With people clad in black, merch lines wrapped around the building and cheers echoing inside the arena, the Don Haskins Center welcomed Pierce the Veil (PTV) for their fifth concert Nov. 8. Named after the band’s latest album release, the group travelled across the country on “The Jaws Of Life Tour,” sharing their music with long time fans. 

The band visited El Paso twice around 2007 when they were first starting, again in 2013 and 2017. However, they have never played in a venue as large as the Don Haskins before. Hundreds of more people were able to come together and share their excitement over the music they love.  

“It’s been 10 years since I’ve seen this band live, Pierce the Veil specifically,” one concertgoer said. “I love them, I have their lyric tattooed on my back.” 

Another person waiting to get in shared their excitement as well. 

“I’m very excited I’ve never seen them live, I’ve been a fan since middle school,” the fan said. 

PTV worked with three other opening groups to get the crowd pumped for their oncoming performance.  

Destroy Boys were the first of the three and brought electric energy to the stage as the seats first started being filled. Their female lead, Alexia Roditis, commanded the crowd with her classic punk rock voice and other members’ talented playing.  

Dayseeker followed with a more modern rock sound and a sentimental message for El Paso. Vocalist Rory Rodriguez shared the fear of failure in the music industry at the beginning of his career, then expressed gratitude for the large audience supporting them. 

L.S. Dunes were the final openers to take the spotlight and brought with them the perfect post-hardcore emo rock sound to prepare PTV. Dunes is an American supergroup comprised of multiple famous artists from groups like My Chemical Romance, Thursday and The Sound of Animals Fighting.  

Gallery • 6 Photos

Annabella Mireles

Alexia Roditis is the lead singer for band Destroy Boys.

Once these groups finished their sets and the stage was rearranged, the lights dimmed, and peoples’ screams were so loud that the arena buzzed with excitement. The overhead lights draped the stage in blue and the rich tones of Vicente Fernández’s “El Rey” blasted from the speakers. Lead singer Victor “Vic” Fuentes, drummer Michael “Mike” Fuentes, lead guitarist Tony Perry and bassist Jaime Preciado walked out and flawlessly transitioned “El Rey” into the first song off their new album “Death Of An Executioner.” 

Confetti rained from the ceiling and PTV graced the crowd with an older fan favorite, “Caraphernelia.” Keeping a common theme throughout their performance, the band seamlessly weaved together a setlist that showed off their latest music while keeping longtime fans engaged with music from albums like “Collide With The Sky,” “Selfish Machines” and “Misadventures.”  

Most notably though, the group moved the hearts of the crowd during “Hold On Till May,” a song that has significance within the fan base since it came out in 2012. Vic acknowledged this sentiment in a small speech before they played it. 

“I think this is one of the most important songs that we share with you guys and I do really feel like this song belongs to you guys,” Vic said. “When it came out you took this song and made it something so special and bigger than we could’ve ever imagined. So I got to thank everyone in this room for ‘Holding On Till May.’” 

The band also brought on a fan from the floor and serenaded her through the bridge after gifting her with Vic’s guitar as a show of thanks for listeners’ support. This gesture had the audience more pumped for the second half of the concert as they witnessed an act of gratitude from PTV.  

Once they finished the song, the band continued by playing “Resilience” off their latest album, “12 Fractures” for the first time on the tour, a softer rendition of “Bulletproof Love,” followed by the final energetic performances of “Hell Above,” “So Far So Fake” and “The Jaws Of Life.” 

PTV were not finished with the concert though, as the crowds’ rowdy screams brought them back on stage for a two-song encore. They gave El Pasoans love with the song “Besitos” and ended the night on a high by playing their most popular song featuring Sleeping With Sirens’ Kellin Quinn, “King For A Day.” 

Sun City concertgoers left the arena with ringing ears, hoarse voices and a newfound love for the band that put on an amazing show. 

Meagan Garcia is the arts & culture editor and may be reached at [email protected].