Banjo santa, twerking, Mario Kart and more.
When Twenty One Pilots comes into town you can expect two things: a sold-out house with a loyal mob of followers all over the age spectrum, and a spectacle unlike anything you've ever experienced before.
Needless to say, there wasn't an ounce of letdown in the moments before or after the event. Tampa was in for one hell of a night as traffic billowed outward from the downtown Tampa area while black and red clad pedestrians trotted hurriedly towards an Amalie Arena decked out to accommodate over 20,000 attendees.
I floated almost trancelike from the port parking garage to the destination, weaving in and out of teens and families distracted by social media interactions and the hubbub of the city. From sliding into the employee parking without a hiccup, nabbing my ticket from will call free of lines, and finally finding my unoccupied seat 30 minutes prior to showtime, I was feeling good. Maybe like how Nina Simone was in that one song, or maybe Ice Cube's "It Was A Good Day". I just so happened to land a seat next to a really rad lady from Gainesville who coincidentally does a little PR for Fueled by Ramen (the same label that the headliners are signed to). I don't believe in coincidence. We chopped it up about work, music, our favorite TØP songs, and the degrees of separation between humans in our lives. Then the lights dimmed into darkness.
After a brief intermission and running over to section 105 to briefly snag a selfie with Judah, the next opener was set to go. Hailing from Long Island, New York Jon Bellion brought the heat with a little help from his buddy Travis Mendes, a MIDI sampler, and a live band. Bellion cascaded airy melodies down on the audience filled in with poppy rhythms and sharp rhyme cadence keeping the heart of the performance intact. Mendes came in tactfully using his larger than life voice to elevate the set with his soulful runs and affinity for engaging the audience up close and personal. For the most part, the vibe was pretty laid back, but still bouncy with some trip hop elements. Getting back to their concrete jungle roots, Bellion and Mendes closed their set with a hip-hop joint that got grandparents snapping their necks to the beats with a mean mug on their face. Definitely safe to say the building was near the boiling point.
Without a single seat left unattended, the house lights shifted to a crimson red to set the tone for Twenty One Pilots. As the hour neared nine, the Amalie patrons jumped to their feet. Immediately, you were transported into an experience controlled entirely by the creativity of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun. Rocking red blazers and black ski masks they turned the room inside out and made you question your interpretation of what a concert should be. Utilizing their environment as an ally, Twenty One Pilots was able to create the illusion of omnipotence. Multiple stages, shifting lights, and crafty projections made it appear that they were everywhere. And they were. The amount of visual and audio stimulation dosed out to all present was more like attending an immersive high budget theater presentation than your typical rock fest, but there was no skimping on musical quality.
Josh Dun is a beast on drums and had at least two kits set up and ready to go including electronic pads loaded with cool samples. Technically speaking, Dun is one of the cleanest and most consistent percussionists I've ever seen — a true showman in his own right. At one point in time, Dun even had the crowd hold a platform, loaded with his arsenal of drums, as he played from atop the first few rows of the pit. Talk about trust right? That energy, combined with Tyler's natural knack for performing and insane musical prowess on the piano, bass guitar, and ukulele blew my mind on more than one occasion.
There is literally too much awesomeness to squeeze into any a single review, but in case you did miss out here is a list of rapid-fire honorable mentions that I just don't have the word count to elaborate further on.
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Back flips off of stage boxes and props
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An emotional cover of My Chemical Romance's "Cancer"
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A jam session with openers, complimented by Santa playing a banjo and someone twerking in a crawfish costume
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A huge red Zorb in the audience
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Dun drum battling a pre-recorded version of himself projected on screen and winning
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A Mario Kart 64 competition with an audience member. BOOM!
All in all, this was one of the best shows I've ever been to, so if you missed it you need to grab tickets when they come back to Tampa (hopefully not too far off in the future). Twenty One Pilots have obviously put a lot of work into their craft, and through that effort they've figured out the secret to bottling lightning. The sky's the limit for these guys, and with wings like theirs, how high they'll soar is all up to them.
