Millennial angst filled the streets of downtown Tucson Sunday night as the young, hip, music-loving crowd made its way to the Tucson Convention Center to see American musical duo Twenty One Pilots perform live.
The devoted crowd sported everything from T-shirts to face paint as their love for band members Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun shined through tremendously.
The show kicked off right on time at 7 p.m. with the first of the show’s two opening performances. Alternative band Judah & The Lion took the stage and brought the crowd to its feet as they began to get everyone warmed up for the night, even though the band knew that most audience members were not there to see them specifically. One band member even noted how many audience members may not have ever heard them play before this show.
Come on Judah, give yourself some credit.
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The next opener came in the form of a better known musical name, hot on the heels of his smash hit, “All Time Low.” Jon Bellion took the stage and further entranced the crowd. They were into it for the most part, although at this point it began to seem like everyone just wanted him to play his hit and then quickly finish up the set to make room for the Pilots.
Shortly before his portion of the night ended, Bellion began to further fire up the crowd in anticipation of TOP, asking them if they were ready for “one of the greatest live performances any of you will see all year.”
It may have seemed like an exaggeration at the time, but Bellion was right.
He did his best from the beginning to the end of his performance, and after what seemed like an eternity, lead singer Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun finally took the stage and commanded it for the entirety of their almost two hour set.
Kicking things off with rock heavy track “Heavydirtysoul”, the largely millennial, largely angst-filled crowd, belonged to the band from the very beginning, screaming constantly and singing along to every lyric spat by Joseph.
They moved into some slightly more nostalgic territory with “Migraine,” making the audience work a little bit and potentially alienating anyone only familiar with the band’s most recent album for a brief moment. Anyone who did not know the words just continued to scream, which could have potentially given some people an actual migraine.
The band’s constant energy lasted throughout the night as it played hits like “Tear In My Heart” and “The Judge,” along with its two massively played radio hits “Ride” and “Stressed Out,” keeping the audience engaged the entire time.
“I thought it was really good and really exciting. I even lost my voice,” said Fayth Pettit, a high school student who attended the concert. “Getting to see them and getting to be there made me really happy. It was the best concert I have ever been to.”
Regardless of the band’s music, the sheer spectacle of the performance alone was difficult to ignore. A massive screen displayed itself behind the band showing videos and using other special effects to make the two musicians look even cooler. The two also spiced things up with several costume changes throughout the night. They even journeyed offstage to a separate second stage in the middle of the arena to play a few songs. The show had a surprise at every turn.
“I really liked it. It was the first concert I have ever been to but I would highly recommend it,” said Fabian Reiser, another high school student and concert attendee. “It was awesome and really entertaining.”
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Joseph made sure to check how the crowd was doing throughout the performance while Dun barely said a word throughout the show. However, he did go crowd surfing in a giant red hamster ball, and that seemed to say enough.
All in all, Twenty One Pilots combined their music with visual spectacle to deliver a spectacular live performance, proving that the TCC was the place to be in Tucson Sunday night.
Grade: A
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