Concert buddies - Hannah W.
Let me preface this by mentioning this was NOT my first time in a pit. I know the rules of the pit. I know what to expect. BUT, I also know what should be provided to pit-goers and what venues should provide and look out for.
The Belasco in downtown Los Angeles did not seem to get that memo.
Having planned this for about two months in advance, May 25 was finally the night for my friends and I to attend the Black Veil Brides’ ‘BLEEDERS’ tour. We drove three hours, stayed in a hotel, and got there an hour and a half before the doors were supposed to open at 6 p.m.
They didn’t open them until 6:45 p.m.
The show started at 7 p.m.
“Back in Texas, I would show up right before it opened and they’d let me right in,” Brandon McCan, a friend of ours, muttered in the scorching heat while in line— to which I responded, “Welcome to LA.”
That gave us 15 minutes to use the bathroom two floors below and grab overpriced chicken tenders and a drink since the amount of time in line sobered us up… allegedly. (Note: we’re ages 23-27).
Once we finally got up to the pit, it was halfway filled up and already heated.
There was no flowing air in this joint. It seemed like they overflowed the venue as well.
For a general admission show that holds 1500 people dressed in all black, this was the most cramped GA show I’ve been to. I can handle quite a lot. I survived the Metallica snake pit by myself.
I’ve seen Black Veil Brides once before at the Trinity of Terror show in December of 2022 at the YouTube Theater in LA. There were three headliners and one opener, and it was more organized than this performance with three openers and ONE headliner.
OPENER RATINGS:
Ghost Kid: 10/10. They had the longest performance out of all the openers. One of the members, their bassist, I believe, was covered in this extreme body paint and a hood. He looked like the grim reaper! He jumped into the crowd, guitar and all, and moshed the hell out of that pit.
“I like taking pictures of pretty men. Sue me.” - Hannah W.
Top 3 songs:
Supernova by Ghost Kid
Unhinged vocal workings. It’s a mystery how he made his voice that low in a scream.
You & I by Ghost Kid
This was all screaming. I definitely wouldn’t listen to it with headphones, but it made for an amazing performance.
Start a Fight by Ghost Kid
Amazing mosh pit song given the title. Emo Nickelback. Listen to it and you’ll know exactly what I mean.
Dark Divine: 6/10. They had really great energy, but the amount of screaming either didn’t make it into the mic and was all bass or vice-versa. They had an amazing set and their look was my favorite, but they weren’t my favorite overall.
My friend Ariana O. begged to differ. “My favorite line-up (besides BVB) was Dark Divine. Their music felt like a warm hug and their screams felt visceral,” she said.
Photo by Hannah W.
Top 3 songs:
Halloween Town by Dark Divine
More screamo compared to the others, but the chorus made up for it all. “Welcome to Halloween town!” As a spooky girlie, this was a top song for me.
Your Ghost by Dark Divine
I also disassociate. This one has some techno to it, and mixed with the screamo it made for good headbanging.
The Fear by Dark Divine
Slow upbringing to the chorus, but more of an emo spiritual feel in person. Felt like I was brought to emo church hosted by Gerard Way.
Creeper: 9/10 THEY were my favorite openers. I even bought a $40 shirt (picture below). Their style was amazing and had an immaculate vibe. The lead singer, Will Gould, had a deep voice that reminded me of Andy Biersack himself so it was a good opening match and props to whoever put the openers in that order. Their music still had that emo flare, but I think I might be biased because their set seemed to have the least amount of problems so I actually heard what they were saying. It made me hopeful that Black Veil Brides wouldn’t have any problems.
Photo by Hannah W.
Top 3 songs:
Cry to Heaven by Creeper
No joke, this has been on repeat in my drives for the past week or so. It’s so dark but heavenly organized. I had never heard of them before but playing this song made me add it to my Spotify and binge their whole discography.
Teenage Sacrifice by Creeper
If you like this song, listen to Ghost. They are a satanic band from Sweden and this is giving me those exact vibes and beats.
Sacred Blasphemy by Creeper
Gould’s voice with the unholy lyrics makes a perfect match. Very satanic dad rock vibes.
I was incorrect to be hopeful about their set.
It seemed everyone had one thing or another wrong with their set. Black Veil Brides was no different, which was disappointing.
We were all done with the night at this point. Again, three openers was a bit much, but it would all be worth it when Black Veil Brides came out.
When the band finally appeared on stage, it was amazing.
Except for the fact that we could not hear shit.
Photo by Hannah W.
The bass was amplified to the point where my ears were ringing and even momentary loss of hearing occurred, only coming back when I returned to my hotel at 1 a.m. However, I will say we were third “row” back, but not as close to the speakers as those in the barricade. I can’t imagine what they went through hearing-wise.
Note: Andy Biersack has such a unique voice which was one of the reasons I got into this band, as I was introduced to Rebel Love Song in middle school (around 2012). So, not being able to hear his voice was highly disappointing.
