Pierce The Veil at Observatory North Park Jun 25; photo Lauren Ratkowski
Pierce The Veil headlined a sold out show to 1,200 people Saturday night in their home town of San Diego playing The Observatory North Park, which made it all the more special.
In 2008, I went to the now defunct Bamboozle Left, the west coast edition of The Bamboozle Festival (R.I.P to both). Before I went, I checked out all the bands I didn’t know on MySpace so I could plan out my festival day. I came across a band named Pierce The Veil on the line up, gave them a listen, and penciled them into my schedule.
I don’t know what I was expecting standing out there on the grassy hills of the Irvine Meadows Amphitheater (almost R.I.P), but 15 year old me was in love. Any band that sounded better live than their recorded music had my heart.
Eight years later, almost 23 year old me found herself standing in line waiting to get her press badge to photograph that little band she fell in love with on that grassy hill. Except, they’re not so little anymore.
I shot Pierce The Veil back in 2014, so I knew they would have great production and lighting wouldn’t be an issue. My goal this time was to capture the sheer energy the band brought every time they played.
Halfway through the first song, I could literally feel the floor beneath me shaking from the crowd going nuts. I found myself dodging security pulling crowd surfers out behind me as I photographed. I got pushed into the stage at one point, but I was too focused to care. Confetti was flying. Air canons were firing. Everyone was screaming lyrics back to the band. It was too much fun.
Pierce The Veil at Observatory North Park Jun 25; photo Lauren Ratkowski
When the first three songs had passed, I left the photo pit with a smile on my face and that feeling I get in my heart when I know I’ve captured something good. I flipped through a few shots on my LCD just to confirm. I try not to judge too harshly as I know things can look totally different once I get home, but I was pleased with what I saw. I then proceeded to find a good spot in the crowd to shoot from. I wanted to capture at least some of the full theater as a conclusion to my set of photos just to emphasize the feeling of the show.
As I left the venue that night, I was still buzzing. Not only because I felt I had a good session, but because I love seeing good bands grow and succeed. And that’s exactly what Pierce The Veil has done!