It’s been a minute since I went to a concert alone (not counting the kpop concerts we go to where we sit floors apart) but when I saw that PVRIS was bringing their 10th anniversary White Noise tour to Pittsburgh I didn’t even bother asking Henry if he wanted to go because I knew he’d say no. So I signed up for the presale and bought one ticket just for me – cheap and easy!

The White Noise album technically came out 11 years ago and it was on constant rotation in our house for a long time back then! From the moment I saw the video for St Patrick, I was subbed.

I’ve seen them a whole bunch of times since then – mostly at Warped Tour and as the opener for other bands – but coincidentally every time I have seen them headline, I’ve been alone (this was the third time!).

Henry dropped me off at the Roxian 30 minutes before doors and I was kind of shocked at how short the line was. Granted, it was a cold night but that usually doesn’t stop die hards. The Roxian opened sometime after I had become totally immersed in Kpop so I actually had never been here before this night since I wasn’t going to non-Kpop concerts for a big chunk of there.

While I was standing there, I saw a man get out of a parked car down the street and start walking over to the line. I squinted and was like, “OMG HENRY CAME BACK! HE BOUGHT A TICKET AND CAME BACK FOR ME!” because the man was of Henry’s age, same glasses, same beard…but the closer he came the more groomed he was and also his beard was more solid white and manscaped well. So, not Henry. But that man was definitely attending the concert though because at one point during the night I turned around and saw him standing up in the balcony.

Anyway! Doors opened right at 7PM. As my purse was getting casually inspected (have fun sifting through my collection of YOU NEVER KNOW tampons, Male Security, one of the lady staff standing nearby said she liked my purse.

“And your shoes, too!” she added and I did my signature cringey Shirley Temple hand-under-chin smile thing that I do which totally sends Chooch. Good thing he wasn’t there but I was sure to text him about it.

(My purse and shoes were both Vans! 99.9% of my shoe collection is Vans. I stay consistent. The only non-Vans I have ever coveted are the G-Dragon Para-noise Nikes which have been unattainable for me over these last 6 years.)

Once I got inside, I made a beeline for the barricade. It’s my go-to when I’m at shows alone. Usually far-right barricade. It seemed like the people at the barricade to my left were also there alone, and we all just kind of leaned against it, mindlessly scrolling through our phones, until the opener – Dua Saleh – came on. That was fine with me because small talk is exhausting to me, especially after a full day of work that also included therapy. I was happy to stand there alone in silence until the show started.

I went in blind to Dua Saleh and was blown away. First of all, they came out on crutches, foot in a boot, and still managed to work the stage.

I was blown away – I think all of us there who didn’t have prior exposure to them left that night as a fan. Their singing was soulful and mystical, honestly hypnotic to the point where I began to forget where I was.

Afterward, we were entertained by watching the stage crew go through the tedious process of attaching furniture to the stage lighting trusses (I made Henry look up the technical name for me because I was just calling the “stage light things” lol). Meanwhile, not one but two Fergie songs played which had me dying because we were talking about the meme of her singing horribly on GMA (I think?) and doing back flips across the stage. I honestly can’t remember the last time I actually heard a Fergie song out in the wild, but they had an early 00s playlist pumping so it made sense but still!

The final result!

Oh, before I get into the rest, I want to give a shout out to the security at the front of the stage – there were three of them and they were so chill. I had fun watching them fuck around with each other in between sets and taking selfies to send to their security friends in the balcony. My first impression of the Roxian was really solid!

And finally….PVRIS. I knew I was going to cry but I didn’t expect to cry AS SOON as they came out on stage. (OK that’s a lie, lol.) But damn, it’s been too long since I last saw them live and that’s totally on me. (I think the last time was actually when I saw them in Royal Oak, Michigan?? That may have been in 2018.)

They tore through the entire White Noise album – no breaks, no banter in between songs. That did feel kind of sterile but also added a layer of mystery and seriousness, if you know what I mean. Like, this is such a special album and a special night honoring it, so it made sense that all the banter was saved up until the special set proceeding White Noise because it kept us all in the zone.

But Lynn is such a light-hearted banterer so it was definitely refreshing to hear her speaking voice after White Noise was finished. It brought us back down to earth, in a way, anchored us after that wildly emotional ride!

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You and I is one of my favorites and I screamed my throat raw during this one (not my video!!):

I don’t really know what else to say other than it was a great crowd, a great show, and an overall great night even though I was alone! I feel like the last two times I went to one of their headlining shows, the crowd was annoying, but the crowd was so cool and considerate at this show. When the person who was originally next to me gave up their spot to the young girl behind us who was SUPER STOKED TO BE THERE, she turned to me at one point and asked, “You can still see, right??” Her flailing arm was blocking my view a lot of the time but I just smiled and told her she was fine because go off, queen! She was living her best night and I’m not going to stand there and be a tight-lipped Karen because she has her arm in the air. (If it would have been her phone, that’s a different story!) But she was so cute and I was jumping and flailing about too so who cares. Just a really great crowd.

My voice was cooked after that though because I just screamed my face off most of the night (most of my video clips are just my big mouth lol). I felt so GOOD after that and was blabbering my head off to Henry on the way home.

PVRIS 4EVER.

SETLIST

1. SMOKE
2. ST PATRICK
3. MY HOUSE
4. HOLY
5. WHITE NOISE
6. FIRE
7. EYELIDS*
8. MIRRORS
9. GHOSTS
10. LET THEM IN
11. YOU & I
12. BURN THE WITCH
13. SNAKES
14. GOOD ENEMY
15. ANIMAL
16. DEAD WEIGHT
17. LOVE IS A….
18. I DON’T WANNA DO THIS ANYMORE**
19. HALLUCINATIONS
20. GODDESS

*Ugh, Christina and I liked this song together
**What I say approx. 87x an hour during my typical work day

UGH, I love PVRIS so much.

I am obligated to end this with a picture of Chooch and Lynn Gunn from Warped Tour 2015! The line was actually cut off for their meet and greet and were like “:(” but then Lynn saw Chooch in his Emarosa tank and she called out to us, “I designed that shirt!” (she’s also an artist!) and then waved us over to their merch table and took a picture with Chooch. She was so gracious and sweet and it’s something that stands out in my mind every time I think of PVRIS. <3

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