We’ve been lucky enough in our lives to tour in venues all over the world. We’ve been playing music since we were kids and started touring Australia in 2011 whilst still at Uni. We were living in the back of our car and surfing our way up the east coast of Australia.
We first started touring Europe back in 2013, playing tiny shows here and there and busking when we couldn’t find a venue that would have us.
In 2014 we were introduced to Dave Toethuis who became our European manager and we played our first festival in the Netherlands. Since then we’ve toured headline events & festivals throughout Europe, as well as supported Tash Sultana, The Cat Empire, Jeremy Loops and a bunch of others.
Since 2013 we’ve played in over 25 countries, and have had the chance to see backstage of some of the world’s best venues. This is a list of our favourites.
Paradiso, Amsterdam NETH
We played a headline show here back in 2016 and it was our biggest headline show at the time. The Netherlands had been fans ever since we played our first ever European show at Lowlands Festival in 2014.
It’s an old converted cathedral, with beautiful architecture and a spectacular 3 tier auditorium.
It sits in the middle of Amsterdam and backs onto a river which is perfect to sit and chat before the show.
The crowd of about 1400 were absolutely electric and it was the first time we’d ever played our single ‘brother’. Jack ran into the crowd halfway through and we were lucky to catch it all on camera.
They sang along to this brand new song with us and sang a resurgence of the chorus after we finished. It was a glorious night.
Razzmatazz, Barcelona SPA
We first played the Razzmatazz whilst supporting the Cat Empire in 2015. This hall in Barcelona is home to one of the rowdiest crowds we’ve ever played for. We’ve played a couple of times there now and it’s always a highlight of the tour.
The green room and load in isn’t as lux as some of the entries on this list, and there’s limited space backstage, but the electricity in the room has always been evident from the moment we walked onstage. The difficult load in and space backstage definitely won’t make it a favourite for touring crew, but as a performer this is one of the best venues in Europe to throw on a party set.
Having a day to explore Barcelona before or afterwards is also a massive plus.
The Stone Pony, New Jersey USA
The only North American venue on this list and the only outdoor venue as well. The Stone Pony stage we played on in New Jersey (there is also the indoor bar but we played outside) was such a cool venue. It’s known all over the USA as the launching pad for Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi. Down the road one of the best music photographers on the planet, Danny Clinch, has a studio and it was phenomenal getting to explore such an awesome music city. The backstage area isn’t anything to write home about, but the creative vibe of this beach city is something I’ll always look back fondly on and I can’t wait to get back there at some point.
Brixton Academy, Brixton UK
We’ve played a whole bunch of shows in London. Starting with tiny sets at Water Rats in Kings Cross (famous as the site of Bob Dylan’s first UK set), to shows at Sebright Arms in Haggerston, The Garage in Islington, Electric Ballroom in Brixton, and all the way up to Alexandra Palace, but the clear standout for us has always been the Brixton Academy. We’ve played there 4 nights and each show the crowd was electric, the lights and atmosphere were spectacular and for some reason we just played really, really well. The backstage area is massive, so there’s no risk of being too cooped up or crowded and that particular part of London surrounding the venue is one of my favourites to explore whenever we’re in London.
There’s a reason this is such a well renowned venue.
L’Olympia, Paris FRA
In France there is a venue that stands a cut above the rest and for good reason. It has housed everyone from Rolling Stones to Bruce Springsteen to Taylor Swift and everyone in between. The backstage halls of this venue are smothered in photos from every musician I grew up listening to and hundreds of others I didn’t but were just as big. The history in that room is palpable and walking out onstage it’s in the air.
The room itself is one of the most beautiful theatres in all of Europe and both back of house and front of house are just pleasures to explore.
It certainly helped with the Parisian crowds that Jack knows enough conversational French to run the show and every time we’ve played there it’s always been absolutely magnificent.
Forum, Melbourne AUS
Growing up in Melbourne, the Forum has always been that bucket list venue for us.
As buskers on Bourke Street in Melbourne we never thought it was a headline show that we’d never achieve. It feels like we’ve played just about every small and mid sized venue in Melbourne in some capacity or another (of course we haven’t, there are just too many) but the Forum has always been that unattainable venue. The backstage area is super spacious and comfortable and the stage is really big enough for adding massive production.
It was one of our favourite ever shows and we can’t wait to head back there again sometime in the future.
These are some of our favourite venues but there are so many we haven’t mentioned. In the meantime we’ll be returning to The Espy, St Kilda (APR 23) and The Corner Hotel, Richmond (APR 30) amongst other venues Australia wide to release our new album ‘into the great unknown’.
Tickets at our website www.piercebrothers.com
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