After nearly a decade away, Pierce the Veil returned to Vancouver for a packed night at the PNE, bringing a career-spanning set and a reminder of just how far the band has come.
Pierce the Veil made their long-awaited return to Vancouver on Saturday night, nearly a decade after their last appearance in the city. As part of the Summer Concert Series at the PNE, the band arrived in the middle of one of the biggest periods of growth in their career.
For me, the return carried a little more weight than simply seeing a band I like come through town. I’ve been listening to Pierce the Veil since 2012, and I was there the last time they played Vancouver, at the Vogue Theatre in February 2017. Standing in front of them again nearly ten years later, the difference was impossible to miss.
This time, there were thousands of people there to see them.
The band came out swinging with “Hell Above”, immediately setting the tone for the night before transitioning into “Bulls in the Bronx.” The opening combination was a clear nod to the longtime fans in the crowd, and the response from the audience was immediate. having been in this crowd many times before, I felt like a younger version of myself only now from where I stood, it was striking to see just how much larger the world around these songs had become. Tracks that I had spent years listening to were now being shouted back by a crowd several times larger than the one I remembered from 2017.
The momentum continued with “Circles” and “I’m Low on Gas and You Need a Jacket,” keeping the set heavily focused on older material. For longtime fans, it made for a particularly nostalgic night, while also showing just how well those songs have held up as the band has grown. That growth has been one of the most exciting things to watch as a fan. I remember being 23 and made fun of for listening to Pierce the Veil. Back then, they felt like a band that belonged to a particular corner of the music world — one that you could be deeply passionate about, even if the people around you didn’t understand the appeal.
Now, I was standing among more than 5,000 people watching that same band command the stage. There was something surreal about it. I didn't climb this mountain, but i've found them on the journey a few times.
Pierce the Veil have spent years building toward this point, and their recent rise into the mainstream spotlight has taken that growth to another level. From smaller rooms to some of the biggest stages of their career, the band has gone from being a favourite among a dedicated scene to becoming a genuine arena-level act.
The show moved with an effortless flow, and before I knew it, the night was heading toward its conclusion.
The final stretch brought out three of the band's biggest songs, with “Caraphernelia,” and “Hold on Till May,” finishing their set. By that point, the thousands of people packed into the PNE were no longer just watching the band — they were singing right alongside them. line for line, note for note.
the decade was worth it, there was always a chance that the reality wouldn’t live up to the version I had imagined over the years.
Instead, the night felt like a full-circle moment. The band I had been listening to since 2012 — the band I once got made fun of for loving — was now standing in front of thousands of people, closing out the night with “King for a Day.”
As the final notes rang out across the PNE, I couldn’t help but think about that smaller Vogue Theatre show from 2017. Nearly ten years later, Pierce the Veil were back in Vancouver.
Only this time, the family was a whole lot bigger.