Black Veil Brides did slightly make up for it with their set dressing. For their BLEEDERS tour, it was all Sweeney Todd-themed, and everyone got into it. At one point, a member came out in a top hat and played the organ. It was very horror-dark academia-themed. Very on brand for them.
Almost all of their classic hits were played including ‘In The End’ and ‘The Legacy.’ They also mixed in a few from their new album, including ‘Bleeders.’
“Bleeders was amazing! I am disappointed they didn’t play ‘We Stitch These Wounds.’ It's such a bop and that was a missed opportunity,” Kennedy mentioned post-show.
Top 3 Black Veil Brides songs:
Fallen Angels by Black Veil Brides
really gets the crowd jumping even though they put it at the end of their setlist
Wake Up by Black Veil Brides
Again a really ‘get up and moving’ beat. Even though we couldn’t hear the lyrics it was a great bass to bounce to with how little room we had.
In The End by Black Veil Brides
GREAT SONG TO END ON. It ended on a high note. Great ‘goodbye and get out’ song. Main character moment post-concert. It was difficult to time the drop of the song because we couldn’t hear the lyrics. I feel that only someone with music experience can time it correctly without voices.
BVB even brought out Will Gould, the lead singer of Creeper, as part of a joint performance. Many in the already exhausted audience geeked out.
”The concert was everything I could have asked for. I had fun, and my voice and body are going to need a while to recover from all that screaming and head-banging. I felt like me again being there,” mentioned Ariana the next day.
Ariana O. Getting invested into the show. - Hannah W.
”My favorite part was I thought that 90% of the performers on stage were diabolically attractive,” Sara Prusinskas said when asked what she thought of the concert. (Author's note: …My best friend everyone.)
Everything seemed to be alright seeing the stage, but being inside the pit was a different story.
It will never cease to amaze me how the few who WANT to misbehave in the pit think they’ll make progress anywhere by full-force shoving themselves, even elbow first at times, into someone’s back.
There was NO room as it is. I myself barely had room to get my phone out of my pocket and take pictures. But that did not stop this duo behind us trying to move in front or at this point through my friend Sara by elbowing her as hard as they could. It made the girls in front of us upset that they were being pushed, and I had to impossibly explain because no one could hear what was going on. It makes for a hostile pit experience and I do not understand why people do it.
What did not help, matters of elbows aside, was the lack of air in this venue. Being practically on top of each other already, usually you can feel the air flow above, but there was none. People behind and in front of us were screaming for water, but they only seemed to hear the left side of the venue. So, when those tiny water bottles finally made it our way, we were breathing heavily and water-falling the tiniest drops between strangers.
For a place that charges $22 for four burnt chicken tenders, you’d think free water would be less withheld from your attendees.
Sara, however, disagreed. “The drinks were pretty good and the bartenders were friendlier than I was expecting for downtown LA. Double props for serving food because 1. I feel like I don’t see that often at venues and 2. We wouldn’t have made it through the night otherwise.”
Fair enough.
We ended up removing ourselves from the pit with about three songs on the setlist left and retreated towards the back. With the lack of water, movement, and patience of certain attendees it was a good thing the venue poured heavy, so it was a good debrief and post-concert therapy.
That pit was a sensory nightmare.
Photo by Hannah W.
So, two panic attacks, some fresh air, and a vendor street hot dog or two later, our outlooks somewhat changed overall.
Ariana reflected on the other attendees’ behavior afterward saying, “The only issue I had with the event was some of the attendees’ behaviors as far as keeping their hands to themselves. Mostly everyone was respectful of the other’s space, as much as you can in a pit, but this group seemed to want to be closer to the bands at the cost of other’s experiences.”
She compared it to other concert experiences she had attended. “It’s a concert. I don’t expect people to not want to be close to the bands, however, I often find that metalheads are happy to grant people their space and keep their hands in areas that won’t cause others to feel uncomfortable or unsafe.”
We did, however, spend $60-$80 on merch. I was really impressed by Creeper’s performance and decided to get a shirt and become a new fan. I also bought a Black Veil Brides ‘BLEEDERS’ poster.
It was still an unforgettable experience. The openers were all amazing picks, fit the theme well, and gave me more songs to add to my playlist. Black Veil Brides still LOOKED amazing and despite the pit setbacks it was fun to see everyone in their element. The venue itself was a perfect fit with their anti-Christ confessional vibe as well.
“Overall the concert was good, but not great either. There were way too many openers. Four hours of openers is a lot in such a heated place, but for the price of $50, I can’t really complain too much,” my friend Kennedy who accompanied us explained. “You get what you pay for with GA.”
The night of production flaws and awful concert etiquette is what tweaked our night a little.
Do they need to fix some things? Yes. Am I upset I didn’t get to hear Andy Biersack’s wonderful voice at its greatest sound potential? Of course! Is this a memory I made with my friends to which we drove four hours total to see? Absolutely!
Besides, as my friend Kennedy mentioned on the early morning drive home: “You get what you pay for in GA.”
The outfits were a slay. -Hannah W.
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