Kicking off the first show of The Black Mass tour in the US, Black Veil Brides were on top of their game and were ready to deliver. The stage setup was almost identical to the one in the brand new “Heart Of Fire” music video except they had real Marshall amps lined in front of the elevated drum platform. On each side of the stage there was a screen depicting flames and smoke throughout the show. The entire band was dressed in black repping various logos such as Batman and The Misfits.
The set list was a mix of old favorites, songs specifically never played at this venue along with quite a bit of never before heard songs. They rocked out 4 of their new songs from their new album coming out on October 27th titled “Black Veil Brides IV”.
The floor was not as packed as one would expect for an opening show of a tour but seemed to have definitely filled in half way through their set. This was most likely due to Andy smiling and pointing out at select audience members and urging them to come closer with hand motions that probably sent them into excitement overload.
Each band member was wireless and all moved throughout the stage, as well as going up to visit the drummer up top. Jinxx and Jake kept going back to back as if they were guitar dueling during sweeping solos. One could tell Andy was enjoying the wireless microphone as he walked off stage and went into the crowd to get them riled up. He succeeded in his efforts as crowd surfing increased as well as security pulling them over the barrier. At times when fans were being thrusted out of the crowd surf, Andy would bend down and hold or high five their hands before they disappeared behind the gates. Bassist Ashley Purdy also was moving about quite often and making alot of eye contact and interacting with the crowd throughout the entire show.
One of the many things that sets Black Veil Brides apart from other metal bands is that guitarist Jinxx also plays violin during “Shadows Die” and it always grabs attention. Andy requested that the house lights be turned on for him to see how beautiful the crowd was and then sang an acapella sample of their new song “Goodbye Agony” which their devotedly loyal fan base could already sing along to even though it’s not released yet. Andy enabled a chant after saying “Only two letters matter right now and those are CC!” engaging a drum solo while the rest of the band exited the stage. The solo consisted of fills and gradually speeding up until he broke into a dance party of Krewella’s song “Live for the Night” which was really entertaining and completely unexpected.
A few songs later Andy gave a speech talking about how a lot of bands promote loneliness and bragging about negativity and reinforced the fact that Black Veil Brides promote the opposite. They’re about positivity and how having fun trumps everything else and “dwelling on the negatives in life sucks.” This made many fans hearts swell to the seams and there was an immediate increase in energy the rest of the night.
When the band exited, almost instantly there was a chant to have them return for more. To the crowd’s pleasure they came back on. Andy had an attire change and I guess you could say he was “sporting” a Cincinnati Bengals jersey with his name depicted on the back. With much heartfelt emotion, he thanked the audience for spending their hard earned money to come see them. Then the the band finished off the night with the song “In The End” and yet the crowd still continued to crave more.
Setlist:
Heart Of Fire
I Am Bulletproof
Coffin
Faithless
Wretched & Divine
Knives & Pens
Overture
Shadows Die
Goodbye Agony
Last Rites
Rebel Love Song
Drum Solo
The Legacy
Sweet Blasphemy
Perfect Weapon
Fallen Angels
Encore:
Rebel Yell (Billy Idol cover)
In the End
Photos by Gus Griesinger. We would like to thank Kevin Chiaramonte from PFA Media for the credentials to review the show.
