(50) Sundays of Music: #6

#6: Pierce the Veil - A Flair for the Dramatic

"Like a rush shot through you..."

Those are the opening words to this release from the San Diego band who are slowly working their way up the ladder of their respective screamo/post-core/whatever identifier you want to call it scene. And years later after its release, I still get a rush when listening to it.

Here is my disclaimer: I realize as we get to the top of this countdown that more people will recognize the ones selected. However, I don't expect many to know this band (even I stumbled upon them by chance). Unless you listen to the Warped Tour scene deeply you may not have heard of them and I personally feel in due time they will be mentioned at the top. But with that said, my goal is to give you a few minutes of entertainment with a story. So here we go.

I was visiting my family one summer in California when my brothers said they wanted to go to a show headlined by a band out of Sacramento called Dance Gavin Dance. I was getting into DGD because they had slid me some music and while I usually do not gravitate toward the screaming/singing type, I did like it.

As we packed into the small club in Stockton, some of the opening acts took the stage. One contained a band with a ton of energy, featuring this skinny lead singer who looked like he would flinch at a fly but when the music started he turned into a beast. His high-pitched (at times whiny) voice was the type where you either loved or hated it, there was no in between. And I was immediately hooked. That opening band was Pierce the Veil.

I got their cd a few days later at the local Hot Topic and listened to it that entire summer. When I got back to Bama, I saw PTV was opening for Emery in Atlanta. I dragged a friend and once again, they stole the show. They did exactly what an opening band was supposed to do - impress you enough where you ask questions and take a chance on the cd.

What I remember about that show was wanting to take a picture with them and they couldn't have been any nicer about it. They were behind their merch table and I was standing in front of it and they said "hey, come around here" and they posed with me. The moment that grainy cell phone pic was snapped, they instantly were thrust into one of my favorite bands.

I would see them two more times at two different Warped Tour stops. Both times they did autograph signings and both times I got to chat with them for a second.

So as much as that may be a nice story about the band, what about the cd landed it at #6 beside memories of shows? Well, that was one reason. The tracks bring me back to those memorable live experiences (such as sliding in covers of pop songs - see below for an example). But the other is that it's a damn good cd.

The tracks are labeled "Act 1" and so forth before the song title. As previously stated, I love when bands put effort into their music like that. A Flair for the Dramatic is one of the few cds where I have pressed play and read the lyrics while the music played for the entire album.

If I ever can figure out how to go about it, the song "Currents Convulsive" contains a line that I would like to get tattooed at some point: "So I'll toast every beat of my heart like a miracle."

The music may not be for everybody, but I wish there were more bands like this. Bands that put effort into the overall package of the music and genuinely care about their fans.

And here is that pic:

Cover of NeYo's Closer before going into one of their songs: