PIERCE THE VEIL // A Wintery Shade of Veil

Pierce the Veil with Silverstein, Beartooth & Storm the Sky, Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane 16/08/16

The rigours of a Queensland winter have come and gone. In an instant the beanie-clad masses have ventured out to the suburbs to seek sanctuary and communion.

Before Storm the Sky have played a single note, the mezzanine barrier at the Eatons Hill Hotel is teeming with screamo tragics. Here to witness a bill that feels something like a genre retrospective – because unless you’re Fugazi or Naked Raygun, post-hardcore is screamo.

Storm The Sky // Photo: Matt Warrell

Melbourne outfit Storm the Sky, still buzzing from the release of their latest long-player Sin Will Find You, do an excellent job exploring where the genre is heading. In their set, nuanced and textured songs evidence a lot more than just the sing/scream dichotomy that initially made people pay attention to this particular offshoot of punk.

Beartooth // Photo: Matt Warrell

Beartooth transport the audience back to the early teens, where screamo became a dirty word and bands had two choices; go soft or get heavy. Staunchly in the latter camp, the Canadian bruisers hit the chugs like they’re at Oktoberfest. The floorpunchers are right there with them, and the plush Eatons Hill Hotel carpet is simply a dream on the knuckles. You probably can’t go around releasing a record called Aggressive and putting on a placid live show, but Beartooth are really going for the throat tonight. Some of the cuts even manage to dislodge a beanie or two.

Vic Fuentes has the crowd in the palm of his hand, with every explosion of confetti and blast of smoke they scream with delight.

Though they easily have the cache to headline – they’ve got cache up the yinyang baby – elder statesmen of screamo Silverstein are playing the main support slot tonight. And the crowd, even the younger charges, quickly understand the original recipe is pretty tasty.

Silverstein // Photo: Matt Warrell

Silverstein put the melodies front and centre, and tonight Shane Told’s vocals soar over the mix. A deft balance of intensity and catchiness, Silverstein still sound fresh despite their vintage.

Pierce The Veil // Photo: Matt Warrell

Forming at the tail end of the first wave of screamo, Pierce the Veil‘s headlining spot is testament to the band’s intuition. Coming to prominence as the genre found itself in a state of flux, every new Pierce the Veil record displayed the band’s ability embrace trends, without ever resorting to mimicry. That’s probably why the 28-year-olds are as excited as the 18-year-olds when Vic Fuentes emerges from the wings with his strat and takes centre stage.

PTV // Photo: Matt Warrell

It seems like the battle is already won for the band, no matter what era they draw material from, the crowd is right there with them. Bangers like Caraphernelia get a fuck-off big cheer as do the anthemic cuts from the recently released Misadventures album. Vic Fuentes has the crowd in the palm of his hand, with every explosion of confetti and blast of smoke they scream with delight. And as the band croons and slams their way through their performance, the crowd comes to understand screamo, for all its detractors, will never disappear completely as long as there are bands like Pierce the Veil taking it to new and interesting places.