After a somewhat disappointing release with their 2021 album, “Scaled and Icy,” people were worried that Twenty One Pilots had lost their grip on music entirely. The tour that accompanied said album in the following year had the same hollow feel, as the duo’s creativity had lost its luster.
All worries dissipated, though, with the prodigious release of “Clancy” in late May of this year. I personally regard it as one of the best albums the duo has created. In addition to being a beyond-respectable album, the tour that accompanied it was the greatest concert experience fans could have asked for.
I had attended one of the earlier tour dates on the list, the latter of two days in Los Angeles. The Intuit Dome was the home for these two concert nights, and the duo could not have chosen a better venue for the event. Their previous tours — “Trench” and “Scaled and Icy” — had both been held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, so the Intuit Dome marked a grand improvement.
The last thing a concertgoer wants to worry about is uncomfortable or just plain bad seats that could ultimately ruin the entire experience. However, the venue in Los Angeles eliminated any doubt in my mind, and I geared up for the events I was about to endure.
New Zealand duo Balu Brigada was the opening group for the night, and I was relatively shocked to have recognized the name that was strung across the massive banner on the stage. Unfortunately, their stage presence was non-existent. They are still so young in their music career that they have yet to fully take shape in a live performance environment, but they have immense potential to reach a larger audience in the future.
For now, I’ll stick to their songs on Spotify, but I was counting down the minutes until Josh and Tyler made their way onto the stage.
The lights dimmed, the crowd roared and the opening to “Overcompensate” radiated from the venue’s speakers. A miniscule portion of the stage lit up, with Josh and his drums blanketed in red and white tones. Tyler emerged shortly after Josh began playing, jumping immediately into the song. “Overcompensate” morphs into “Holding on to You,” a song from their sophomore album “Vessel,” and once again the audience goes ballistic.
One thing I adore about Twenty One Pilots isn’t necessarily about them or their music, but rather about the fans. I have not had one negative interaction with a fellow fan, and the environment fostered at a concert is always positive. Tyler and Josh have worked hard to create beautiful songs to relish in, but they indirectly fashioned a community for the people.
In regard to the setlist, the duo naturally played most of the songs from the tour’s album, “Clancy;” they omitted “Snap Back” and “At The Risk Of Feeling Dumb” for reasons unknown, which was saddening since the former was one of my favorite songs on the album. Alas, I feel that they had a well-rounded setlist regardless of my favoritism for particular tracks.
As I mentioned previously, the opener Balu Brigada had quality songs but lacked the stage presence needed to be eye-catching to the audience. This was quite the opposite for Twenty One Pilots, where they have mastered the art of holding their audience’s attention. I could not take my eyes off of them or the stage they were performing on — I mean, it was pyrotechnics galore down there.
Every time Tyler jumped from his piano or Josh threw a drumstick in the crowd, massive fire pillars would ignite from the back of the stage. The flames were enormous, so much so that I could feel the warmth on my face from several rows away. Not only were the pyrotechnics impressive, but the stage was constantly transmuting into different colors or shapes based on the song or album.
As the concert continued further into the night, I happened to notice a group of security guards prepping an area right next to my seat. I was not sure what was happening, perhaps there was something that required an extra security measure, but it was too late before I could put the dots together and Josh appeared right in front of me. When I say I screamed, I mean it — he was within reaching distance, where he looked among the crowd and walked down the aisle with a lit torch.
My adrenaline was running rampant, but my night was coming to a close when the duo began to play “Trees,” the last song to be played at every concert. My expectations for this tour were exceeded, and between the three tours they have performed, “Clancy” was by far the most well-put-together and thrilling set of concerts Twenty One Pilots could have ever conjured up.
