Last time I saw Twenty One Pilots in 2016 (the time the ceilings underneath collapsed and the crowd caused a minor seismic reaction), I didn’t think I could see a live show more amazing then that, until I saw them the second time.
Twenty One Pilots fans
I’ve been a big fan of Twenty One Pilots for a long time and I decided I wanted to be front row for this show. I showed up at 4am and other fans that were camping and I started an unofficial line offsite. When we finally got out sequentially numbered wristbands at 9am, we were able to leave the premises. As any other Twenty One Pilots fan in this era would do, we all hit up the closest Walmart to purchase the necessary yellow duct tape and other Trench related things.
Once we all returned to begin lining up in our determined order, I was in the first 20 people to enter the general admission floor. We all walked as calmly as possible to the barricade despite how we have been waiting for over 15 hours to get to this point. When we put our hands on the barricade, it finally hit us. Three years of waiting, and the show was only 2 hours away. When the lights shut off and the beginning of Jumpsuit started, all the sleepless hours of waiting went away. I was finally going to see my favourite band from the front row!
The start of the show
I honestly did not think they could top their last show – but I was already proven wrong by their first song. The opening song already had a burning car on stage along with petals falling from the ceiling. Twenty One Pilots eased from Jumpsuit right into Levitate, as reflected in their newest album Trench. During the third song, Fairly Local, lead singer Tyler Joseph began singing on the main stage, collapsed and instantly appeared in the back of the venue in the 300s section. Surprised by the singer’s teleportation skills, the audience was roaring.
Tyler then brought us back to the Blurryface era during Stressed Out, followed by a couple songs on his ukelele. Suddenly, a bridge comes down from the ceiling, to which he begins to walk overhead the pit to the B-stage. He told the audience to sit while he serenaded us with some softer songs like Neon Gravestones and Bandito. The epicness of this show has only just begun.
Twenty One Pilots – Crowd Interaction
After the band returns to the main stage, Tyler climbs on top of the crowd and stands above them all with nothing supporting his feet other than the audience holding on to him. As he stands on top of the crowd, they begin singing Holding On To You – a nice metaphor.
Twenty One Pilots’ drummer Josh Dun, follows suit by placing a platform and a small drum set on the audience as well, where he performs a quick drum solo.
They eventually rolled a tape of their song Truce, where they made the audience sing the whole thing which I thought was very meaningful. It was a kind of promise to each other instead of from the band. A message from them that we need to look out for one another. As we all felt the night was coming to an end, the fans in the pit all held up yellow hearts during Leave the City.
Now the moment everyone has been waiting for. The finale.
They have been ending their shows the same way for many years for reasons very obvious. This was the moment I have been waiting over three years for. Tyler began singing Trees on stage, then the song became more intense and powerful. Josh and Tyler then went to each side of the pit and everyone around then had to hold up a single drum and a band member. As soon as the beat dropped, and they began hitting the drums, the water splashed off the drums and tons of yellow confetti shot out of cannons and scattered the air. It is truly a surreal experience being in the pit and holding up their drum and their feet with your hands and being engulfed in confetti.
After the show
The duration of the concert, the generous security was handing out many water bottles and checking in on the pit to make sure we were okay, apparently from the band’s direction.
After the show, the party was not over. Live 88.5 threw a fun party that got hundreds of people jumping for hours after the show was even over. Despite my lack of sleep, food and water, I still managed to party with the radio until 11:30pm.
In addition to their life-changing show – I also made it onto Twenty One Pilots instagram story. I was told by many other friends who attended that I was featured on the big screen many times which is a pretty cool way to top off the best concert I’ve ever been to!
Overall with their teleportation skills, unbelievable audience participation and big hearts this is a one of a kind event with a never before seen live show. I mean when have you ever seen a band literally drumming on top of the crowd before?
