Twenty One Pilots showed their musical duality and flexed their extensive catalog when they performed a setlist with a mix of fan-favorite hits and new songs at their electric, over two-hour-long show at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday night. The venue erupted with cheers when the musical group made up of the duo Tyler Joseph and Joshua Dun took the stage at 8:45 p.m.
after the opening act Balu Brigada. Fans donning black and red packed against the barricade in front of the stage, some with duct tape on their clothes to match frontman Joseph’s outfit and others with ski masks over their faces. Twenty One Pilots skyrocketed to fame after their 2015 song “Stressed Out” became popular, peaking at number one on the Billboard Adult Top 40.
Many of their songs mask heavy themes, including isolation and mental health struggles, under upbeat alternative melodies featuring Joseph’s blend of fast rapping and singing. The duo opened the concert by jumping into “Overcompensate,” the lead single off their May album, “Clancy,” accompanied by fireworks and smoke that rained down from the stage. Despite the album being out for only three months, fans sang along loudly, filling in for Joseph during the many moments he turned the microphone to the crowd.
The setlist then immediately jumped back by over a decade when Joseph launched into “Holding Onto You,” the lead single from their sophomore album, “Vessel.” Fans held Joseph up, literally, as he stood within the crowd as they hoisted him above their heads by his ankles. This is the type of interaction that Twenty One Pilots is known for: physically making themselves one with their fans, whether it’s through crowd surfing or playing drums in the center of the pit.
This initial shift, two songs into the show, set the tone for the rest of the concert. Dun and Joseph bounced between albums and musical styles, leaving no room for decompression from song to song. The loud and synthy “Vignette” was followed by one of their most beloved songs, “Car Radio,” which featured Joseph magically appearing in the arena’s rafters to visit fans furthest from the stage.
From early in the show, the duo made it clear that the focus was on the fans and creating an interactive experience for them. The song “The Judge” was accompanied by a video from outside Climate Pledge Arena recorded Thursday that showed fans preparing for the concert, singing songs and showing off their outfits. Joseph proudly declared that he could feel the show was going to be a good one, calling the crowd beautiful.
The duo went on to play a near medley of songs spanning over a decade with no breaks in between the rest of the concert. The last line of the slower “The Craving (Jenna’s Version)” became spliced with the beginning of “Tear in My Heart,” a 2015 upbeat rocker that turned into a singalong at its bridge, with the crowd of nearly 18,000 people yelling “sometimes you gotta bleed to know, that you’re alive and have a soul.” The main stage was soon abandoned as Dun walked to a b-stage located on the edges of the pit, high-fiving fans on the way while Joseph pulled a chair up to the barricade to sing “Routines in the Night” before retiring to the piano waiting for him.
Fans then received a nostalgic spate of older songs, including “Addict With a Pen,” “Migraine,” “Forest” and “Fall Away,” to loud cheers. Arguably one of the best moments came when Joseph directed different parts of the stadium to sing the bridge of “Mulberry Street,” an uplifting song about remaining authentic off the duo’s sixth studio album “Scaled and Icy.” Joseph became a conductor, sectioning off the arena to sing “Mulberry Street, so good to see you.
” Concertgoers who may not have known the “Clancy” album could still enjoy the concert, as one of the duo’s hits was never more than three songs away in the setlist. Fan favorites like “Heavydirtysoul,” “Fake You Out” and “Guns for Hands” were slipped in between newer songs like “Oldies Station” and “Lavish,” and people in the arena were going bar for bar with Joseph, whether they were singing from the floor or the 200 section. Joseph found himself at his piano in the pit once again at the end of “Lavish,” when the instantly recognizable beat of the 2015 hit “Ride” began.
The singer paused the song following the bridge to call a young fan on stage, offering them the chance to sing. It was in these moments where the magic of the concert could be found: when the duo was focused on experiencing the music with the fans, as opposed to just performing it. “Paladin Strait” ended the concert, but it was short lived before the duo returned to the stage for their four-song encore of“Jumpsuit” and “Midwest Indigo” before sliding seamlessly into “Stressed Out,” which was accompanied by yellow confetti and brought many seated fans to their feet to dance in their rows.
The duo finished the concert by returning to the crowd for a fourth time, entering the pit with a piano and drums to play “Trees,” a song they have consistently ended their performances with. As the song reached its final chorus, Joseph called the arena to join the pit dance party. He and Dun then played a drum solo louder than the confetti cannon that went off simultaneously, sending red confetti floating over the crowd.
What made this concert special was the duo’s relentless trust in their fans. If Joseph asked fans to make space for them to play in the middle of the crowd, they did. When Dun sent his drum set and chair into the sea of people, they held it up for him to play.
It was a mutual, unspoken understanding and appreciation. Twenty One Pilots proved that they have more to offer than just their 2015 hits when they perform: they give their fans a chance to participate directly while sharing music they love..
