Photos by Abigail McNatt
Review By Chris “Oberrated” Ober
June 17th, 2023: A night where concerts ruled Pittsburgh. While one mega superstar was performing a stadium tour on Pittsburgh’s North Shore, the natural airwaves of the night were being disrupted by another familiar sound… The musical tunes of post-hardcore rockers, Pierce The Veil on their Creative Control Tour, ready to rip the UPMC Events Center’s roof wide open.
First up in the night, pop-punkers Girlfriends. These guys knew how to start a show! With straight up headliner energy, Girlfriends opened up the night with their punk rock tunes, reminiscent of Blink-182, which moved the crowd and got the blood flowing in everyone, setting up the night for what was sure to be a wild time of emo anthems.
Listen, when I saw the name “Don Broco,” I had no idea what I was in store for. Then came the band and especially lead vocalist, Rob Damiani, who bursted onto the stage with such infectious energy that it was irresistible to start jumping up and down while feeding off the energy coming from the stage. Rob and Don Broco became an instant favorite for the crowd and myself with their unique style practically unlike anything I have seen before. If you thought Don Broco couldn’t keep this pace up for the whole set, you would have been vastly mistaken. Going 150mph on stage, it was safe to say the warm ups were over… What would be coming next would be the tone for the rest of the night and then some.
THEY NEVER WENT ANYWHERE! THEY WERE ALWAYS HERE PUMPING THOSE EMO TUNES INTO YOUR EAR HOLES! The curtain fell, The Used were there standing before the masses, and the crowd went manic. Cranking out the songs the world knows and loves, as well as a handful of their newer and equally addictive ones, it was apparent that the crowd knew what they were getting into and were prepared to give the love right back to The Used as they were receiving it.
The Used’s set was filled with surprise cameos consisting of eternal fans, whom of which professed that The Used’s music saved them, Bert’s belches which brought some nice comedically timed moments, and the return of Rob from Don Broco to perform “A Box Full of Sharp Objects.” Speaking of which, Rob, sir, ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THOSE SCREAMS?! Insanely impressive.
As if the hype could not reach a higher point, it was now time for the headliners, Pierce the Veil. The moment that curtain fell, all hell broke loose as the feverish fans who have waited all night for this exact moment finally came to them. Greeted by the musical waves of “Death of an Executioner,” each time I thought this crowd could not get louder, they indeed did with each passing note.
Between The Used and Pierce the Veil, these gents are legends of the game and Pierce the Veil also went the route of mixing their classic anthems like “Bulls in the Bronx” and “Circles” with some newer releases like “Pass the Nirvana” and “Emergency Contact.” A huge highlight of the night was Vic bringing avid fan Savannah onto the stage, whom of which was holding up a sign that said “You’re the reason I’m still alive.” After getting on stage, Vic and the band cued up “Hold On Till May” to serenade Savannah and stamping the interaction with an exclamation point by giving her one of his guitars. This no doubt created a moment Savannah and many others will not soon forget.
As the night was coming closer to an end, Pierce the Veil unleashed the final two bangers, “Caraphernelia” and the top tier emo anthem “King For A Day.” Remember that thing I said earlier about energy being sky high? Well yeah, it got higher, the crowd went wilder, and the music of a generation turns back the clocks while simultaneously cements itself into the present day culture. Emo music is alive and well.
