Dayseeker will be out to get the blood pumping ahead of co-headliners Beartooth and Pierce The Veil (PTV), who'll be crushing it to 8,000 fans tonight (29 July).
What's the chances the natural amphitheatre of Brisbane's The Riverstage will be ground zero for a minor earthquake registering in the Brisbane CBD during this shindig? I say, just bring it!Bring it they are. From the second Dayseeker hit the stage I am aware just how many fans they have in the gathering crowd, who are proudly wearing their band tees and loudly welcoming the band who are clad in black suits and ready to conquer us.
Business they mean and they get right down to it opening with a cracker of a song 'Crooked Soul' from their 'Sleeptalk' album. Frontman Rory Rodriguez showcases his powerhouse vocals, weaving a tapestry of contrasting soft and hard screams, melodic crooning, and emphatically belted lyrics.
With bangers including 'Burial Plot', 'Without Me' and 'Crying While You're Dancing' keeping our attention on the stage, Dayseeker keep the rhythms tight quickly winning over the crowd.
Dayseeker - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Rodriguez thanks everyone for being there and tells us how when Dayseeker were just starting out, they would drive 10 or more hours just to play a show to 30-40 people. So, after their closing song 'Neon Grave', he asked for a selfie with one of the biggest crowds they've ever played to. Affirmative roars follow as they get the shot.
Dayseeker leave us to catch our breath. While many punters are engaged in a chinwag while slurping on a coldie, I hear the glorious vocals of ranchero master Vicente Fernandez's version of 'El Ray' over the PA speakers.
The tones of the Mexican icon mean PTV are about to inject audible delights into our ears. As the amphitheatre fills up with even more punters, the anticipation grows and the air is filled with the iconic voice Fernandez, signalling the imminent arrival of PTV.
The stage plunges into darkness, and the crowd erupts with joy as the band burst onto the scene, opening with 'Death Of An Executioner'. The emotions are palpable, with fans shedding tears of joy and chanting loudly, swept up in the euphoria of the music.
When I first heard 'Bulls In The Bronx', I fell in love with the Spanish-Mexican flavour of the guitar that breathes mid-song while there are no words being sung to interrupt its short-lived taste. Tonight, I am devouring the live-flavoured version and it too is delicious!
'Pass The Nirvana' takes us on a nostalgic journey of blended influences from iconic bands while Loniel Robinson's drumming is keeping the energy pulsing through the air with Jaime Preciado a demon on the bass. Preciado is also screaming along with Vic Fuentes. PTV is totes going to town and we're only three songs in!
Pierce The Veil - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Their big hitter 'Emergency Contact' brings more tears and even louder chanting from fans. OMG! Preciado is leaning across to give me a fist pump (from the photo pit)! An unexpected take away memory – one I am saving in my bank of very cool experiences.
PTV back this up with 'Hold On Till May' and a fan gets an even bigger very cool experience. Fuentes brings Arlo or was it Harlow (even Fuentes couldn't decipher the name exactly and he was within earshot!) onstage and sings to them on bended knee.
'Arlo' appears to have tearing eyes and is no doubt the envy of crowd if not in that instant, then the second Fuentes gifts them his guitar. What a score!
Punters are kept in a total state of ecstasy through 'Southern Constellations' and 'The Boy Who Could Fly'. The energy of the band is unwavering and only heightened by canons of streamers and blasting CO2 that is leaving a moody haze.
I see a white sign raised up high towards the back of the moshpit asking for 'Circles' as Fuentes tells us he wants to unite everybody in the crowd by having us raise both hands in the air – we do so, then in obedience start clapping the intro to. . . you guessed it 'Circles'. I bet that fan with the sign is close to combusting with joy! It's a night of dreams coming true, for sure!
Pierce The Veil - image © Clea-marie Thorne
As if that wasn't enough excitement, 'Caraphernelia' sees special guest Caleb Shomo, Beartooth vocalist, joining PTV onstage. What a treat! Together, Shomo and Fuentes spice up an already glorious track for our collective pleasure.
