It isn’t often when I go to a show and I am thoroughly impressed with every act, especially when it comes to local bands. However, I can happily say that the Black Veil Brides show on November 26th exceeded my expectations for all parties involved.
This show was special. With Black Veil Brides as the headliners, there were also Tucson locals bands Pyrotechnica and Echoes as openers and Brace Yourself as direct support. I had heard of Pyrotechnica and Brace Yourself prior, as well as good things about Echoes so I went in with a very open mind and lots of excitement.
Female-led rock band Pyrotechnica kicked off the show at 7:30. For being the opening act, their energy onstage was impressive. It’s very clear that everyone in the band is comfortable with each other and they know how to perform together rather than separate and on the same stage; that automatically makes the performance better.
One of their best songs they performed was Dynamite, their newest single. It was towards the middle of their performance, so the crowd was already into it. The high notes in the chorus are very impressive and blend very well with the guitar melodies. Lead singer Scarlett Chang is especially a great performer because she makes everything she does seem absolutely effortless.
Pyrotechnica set the bar high for the next band, but Echoes kept that energy level alive. Similar to Pyrotechnica, Echoes was very confident with each other and onstage. My favorite songs they performed were Mercy, which is recorded featuring Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens, and Kill Me.
One thing that especially stood out to me was that the lead singer, Danny Perazzone was smiling throughout the entire performance. It always makes me happy when I see joy from bands that are performing. Seeing how happy they are makes it a much more personal experience since you can visualize how passionate they are about what they do.
Next up was punk rock band Brace Yourself. The best part about Brace Yourself being on this show was how they worked to be on the show; they made TikTok videos everyday until Black Veil Brides’ manager noticed and invited them to be direct support for the show. It was very inspiring how they worked for something they really wanted and were rewarded for their persistence.
Brace Yourself did not disappoint, especially since this was their fourth show they have ever played as a group. There was lots of movement onstage, largely from lead singer Xander Mason; he was very expressional as he sang and it made the music feel more expressional as well. They certainly held their own, considering this was the largest show of their career.
They played their own songs, but also covered a couple. The crowd got very into Mantra by Bring Me The Horizon and a mosh pit even formed right next to me. They also played The Killers’ Somebody Told Me and I heard people singing from the floor to the balcony. The band certainly set the tone and built up for Black Veil Brides very nicely.
I saw Andy Black, or Andy Biersack in BVB, live in 2019 so I already had high expectations for this performance. I loved how throughout the performance, the guitarists would come together onstage and play back to back with each other. I also appreciated how it wasn’t the Andy Biersack show.
Often with bands like this where the lead singer is idolized, the rest of the band has no existence on stage. That luckily wasn’t the case; there was a killer drum solo, there was a violin solo from one of the guitarists and he was center stage, and there were guitar solos as well. Biersack made a point to call out his bandmates during the show as well.
Seeing BVB live was a huge early teenage flashback for me, so I really enjoyed hearing songs such as Knives and Pens, Sweet Blasphemy, and In The End. It made me feel like I was reliving my early teen years again in all of the best ways. I also enjoyed hearing their newer singles Scarlet Cross, Torch, and Crimson Skies from The Phantom Tomorrow.
One of my favorite parts, as it usually is at concerts, was the drum solo from Christian Coma or “CC''. I loved his animalistic yet effortless style of playing. He frequently changed his pattern throughout the solo and would shift from fills on the snare to a simple beat with insane double bass drumming, to a crazy beat on the toms. Drum solos are an absolute hit or miss depending on the level of creativity, and this is definitely one of my favorite solos I’ve ever seen live.
Overall this show was a huge victory for local Tucson bands, as they gained lots of new fans afterwards. There was never a dull moment throughout the whole show and every performer played like it was their last.