Images: Pierce the Veil, I the Mighty, Movements June 5, 2016 at the House of Blues

Pierce the Veil drew one seriously large crowd last Sunday night at House of Blues inside the Mandalay Bay for the first night of their Misadventures tour. With a line that stretched throughout the casino before doors opened, fans of all ages flocked to the casino to catch the southern California rockers play their new album in it’s entirety, which made this the live debut for many of those tracks.

It’s been a few years since the last time the guys played in Las Vegas, when they were in town on support for A Day To Remember, and this performance brought so much more energy compared to that show. Though not as elaborate of a display as that last Vegas show, the monstrous House of Blues stage was set up to imitate the album’s artwork and fitted with two large confetti cannons on each side of the stage. As soon as the lights went down and the stage darkened, the young fans that filled the venue came alive and only increased the volume as the band emerged on stage, opening with the first song from Misadventures, “Dive In.” A minute and half into the song both confetti cannons went off, showering the crowd in pieces of red and white paper. Frontman Vic Fuentes’ unique vocal style is one hard to replicate but the crowd had no problem keeping up and singing along to every single word belted out. The band continued on with the fast paced and heavier track “Texas Is Forever” which kept everyone on the lower level on their toes. I was half surprised that there wasn’t more crowd surfers, especially during this song.

By the third song a few fans made it up above the crowd to surf their way to the front for security to catch them. Bass player Jamie Preciado was full of energy just like I remember from their previous Vegas performance, while guitarist Tony Perry played with a more serious headbanger demeanor. Mid set brought a few of the ballads from Misadventures such as “Circles,” and Vic’s acoustic rendition of “Today I Saw the Whole World.” As we neared to the end of the set, Vic made a point to talk about having his and brother/drummer Mike’s family in attendance for the night. The group started to wrap up the night with the last few songs off the record “Bedless,” “Sambuka,” and “Song for Isabelle.”

With this being the first night of tour and considering that only new songs had been played up to this point, I was hoping for an extended encore that would include three to four older songs but sadly there would end up only being one encore song. When the guys came back out to many cheers, chaos began as the opening riff of “King for a Day” started. During the last hook is when we got to experience the confetti cannons going off one last time to cap off the entire night with an exclamation point. With a big grin on their faces, the guys took front and center stage, arms wrapped around each other, and just took it all in. What a great way to start the beginning of their tour.

I the Mighty were direct support for the night and just like their performance a few months ago with Coheed, they sounded great. We got to hear a few more songs this time around such as “Playing Catch with .22,” “Slow Dancing Forever,” “A Spoonful of Shallow Makes Your Head an Empty Space” and “Cutting Room Floor.” I’m still waiting to hear my favorite “Frame II: Keep Breathing” but maybe next time around in Vegas they’ll get a headliner set where they can squeeze it into the setlist. Fingers crossed. The rest of the set included songs from their latest record Connector and 2013’s Satori. For many in attendance this was probably their first taste of I the Mighty and hopefully they were left with a good lasting impression.

Opening the night was moody post-hardcore California rockers Movements who have been steadily picking up momentum since their formation last year. Though they did not show as much outward energy in their stage presence as compared to the other bands on the bill, these guys let their lyrics and instrumentals carry them. They were also a much different genre of music compared to Pierce the Veil and I the Mighty which made them an interesting choice for opening support. None the less, the guys sounded great right from the get go. The set consisted of songs from their debut EP Outgrown Things released by Fearless Records this March. It was also cool to see vocalist Patrick Miranda repping Las Vegas locals, Alaska, by wearing a piece of their merch for the set. Much love towards these bands that support friends of the local scene. Even though it seemed like a super short set, I was thoroughly impressed by Movements and would like to see them come through Vegas again soon and on a tour with other bands more similar in style as them. But to get on a tour of this magnitude with a band like Pierce the Veil means they’re doing something right and I hope success finds them well.

-Tylor Thuirer | https://www.instagram.com/thuirer/