After a few headline and support show in Belgium, it was about time that PVRIS would come to Brussels for their first headline show in the capital of Europe. Their last time in Brussels was with Fall Out Boy as an opening act last October in Forest National. This time, they came up with a bunch of new songs in addition to promote their last album: EVERGREEN, which was released in 2023.
To open this night in Ancienne Belgique, PVRIS invited Scene Queen. She described herself as: “plastic, fantastic, and musically dramatic. This is a catalog of her mental illness”. She created the term “Bimbocore” as a subgenre of Metalcore with elements of Alternative Rock and Pop as well as hyperfeminine aesthetics. We were really curious to see what kind of playground this artist would deliver live for a first concert in Belgium and a first tour across the continent. Sadly for her, there weren’t that many people in the venue for her yet.
But for a first time in Belgium, it was better than expected! She was fully energetic, jumping around the stage with no proof of a hangover that could have happened after having celebrated her birthday the day before the show. She delivered a set full of cliché during 30 minutes but in a positive manner with hits like: ‘Barbie & Ken’ and ‘Pink Rover’. At the end of the show she announced with pride her first headlining gig in Brussels in June. We will surely be there to see what’s next for the little doll.
After witnessing a girly show it was time to see the contrary: a more introspective and intimate performance from PVRIS. We often say that the opposites attract and it was definitely the case tonight (especially during the set when Hannah Rose Collins (singer of Scene Queen) was invited as a guest to sing with PVRIS on stage).
Thankfully for them, the concert hall was more crowded than it was in the beginning of the evening even if the AB was not in its biggest disposition. The concert opened up with their most recent bangers and the band was happy to be there. We have seen real emotion from them across the show. Sometimes, we felt that the frontwoman, Lynn Gunn, was not at ease between songs but when she had to sing, she was a real presence on stage. It’s a little bit like if the band had let the ‘ANIMAL’ get out of her cage during songs and then she came back in between the songs with moments of shyness.
The band was in top form and delivered a beautiful light show. The setlist was a carefully mix of their two most successful records: White Noise and EVERGREEN and we know why having seen the responses from the crowd on the singles of these albums. The fans were clapping and singing along all the lyrics during nearly 90 minutes. The only issue we could have with the show is that a lot of songs were not played entirely.
Lynn Gunn sang the song ‘I DON’T WANNA DO THIS ANYMORE’ tonight. Well, we hope she will continue to do so with the same passion that she had because she clearly wants to do this over and over again. After delivering their best performance to date in our country, with a great and intimate show, we can say that tonight Brussels was not the capital of Europe anymore. It was Pvris who put their house, our house, on fire!
Setlist : I DON’T WANNA DO THIS ANYMORE / ANIMAL / Dead Weight / Fire / HYPE ZOMBIES / Smoke / LOVE IS A… / Oil & Water / Use Me / You and I / SENTI‐MENTAL / Monster / GOOD ENEMY / Burn The Witch / What’s Wrong / ANYWHERE BUT HERE / Mirrors / Hallucinations / EVERGREEN / TAKE MY NIRVANA / Death of Me / St. Patrick / My House / GODDESS