Twenty One Pilots never disappoints. I have seen them multiple times and am always so impressed with their performance. They also have a special place in my heart as we both grew up in Columbus, Ohio. Additionally, I first heard about them from some friends from high school who were in a band (shoutout Ratham Stone); they were supposed to play a show together when they were just getting started. I always love to brag about artists or bands from my home state and especially my hometown. Will forever support Twenty One Pilots.
Show #1, University of Cincinnati, 2014
My memory of this show is vague, as we pregamed before and just went hard (like most college students do at their college shows). I just remember having a great freaking time, rocking a glow stick headband, and walking out during the finale while Josh was being held up by the crowd and rocking out on the drums. A better recap, please watch the below video, as this was 6 years ago and my memory is shit.
Show # 2, LC Pavilion in Columbus, OH, 2014
This was a tour that MisterWives opened (they’ve opened a few for TOP, I believe). I was able to go because MisterWives had tickets for me at will call. While waiting in line, we overheard a girl who had tickets from StubHub, which turned out to be fake (tips for buying tickets: here). I felt so bad and it broke my heart. I wish I could have helped her get in, but all I have to say: all you scammers out there, QUIT IT! During this tour, though, they would bring out Jesse Blum from MisterWives to play trumpet (video below). I also got to hang out with Jesse after and had a brew with him! Good times.
Show #3, Bunbury Music Festival in Cincinnati, OH, 2015
I won tickets for this festival from Kiss 107.1 and my absolute favorite part of this show was when Tyler had the entire crowd do a “wave,” with the first row ducking, then each row after that. You can watch this craziness in the video below (starts at 2:10). Rewatching this brought back the feeling I had while doing it. It was awesome to be a part of that. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but stuff such as this during shows adds a different element and I LOVE IT!
Show #4, Memphis, TN, 2017
We went to this show for one of my friends’ birthdays (shoutout Meg!). Jon Bellion was one of the openers and I just remember being a little disappointed; not because he was terrible live, but his sound was off and I just think he is SO talented and wanted to see more creativity during his set. Also at one point, Judah (from Judah & The Lion; also one of the openers), came out in a hamster ball and “walked” over the crowd in it (video below). SO EPIC!
Although I don’t remember all the specifics of each show, the most special thing about Twenty One Pilots when you see them live is all the creative aspects they add to each song. For example, Josh playing his drums while the crowd holds him up or Tyler being a freaking parkour ninja and climbing ANYTHING & EVERYTHING. I also could always go for Tyler getting out there and playing his ukulele.
I’ve definitely had post concert depression since the last show in 2017…now can we get back to live concerts or what?
Looks like they have a better vid of Jesse from Milwaukee here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JE8R9KfJwI