Natalie Brown
22/06/22
Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots bought their takeover tour to the capital starting at the small Camden assembly making their way up to a date at the OVO Wembley arena. I saw their compelling show at the O2 Empire, Shepard’s bush on 22nd June 2022.
They came on stage to a cheering audience both Tyler and Josh in black balaclavas and white round glasses starting off the set with the upbeat ‘Good day’, matching the crowds cheerful atmosphere. The lights complemented this ‘Scaled and Icy’ song flashing a vibrant blue and yellow.
Before playing their hit song ‘Stressed out’, Tyler changed his outfit to the traditional red beanie and skeleton top. The careful consideration of clothes added depth to the show and incorporated each of the bands era’s effectively.
Their mash up of ‘Migraine, morph and holding on to you’ particularly stood out for me. The audience sung the first verse for ‘Migraine’ as Tyler stood and watched, holding out the mic. Despite the venue only holding 2000 people, you could easily mistake it for an arena due to everyone shouting the lyrics passionately.
During ‘Holding on to you’ Tyler and Josh made use of stage space, Josh moving from his position behind the drums to join Tyler stood on the piano. Everyone who’d seen a Twenty one Pilots show before waited in anticipation for Josh’s iconic backflip (which he did perfectly). Tyler’s vocals at the end of the song were just as powerful as the studio version maybe even more so as people joined in singing with him.
As they moved through the set, we were introduced to a backing band, including guitar, bass and even a trumpet. This was unexpected but they worked wonderfully alongside Josh and Tyler in the song ‘Outside’, enhancing the song making it more interesting for the audience. It was great to hear the song played differently than the studio version in such an elaborate way.
In the middle of the set, Tyler had a break from his energised movements previously and the show became cozy as a prop fire was bought on stage and Josh, Tyler and their backing band huddled round it imitating a campfire. Tyler spoke properly for the first time in the set, disappointed that ‘fire was illegal in the building’ making the audience laugh. This section was a great addition to the set, helping the audience feel more connected to them.
During ‘Saturday’, Josh moved a drum island including a bass, snare and cymbal into the crowd and played an impressive drum solo. This again made the studio version more interesting as we saw different elements in the live show.
They closed the show with ‘trees’. The song starting with a ballad like feeling accompanied by Tyler’s stunning vocals. As the song picked up pace, smoke cannons erupted, Josh played intensely and Tyler spoke to the upper levels allowing the whole place to feel included. Towards the end, they both took a snare into the audience and confetti streamed out into this crowd. Despite them not playing an arena show, this moment incorporated their typical extravagance and felt extremely special. It was a perfect way to end.
Before leaving, they stood making the Twenty One pilots symbol with their fingers taking one last look at the crowd, you could see Tyler’s radiant smile which reflected with by the 2000 fans after such a beautiful live show.
Overall, this concert was well worth attending. It stood out as the venue was so small in comparison to the usual 15,000+ arenas that the band play.
They haven’t played such small venues in over 10 years making this gig a little more special. Although, I do think they are better suited to a slightly larger space for their stage show and set up. In my opinion they also included a few to many covers. They covered 3 songs that weren’t their own and I feel as though it would have been better to hear at least another of their own instead. Also, at times the gap between each song felt a little long. There weren’t any stage lights or anything to fill these gaps all the time which made it feel as though you were waiting. Despite this, the show still met my expectations feeling like more of an experience than a concert.
Just 2 days after this show they went on to win ‘Best live act’ at the 2022 ‘Kerrang!’ awards and I can see why. Twenty One Pilots provide an excellent live show like no other and leave a lasting impression.
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