A Parent's Perspective "PIERCE THE VEIL & THE USED” Show Review
It's hard to believe that THE USED and PIERCE THE VEIL have both been bands for two decades now, with PTV forming in 2006 while THE USED being around a bit longer forming in the year 2000. Both bands are pretty much household names for the emo and pop-punk scene with The Used being known for tracks like A Box of Sharp Objects and The Taste of Ink, both off of their first self-titled album, and Pierce The Veil dropping singles like Bulls in the Bronx, and King For A Day, the latter of the two tracks gaining TikTok viral notoriety as of late.
The two bands decided to come together on the CREATIVE CONTROL TOUR which has Brits DON BROCO on the bill as well as DEATHBYROMY and GIRLFRIENDS hitting up select dates which are hitting all major cities including Tampa FL, Baltimore MD, Dallas TX, and wrapping up in Pheonix AZ at the beginning of July. I managed to catch the tour in my hometown of Pittsburgh PA just a few short days ago, and here's how it went.
JUNE 16th, 2023 PITTSBURGH, PA: PIERCE THE VEIL, THE USED as well as DON BROCO and GIRLFRIENDS rolled into the UPMC Event Center in Coraopolis PA, just outside of Pittsburgh PA. The line was already around the corner and down the block by the time I showed up to what was advertised on social media as a SOLD-OUT event. This was the first time that I'd ever been to the venue and what can only be described as a "mini-stadium" with seating as well as a huge pit area.
GIRLFRIENDS took the stage first, the 3 piece band ripped through a half hour set including Up All Night, Eyes Wide Shut and Jessica with a shoutout to all of the "Jessica's" in the crowd from their 2020 self-titled album. Sadly their track "Over My Head" that featured Bert from The Used was absent from the set, and would've been awesome to see Bert guest on it live, however I'm now a fan of one of their newest tracks "Plastic" from their Over My Dead Body EP. I find myself falling for the opening band at every show I go to, and this one is no exception, girlfriends is amazing live.
During intermission fans were greeted to early 2000's pop-punk songs over the loud speaker while they made their way to merch booths, restrooms and consession stands.
Pop-punk quartet from across the pond, DON BROCO was up next. Opening up with Pretty from their 2018 full length record "Technology" followed by track Everybody from the same record. The band took time to thank The Used and Pierce the Veil for putting them on the tour before launching into "Come Out To LA" and Gumshield.
The band was stoked to be playing in a basketball stadium, so lead singer Rob Damiani threw a basketball into the crowd and passed it back and forth with fans, head butting it and kicking it for a while before closing out the set with track Bruce Willis and T-Shirt Song.
During intermission, more pop-punk bangers played over the PA system accompanied by 90s classic hits while a huge curtain was erected on stage that read "Up Next THE USED".
The lights dimmed and the band took their place, The Used was indeed next. The band opened up with fan favorite TAKE IT AWAY from 2004's In Love and Death, followed by The Bird and the Worm from 2007's Lies for the Liars.
A fairly new track entitled Fuck You was up next. Lead singer/frontman Bert McCracken told fans that the song was easy to sing along to, all they had to say was "Fuck You" before asking a 4,000 plus capacity crowd to stick their middle fingers up then launching into the song.
The Used thanked fans and their "coworkers" Pierce The Veil then jumped into The Taste of Ink, one of their first singles from their debut self-titled album then playing Buried Myself Alive from the same album. After asking fans if they listened to their latest record Toxic Positivity, The Used played track Giving Up from the new record which is also the band's LATEST SINGLE.
One of The Used's stand alone singles People Are Vomit got a huge crowd reaction followed by A Box of Sharp Objects which for an even bigger and crazier crowd pop especially with lead singer Rob Damiani of Don Broco joining The Used, providing all of the screaming on the song which dove into an impromptu cover of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirt before finishing off Box of Sharp Objects. The Used closed the night out with Pretty Handsome Awkward before exiting the stage to the tune of Alphaville's Forever Young.
During the final intermission fans packed the 4000 plus capacity venue making sure not to miss the final act of the evening. Like their co-headlining counterpart, Pierce The Veil dawned a giant white curtin which covered the entire front of the stage. The band took place as Vicente Fernández's "El Rey" blasted over the PA system until a thunderous blast was heard as the giant white curtain dropped to Pierce The Veil's first track of the night "Death of an Executioner" from the band's newest 2023 album The Jaws of Life.
Bulls in the Bronx was immediately next to a huge crowd pop, a fan favorite from the band's 2012 album Collide with the Sky. Pierce the Veil ripped through two more tracks from their latest record, Pass the Nirvana and Emergency Contact back to back before playing some fan favorites including The Boy Who Could Fly, Southern Constellations and Caraphernelia from 2010's Selfish Machines as well as Circles from 2016's Misadventures record before closing out with fan favorite and recent TikTok viral song King For A Day which originally featured Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens but in this case Pierce The Veil's lead singer/guitarist Vic Fuentes sang both parts.
As confetti fell from the sky and filled the arena, Pierce The Veil exited the stage to a sold out Pittsburgh crowd. Young and old faces exited the arena, some discovering these bands on TikTok, others being long-time die hard fans, all there for one reason, to share an amazing memory together.
PIERCE THE VEIL and THE USED are now on tour now with DON BROCO and GIRLFRIENDS!
- You can check out tour dates, photo gallery, and more below!
You can check out more info in the links below:
PIERCE THE VEIL
THE USED
DON BROCO
GIRLFRIENDS
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