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Fall Ball 2017 hammers out the metal

KFMA's Fall Ball with Pierce the Veil and Breaking Benjamin
Kino Sport's Stadium
Tucson, AZ
October 21, 2017

Dreamers

Pierce the Veil

Breaking Benjamin

Review and photos by Frances Sealy

Metal music reigned supreme for this day at KFMA's Fall Ball. Sights of long hair, awesome (and not so awesome) tattoos, crowd surfing and circle dancing were prevalent throughout the day. The weather was a sunny 83 degrees. All of these factors added up to a perfect day of sweaty rock & roll.

The raucous crowd was revved up and ready to greet the headliners of the day: Pierce the Veil (PtV) and Breaking Benjamin. After sunset, the number of fans increased dramatically and the roar of the crowd could be heard throughout the neighborhood. Both bands brought their high-octane energy levels to a maximum throttle.

EMO rock band, Pierce the Veil gave an explosive performance that was greeted with constant screaming and squeals from the crowd as they performed songs "Texas Is Forever," "The Divine Zero," and "King for a Day." Perry and Preciado were constantly in motion as they jumped and moved from one side of the stage to the other. The Fuentes brothers played like their lives depended on it. Their performance was bulletproof as PtV elicited the fans to jump and sing along to their anthems.

Hard rock band Breaking Benjamin were as explosive and powerful as PtV as they kept the momentum going. Frontman Ben Burnley stormed on stage to the delight of their excited fans. Their fans sang nearly every word to "So Cold," "Polyamorous," "Diary of Jane," and "Give Me a Sign."

Earlier in the day, AXS caught most of the up and coming acts. Juiceboxxx played mid-day to a thin crowd of early concertgoers. If you weren't familiar with this punk-rapper, Juiceboxxx made sure that you knew him by the end of his set. Welshly Arms offered something for every one that included rock, blues, soul, and R&B. They hail from Cleveland, Ohio and they are relatively new on the music scene. They released their first EP in 2013.

Dreamers, is a three-man band consisting of Nick Wold, Marc Nelson, and Jacob Lee Wick. They released their first EP, This Album Does Not Exist last year.

Beartooth, a metal and punk rock band, provided a very dark, intense set. They were entertaining and beautifully angry. Their frontman, Caleb Shomo, was the showman of the band.

Thrice was another wildly popular hard-rock band on the agenda. Their entertainment factor was huge. Their song lyrics are deep and beautiful, but can be hidden by their loud instrumentation. Regardless, they were a fan favorite of the day.

The Fall Ball was filled with favorite rock bands and was also a day of new band discovery. There was only one stage this year, but that was not an impediment. It was an outdoor rock music festival filled with food, drink, hard music and dance.

KFMA's Fall Ball 2016 - Festival review - Tucson, AZ - October 2016
KFMA's Fall Ball 2015 - Festival review - Tucson, AZ - September 2015