On Oct. 21, rock band Pierce The Veil performed their second leg of the “I Can’t Hear You World Tour” at Northwell at Jones Beach Theatre on Long Island, New York. The theatre is an open venue, with stadium seats that surround the stage and a pit right in front of the stage. I was fortunate enough to get pit tickets, and since I arrived two hours before the concert began, I managed to find a spot close to the barricade. The concert began at 6:30p.m. and the first opener, Like Roses, began with an angsty, emo vibe that included intricate guitar solos and supportive drums. The bass on the speakers was extremely high, making it hard to hear the main singer and rhythm guitarist Amy Schmalkuche. However, I feel like their music matched the vibe, and I would definitely listen to them while sulking in my room.Â
The next opener was Ecca Vandal, a South African born Australian rapper and singer/songwriter. Her music was what can only be described as club rock. It had people moshing and hyping each other up while dancing. Her music was loud, fun, and creative. Her outfit also matched the uniqueness of her music: a frilly white dress with red accents, a dual colored skirt with white leggings with “Rock and Roll” in big block letters, and her blue hair that was accentuated by the colorful lighting. She had completely changed the vibe of the pit and hyped everyone up.
 The last opener was Health, an industrial noise rock band from Los Angeles. Again, the bass was turned up to the max, making it actually impossible to decipher what the singer was saying. Their noise was reminiscent of Deftones, as the music was less focused on lyrics and more on the instrumental. The drummer, B.J Miller, really stole the show as each song had a three minute minimum drum solo that made me regret not wearing some form of ear protection. The lights during their performance were also blinding, starting with flashing white lights that switched to rainbow, following the erratic drum beat. At some points, I had to close my eyes and breathe to prevent overstimulation. Overall, I did not enjoy Health’s performance and it felt like it dragged on. The vibe set from Ecca Vandal’s performance was successfully killed, however, the excitement began building again as the clock struck 9pm.Â
Pierce The Veil is of Mexican descent, and always projects El Rey by Vicente Fernandez before making their entrance. The song played and the lights dimmed. Suddenly, a red aura appeared on the projector. The symbols of each Pierce The Veil album had been illuminated in red fog. Out of the fog appeared Loniel Robinson, the drummer, then guitarist Tony Perry, Bassist Jaime Preciado, and finally lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Vic Fuentes. The crowd erupted in screams as they started playing “Death of an Executioner,” the opening song on their newest album The Jaws of Life. The lighting of the entire show was awe-striking, as the lighting changed from red to green to blue. Being so close was also a dream come true, as I was nearly two feet away from the band. The visuals in the background projector consisted of shots of the crowd, visuals from their promotional videos, and aesthetically filtered shots of the band playing. The band’s crowd work was also amazing: Preciado had come to the very front of the stage multiple times, singing with the audience and playing directly in our faces. The common trend amongst bands is to throw their guitar picks or drumsticks into the crowd to rile them up; multiple picks were thrown with custom engravings based on whose pick it was. I managed to catch Preciado’s pick, which had the tour name and year, as well as his name printed on the bottom. This is now one of my prized possessions.
 The crowd was intense, as pits usually are. Every minute, I heard “heads up!” signaling another crowd surfer was barreling my way. As someone who is familiar with the average pit experience, it was not as bad as it could have been; you just have to be ready to elbow someone back while standing your ground, if needed. Of course, there were rude people who took up more space than they needed and that were quite aggressive when picks were thrown. However, there was a strong community within the pit that sought to help anyone at risk of being toppled by inconsiderate people. My favorite songs performed were “Disasterology” from Selfish Machines and “I’d Rather Die Than Be Famous” from their first album, a Flair for the Dramatic. Both had the crowd hyped up, and it was the first time in a long time that these songs had been performed. I was so fortunate to be able to hear these songs outside of old Youtube videos from 2012. I had a goal to crowdsurf, which I did not achieve; however, I did get to shake hands with the bass player as he leaned into the crowd one last time. The videos I got were unimaginable, and despite capturing it all, I was truly living in the moment. I screamed, I cried, and I lost my voice: but it was all worth it.