R E V I E W S

Twenty One Pilots’ Manchester show was magical and not just because of their Dynamo-inspired tricks.

 

 

On Tuesday 5th March the MEN arena was transformed into Trench as The Bandito Tour continued in Manchester with fans like myself clad in yellows and greens with some carrying yellow flowers, others with yellow scarfs covering their faces like those worn in some of the band’s latest videos.

 

The arena was slow to fill up, but by the time The Regrettes had ended their pumped up opening set the arena was filled, making this one of the most packed gigs I had been to in years. When I saw that The Regrettes would be opening for Twenty One Pilots I was surprised as they weren’t the sort of band I would have expected as support, but it bares the question- who would you expect as support for Twenty One Pilots? The Regrettes are the cutest bunch of badasses with their retro rock vibe and upbeat lyrics dripping in feminism and rebellion.

 

As the curtain is dropped Josh Dun steps onto stage holding a flame-lit torch and with it greeting the crowd before taking his seat at his drum kit as Tyler Joseph rises up onto the stage perched on a car before it is engulfed into flames as the boys jump straight into Jumpsuit, then melding into Levitate. However, it was with Fairly Local where the boys’ Dynamo like antics began as midway through this absolute banger Tyler steps off his podium to the side of the stage where he falls backwards out of sight from the crowd for the stadium to then be engulfed in darkness. Seconds later Tyler appears up high in the stands with the crowd where he continues his performance, removing his mask at the end, adding to the thrill of what had just happened.

 

The production and visuals throughout the night are outstanding and aid in the transition from song to song and as Tyler somehow makes his way back to the stage we see the classic red beanie hat making its way around for it to be then lowered onto the stage for Stressed Out. “What’s my name?” Tyler asks the crowd. I think we all know the answer to that one. This hit was followed by another huge one with Heathens taken from the Suicide Squad soundtrack where Tyler’s quirky onstage persona brought the crowd together with arms raising up and down in unison as the beat dropped.

 

As well as the production, the quick outfit changes also aided in setting the tone for each song, even as Tyler sang and played with his floral shirt tucked over his head during Lane Boy…maybe to hide from the hazmat figures who joined the two on stage. The set flowed from song to song effortlessly and carried the audience along, as the boys made sure that that night everyone felt involved no matter where they were seated or stood. This also involved a walk-way over the crowd meaning that Tyler and Josh at various points were directly over us for songs like Nico and the Niners. However, Tyler admitted he was only going to let Josh use the walk-way the once so to get over to the other side of the arena to catch up with Tyler, Josh casually jumped off stage and made his way through the standing crowd to join Tyler in some emotional renditions of Neon Gravestones and Bandito. To pair with the name the arena was filled with neon lights and was one of the most emotion-filled moments of the nights (I wasn’t the only one crying, okay?).

 

The lads then made their way back over the walk-way with Pet Cheetah, a song I love purely for the lyrics;

 

“I’ve got a pet cheetah down in my basement
I’ve raised him, and bathed him
And named him Jason Statham
I’ve trained him to make me these beats
Now my pet cheetah’s quicker in the studio than on his feet.”

 

…also it’s an absolute bop as Tyler emphasised as he jumped around on stage with the crowd which soon after he climbed his way into for Holding Onto You where he literally held onto fans as he sang.

 

The crowd was hyped, happy and totally under the duo’s spell…until it was time for The Quiet Game. This is something the boys have been doing at each of their shows so far on tour and tonight the boys decided to wager with the crowd with Tyler offering an extra three songs if the crowd could get past four seconds of silence…they managed 1.96 seconds…

 

I was quiet…just saying

 

So, although we didn’t get those extra songs (…I’m not mad…promise…) the night continued with a medley of songs from Trench, Blurryface and Vessel. However, it was a sign the night was coming towards its close as the duo broke into Leave the City, the closing track from Trench, with Tyler singing, “they know that it’s almost over.” To me, as well as Neon Gravestones and Bandito this is one of the most emotion-fuelled songs from the album and that rawness was evident in Tyler’s voice and on his face as he sang, hitting high notes that took him somewhere else, away from the city. The song acts as a reminder to everyone to persevere and to stay alive with the crowd chanting, “in time, I will leave the city. For now, I will stay alive.” Each voice in the room affirmed this, a comforting feeling, because sometimes it is hard just staying alive.

 

The night was ended with Trees and bursts of yellow smoke and confetti rained down on the arena as Tyler stood supported by the crowd beating a huge drum to yells of, “yeah!” from the crowd. The perfect way to close the night.

 

“We are Twenty One Pilots and so are you.”

 

The duo left the stage. There was no encore. The journey the boys had taken us on that night had ended there, until the next time at least.

 

Many bands put on a great performance, they put their all into their songs and their shows. However, Twenty One Pilots took that to another level, making sure that every single person in that arena was part of the story they wanted to tell. Everything from the production, the visuals to the performance in general was flawless and was so much more than I had expected.

 

Unforgettable.