Today I saw the whole world. And I mean that.
As a girl who spent her formative teen years blessed with the release of Pierce The Veil’s Collide With The Sky album and Sleeping With Sirens’ Let’s Cheers to This album, it was nothing short of amazing to see these two powerhouses play to a sold out crowd at the MIDFlorida Credit Union Amphitheater in Tampa FL.
From the very beginning of the concert, you could feel the nostalgia in the air. Fans dressed as Kellin Quinn and Vic Fuentes in the “King For A Day” music video, chemical brides walked the aisles, and Mexican flags hung proudly on the barricade. Sold out shows are always a different breed, but I just knew this one would be one for the record books.
Starting off the night was Sleeping With Sirens. Formed in 2009 in Orlando FL, this band has set the foundation for so many Florida bands and have paved the way in the scene for them. I feel every FL show for a FL band just turns into a hometown show and the crowd shows out every single time. Sleeping With Sirens balanced fans new and old with an diverse eleven song setlist, hopping around from their album With Ears To See And Eyes To Hear to their latest release Complete Collapse. The band brought all the energy: besides the drummer, every member jumped off of risers at least 5 times, sending the crowd into a cheering fit each time. Also lead Kellin Quinn simply does not age, the skinny jeans and converse still remain, just as his vocals do: crisp, clean, and iconic. They ended their set with fan favorite, “If You Can’t Hang” and had fans screaming along until the very end.
When Pierce The Veil announced their “I Can’t Hear You” World tour with iconic album insignia from their discography, fans immediately began preparing for their own “Eras Tour”. Fans began their lineup for the show at six a.m. with six p.m. door time. As the final line of “El Ray” played over the speakers, the black sheet covering the stage dropped to reveal the five insignias on fabric flags, signaling the start of an iconic night. Red lights and smoke flooded the stage as members stood between the flags, taking in the roar of the crowd before bursting into action with the kick into their song “Death Of An Executioner”. The crowd roared as the band carried on, “Bulls in the Bronx”’s iconic drum intro sending the fans into frenzy. Pierce The Veil is a band that deserves headlining stages and room to run, their crowd interaction is top tier and ability to command the stage from the rail to the end of the lawn, mind you, for a sold out show, that’s twenty thousand people.
Throughout the setlist, we were treated to the different Eras of Pierce The Veil. Three from The Jaws of Life, Misadventures, and A Flair For The Dramatic. Five from Selfish Machines, and six from Collide With The Sky. It was amazing to see fans in the crowd reactions, the ones who have been hoping to hear that one song live, had their dreams come true that night. One of the coolest moments was during “Hold On Til May”. There was a fan project that had passed out green stickers to cover phone lights, and the whole amphitheater went green, Vic Fuentes noting the moment getting choked up before the song started and calling the crowd beautiful. Then the moment came, “You told me think about it, well I did..” sang Vic acoustic as the crowd carried on the lyrics, the chorus ending and the iconic guitar intro beginning, Kellin rejoining the stage to end this unforgettable night.
Both Sleeping With Sirens and Pierce The Veil, played a formative role in my teen years so to see them 10 years later share a stage once again like it was 2014 was an amazing experience. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for both of these bands!
