Despite the gloomy weather and rain showers outside, fans lined the front of the stage at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts Thursday night as PVRIS delivered an eclectic pop rock set through an electrifying performance. Sweat mixed with rainwater as the crowd animatedly danced through PVRIS’ entire set, marking a night to remember.
PVRIS is an American pop-rock band originally from Massachusetts. Having faced some member changes since forming in 2014, the band is now solely fronted by lead singer and guitarist Lyndsey Gunnulfsen, known under the stage name of Lynn Gunn. As the creative lead, she mixes synthetic sounds with heavy distortion, accompanied by her unique vocals. The concert was organized by the Appalachian Popular Programming Society.
Starting the night at 8 p.m., local band Peach Rings opened the show. They played a 30-minute set, largely pulling from their album, “i’ll look out for you,” which released in July. The lead singer, Ramona Barton, passionately sang while playing her sky blue electric guitar, glow-in-the-dark stars decorating every inch of its surface.
Peach Rings began by energizing the crowd with upbeat songs like “heart-shaped moon” and “homestuck runner.” Slowing it down, Barton’s bandmates stepped offstage and left her to perform a solo rendition of the ballad “melcome to woes” as the crowd listened in awe.
“Everyone was so sweet,” Barton said. “That’s just a very personal sweet song so for people to be, like, very sweet about it was really special to me.”
Fresh from their set at Hopscotch Music Festival at the beginning of September, the band — typically accustomed to smaller venues — marked their first time playing on the Schaefer Center stage.
“Everyone in the crowd made us feel very welcome,” Barton said. “We were all kind of really nervous cause we had never played a stage that size. Everyone was so engaging and it was very fun.”
After a brief stage change, the lights went dark and the music quieted. The drummer, introduced as John, walked out onto the stage followed by Gunn, adorned in a camo baseball cap and a bulky leather jacket. They were accompanied by the crowd’s immediate eruption of shouts of excitement.
Only a few people remained sitting, the rest arose in anticipation. Drawing in every listener in the house they opened with “GOOD ENEMY,” an energetic track with punchy, urgent instrumentation.
Gunn owned the stage, the glitter in her black electric guitar shimmered under the colorful lights as she alternated between racing across the stage and passionately gripping the mic-stand as she sang in earnest, pouring emotion into every lyric she cried out.
“I think that music is very healing and community is very healing,” Gunn addressed the crowd. “Let’s make some friends tonight. If you don’t know the people next to you, say hello!”
New friends in the audience jumped with passion as the sounds of distorted guitar opened “Snakes,” their song from the soundtrack of the hit Netflix television show “Arcane.” Streams of colorful lights decorated the audience as they danced and sang to the refrain “you’re a snake, you’re a snake, I can see it in your face.” In the front row, fans pressed themselves up against the stage, dancing their hearts out with electrified intensity.
Between songs, Gunn paused to thank APPS for putting this event together.
“We’re super grateful that you guys are here, it’s really special that your fellow classmates can put this on and that y’all are here.”
Before leaving the stage, Gunn addressed the crowd one final time, saying “I feel so grateful to be here with you guys, thank you so much.” She then ran across the front of the stage, handing out guitar picks and set-lists to the eager hands reaching from the front row.