By closing out their set with the smashing banger 'King For A Day', it sends the crowd into an absolute meltdown. Fans are feeling the reverberations of the thick, dense tones bleeding from heavy strums as Fuentes holds his guitar high in the air allowing it to ring out from the darkened stage.
As the beats pick up and vocals kick in, PTV devotees give it their all in the pit and fans from the pit up to the ridge of the amphitheatre are singing along with voices as loud as any fan army I have ever heard – almost over one of the ripping solos played by the magic fingers of Tony Perry tonight.
The band continue to thrash across the stage, swinging guitars around their heads and hoisting them up and down! The song gains a faster and riotous momentum about a third of the way through. The electrifying energy while unseen is felt and kindled the inner emo in us all.
PTV served up a feast of relatable lyrics with tight instrumentation. My bones continue to buzz during the short break. I watch as some punters take reprieve from the pit, many stay holding fast to their prime pit real estate as others are cascading from the grassy knoll to also claim a place in front of the stage.
I sense more excitement rising as eager fans see the shadow of Connor Denis across the Beartooth backdrop as he takes his seat at the drums. I see the outlines of Oshie Bichar (bass), Will Deely (guitar), moving across the stage. Here we go!
'Devastation' starts and when Zach Huston (guitar) kicks in with its unmistakeable riff, the amphitheatre ripples with the release of fits of expectant joy. The pit goes wild and from the first song, security is doing an impressive job at carefully helping those asking to be pulled from the chaos of the pit.
Beartooth - image © Clea-marie Thorne
'The Lines' is our second helping of this band of maestros and they let loose and look right at home cavorting all over the stage in front of thousands of adoring fans who are screaming the lyrics as the band crushes us with their music.
Heads are banging with such a ferocity; the term neck snapping is most definitely a possibility tonight! People continue to safely spill over the barrier in a steady stream.
Shomo is shooting the relatable lyrics of 'Disease' into the microphone with straight intent: "I'm getting older. Still lost as ever. Thinking a smile while I bury the pressure." There's no misinterpretation as we sing the song like it is our own lived experience.
He then instructs us to blow our voices to 'Sunshine' and if we don't know the words, to smile and pretend. Ha! There are many pipes getting a workout. The bass and drums give us heavy rhythms that has us working up a sweat in the open air in the middle of winter.
You can't help but admire the breakdown in this track. Shomo's cleans and screams are simply brilliant and his vocals continue to shine from his soul through 'Bad Listener' and 'You Never Know'. The words to 'Might Love Myself' are known off by heart by many fans, showing how much they love this new tune.
'Hated' is clearly another favourite that has fans in a rabid frenzy. Moshpit revellers show no mercy to less animated fans during anthemic 'Riptide' that is played before 'In Between', which sounds much more ferocious live.
Fans could be forgiven if they thought this was the finale song, as each member of Beartooth are giving their all, just like Olympic sprinters neck to neck a few metres from the finish line!
Much to our elation and chanting, Beartooth save two of the best for last and we're told to have the best f...ing night of our lives and to jump and make the earth shake – I told you there'd be an earthquake.
Beartooth - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Crashing forth are the contagious riffs and melodies of 'The Past Is Dead' and sh.t is getting hectic. So perfectly titled is the twelfth Beartooth banger of their set list – 'The Last Riff'. After witnessing Shomo surfing out into the crowd, then walking through the crowd playing his guitar before surfing all the way back is a certainty that the end of the tour has arrived. There's no topping that.
Beartooth ignited the amphitheatre and our hearts with their blend of hardcore metal, rock and punk sounds. In return we give them the little energy we have left in earsplitting roars of appreciation and satisfaction.
Beartooth and PTV sure brought it to the punters tonight and we devoured it and together we immortalised their final tour show. I aim not to miss another Bearfoot gig – ever!
PTV are sounding better than ever if that was possible and Bearfoot went from being a playlist fave to a playlist must after seeing them live.
The headliners managed to shake The Riverstage grounds with an earthquake of emotions and energy, as they delivered an extraordinary show. Beartooth and Pierce The Veil brought their A-game, leaving us hungry for more.
The promise to return for their future gigs is sealed in the hearts of all who bore witness to the enchanting spell of this night of musical mastery.
More photos from the show.
