your Sleep Tonight’ confetti and smoke cannons explode, a dramatic entrance, but one that sure announced that the next fifty minutes were going to be memorable. Powering through tracks from ‘Selfish Machines’ and the incredible ‘Collide With the Sky’, it’s easy to see why Pierce The Veil have built up such a strong fanbase and reputation, with bassist Jaime Preciado excitedly throwing his bass, and himself, around the stage and Mike Fuentes creating almighty pummelling rhythms on the drums whilst his brother Vic, leads the crowd. And, as if he hadn’t melted enough hearts in the room, he handpicks a female fan from the crowd to sing the opening verse of ‘Bulletproof Love’ directly at her. To no surprise, Pierce The Veil brought their set to a triumphant close on ‘King for a Day’, with Kelin Quinn from Sleeping With Sirens on guest vocals, further proof of the brotherhood between the two bands and why this co-headline tour was a match made in heaven.
Sleeping With Sirens take the top spot for the show though, and as they burst onto stage into the energetic ‘Kick Me’ from latest record ‘Madness’, (which surprisingly they played very little of in the set), it felt like all hell had broken loose. One thing they certainly haven’t held back with for this tour is the extra production, mesmerising light displays were prominent throughout the entire fifty minutes and they took Pierce The Veil’s confetti cannons and raised the bar to 11, adding fire and flashing lights that spelt out the chanting words from many of their colossal choruses, though judging from what we could hear, the crowd already knew every single word.
After kicking the show off in a chaotic fashion, Kelin and the guys take a moment to mellow the pace, letting the acoustic guitars to lead us all through old favourite ‘Roger Rabbit’ and a cover of Goo Goo Dolls’ ‘Iris’. Aside from the cringeworthy beatboxing, the acoustic versions weren’t all that bad. Swiftly picking things back up, Sleeping With Sirens go full throttle into ‘Go Go Go’ and ‘We Like It Loud’ which saw spiralling confetti and spark explosions aplenty grab the attention of everyone. Kelin Quinn works his crowd, the simplest gesture would send them into a screaming frenzy and his uniquely toned voice consistently impressed. Sure, it certainly isn’t to everybody’s taste, but there’s something alluring about a man being able to hit notes like Mariah.
After a nostalgic trip back to their debut record with ‘If I’m James Dean, You’re Audrey Hepburn’ the band return for their final moment and sparks fly (literally) when ‘If You Can’t Hang’ kicks in, which acts as the powerful finale this band so deserve. Our ear drums well and truly blown off, confetti stuck in our hair and our feet still vibrating from the deep throbbing bass lines that have dominated throughout, a salute to each of the bands on the World Tour, for truly killing it on the final leg of what has been a monumental trip.
TAMSYN WILCE
