On the “White Noise Anniversary Tour,” PVRIS treats a decade-old album like something still alive and evolving. The band has decided to play the album from start to finish, delving completely into the particular dynamic that made White Noise so unique during its time of release. Listening through the album, it was made very clear that it is still very much an integrated work, instead of being a series of singles bundled together. The addition of “You and I” from the special edition release served as a poignant link between the eras, while also providing something more for hardcore fans.
From a visual standpoint, this stage design diverged from what is generally expected in a high-energy rock concert experience. Rather than focusing on strobe lights, they chose to use stinging flashes and mostly white and black colors. The effect was not only striking but also thematic in nature, given that they chose to use a white and black cover for their album White Noise. The effect was to bring attention to the musical tension and release and to focus on the show itself.
To start the night off, Dua Saleh put on a show that was the complete opposite of how intense PVRIS performed. Saleh spent the performance seated on a chair for the majority of the show. The lack of physical performance helped shift the focus away from the performance itself, and onto the voice that was taking center stage, because nothing else was happening in the performance that required attention; the quality of Saleh’s singing was able to speak for itself.
The two sets functioned well in conjunction with one another: the contained, voice-forward opening eased the audience into the night, and the fully produced album set offered a contemplative look back that still felt immediate and resonant. This is no simple commemoration of an album anniversary, but rather a recognition that well-considered presentation, with consideration for both the audio and visual elements, can enhance the power of the music well beyond the initial decade.
Leave a Reply