Pierce The Veil & Sleeping With Sirens World Tour

Thursday 2nd April
Manchester Academy 1

Since the announcement of the world tour, we have had to wait patiently for their sold out UK leg, but honestly, it was completely worth the wait.

Issues kicked the night off with a string of hits which really got everybody going. I wasn't expecting much from them (I had only known one song and it wasn't even guaranteed that they will play it), but although not many people knew more than a couple of songs each, they had no problem laying the foundations for the rest of the gig. Their stage presence really is something to be rivalled from quite an unknown band and their music is better live than it is recorded, I can't wait until they come back to Manchester for round 2.

Thursday saw Pierce the Veil taking to the stage first (the bands alternate night by night), but not without teasing us first. It's not the first time I have seen the white curtain trick used at a gig (Fall Out Boy, March 2014), but the San Diego quartet knew exactly how to get everyone on edge.

Hit after hit, blow after blow, Pierce the Veil delivered what could be the best show I have every seen. Vic Fuentes' beautiful acoustic rendition of  I'm Low On Gas And You Need A Jacket allowed everyone to rest and sing their hearts out for just a few moments, but in those few moments, we really saw how versatile his voice is. It was great to hear such popular songs such as Hell Above, Bulls In The Bronx and even the true version on King For A Day which saw Kellin Quinn joining the band on stage for a very rare experience for the fans.

Sleeping With Sirens played next and used their time to show off their new material. I was disappointed at the lack of old classics; choosing A Trophy Father's Trophy Son over Do It Now Remember It Later is a decision that is still confusing me. However, the guys put on an incredible show, proving that they deserve the screaming fan base that flooded the Academy on Thursday night.

The highlight of their set was when the band took a break for an acoustic session. Rodger Rabbit is one of Sleeping With Sirens' most popular songs and the crowd's singing often overshadowed Mr. Quinn and his microphone. However, during the opening bars of Kellin's cover of Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls, he admitted the crowd may as well sing it alone and told us that Thursday was the best night of his life ("Seriously, go home and YouTube this because I haven't said it on any other date, this night has been the best night of my life, thank you"- Kellin Quinn).

Yes, there were moment when we had no clue what was going on (Kellin breakout out into an acapella version of Sunday Bloody Sunday during the encore was a bit weird) but this world tour is a force to be reckoned with. I truly hope the bands tour together again in the future and I will be the first to buy a ticket.