Recently I went to see one of my favorite bands in the entire world: Twenty One Pilots.
I have been listening to TOP for close to six years. I discovered the band in seventh grade, and I’ve been an avid listener ever since. My middle school years weren’t exactly a bright spot in my life - it was the first time I was separated from my best friends, and the transition was rough. I think society tends to forget how hard it is to mature in a middle school setting, but I haven’t. My middle school experience proved to be the peak of my stress and anxiety.
Anyways, all of these facets accumulated into an inwardly emo Ellen, and thus I opened the door for Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, the two people who are known as Twenty One Pilots. TOP proved to be a constant during all my hard times. I have listened to every single song they’ve produced, including the TOP x Muse Machine album and the Regional at Best EP. I grew up with TOP, and along the way, I grew out of my sadness as well.
And now, that brings me to the present day. To be honest, the days leading up to the concert wasn't extremely exciting. Sure, I was looking forward to it, but I had also been listening to less and less of TOP as the years progressed. I wasn’t anticipating anything special. I had already seen TOP at the end of my eighth grade year, and I didn’t think I would be as blown away as I was then.
Unbeknownst to me, I would be met with the complete opposite.
The concert itself started out sprinting. Tyler and Josh opened up with ‘Jumpsuit’ and a flaming car. While the first time I had seen TOP was on a much more lowkey scale - there wasn’t a plethora of big screens or special effects - the Bandito show was immersed in vibrant lights, stage effects, and plumes of smoke and fire. This show carried just as much allure as the first one had. Tyler did much of the same stunts (spoilers ahead): he climbed on the tall platform during ‘Car Radio’, he kept the crowd immersed with constant conversation, he leaped off his wooden piano, and he even changed into much of the same attire he had worn in 2016. Josh did backflips off the piano, drummed while people in the pit held him up, joined Tyler on the second stage during the slow songs, and played on top of the crowd with Tyler under a flurry of yellow confetti during ‘Trees’. While these were all familiarities to me, the show carried many other surprises as well - a crowd sing-along during ‘Truce’, a cage of LED lights during ‘Bandito’, and even a segment were the security guards got to dance on the big screen. Even though the duo didn’t run across the crowd in gigantic red hamster balls and Tyler didn’t magically appear in the crowd like he had done the first time around, the show was just as captivating as the first time, but now with added visual effects. Furthermore, I had gotten seats right behind general admission, and my friends and I were extremely close to Tyler and Josh as a result. It was surreal being that close to an artist for the first time. When Tyler got onto the platform to do his screaming chorus in ‘Car Radio’, I felt as if I could almost touch him.
The captivating thing about a TOP show is how immersive they are with the crowd, and that partly stems from the TOP fanbase as well. We’re all emo or had emo phases, and TOP songs are what have brought all of that together. It’s a party, but it’s also a reunion. The entire arena knew every lyric to every song, including the songs they performed from Vessel and Blurryface. (The best part about TOP shows is that half the show is dedicated to their old songs!) The couple sitting next to us even engaged us in conversation, and the girl sitting in front of us turned around and laughed when my friend began purposely singing off-key. Tyler and Josh only work to bolster this community by holding sing-offs between the crowd, repeatedly asking how we’re doing, pointing to specific sections of the crowd, and moving between two stages in the arena. It doesn’t feel like a concert that’s solely dedicated to the pit. It doesn’t feel like the people in the stands are watching from the outside. Somehow, TOP is able to bring all 13,000 of us together into one big singing family.
Perhaps one of the most significant parts of the concert was an epiphany I had in the middle of it. Underneath all the attraction and intrigue, I was starkly aware of how different I was now. I remember going to the Emotional Roadshow concert in middle school and feeling the music flow through my veins and scream everything was feeling. Now, I didn’t rely on the music to produce that effect - the music had become just a good tune to my ears.
I don’t want to make it seem like TOP songs have lost meaning to me, because they haven’t. They were there during some of the hardest parts of my life, and I know they are there for others as well. I’m thankful that bands like TOP exist, because it’s hard to find others that sing about “putting the razor down” (‘Nico and the Niners’) and “staying alive” (‘Truce’). Depression and anxiety is on the rise all around the world, and it feels like TOP is one of the only bands to address that. That’s why TOP is so important to me and others - we feel connection in music that is not solely about love.
I used to feel TOP lyrics on a daily basis, but I’m thankful that those feelings are now only fleeting. Humans are prone to the occasional melancholy, and as an overthinker, I am definitely no exception. Thinking of the distance between the person who attended the first concert and the person experiencing the second almost brought me to tears … the distance was just that long.
And with that said, I strongly recommend going to a Twenty One Pilots concert. Even if you don’t listen to their music that much and/or you haven’t had an emo phase, it’s a party and a fun time nonetheless. TOP puts on a show unlike any other artist, and going to their shows is an invaluable experience. However, the time to go see them as now - there have been rumors that the band will be retiring from music after this tour. I’m actually happy about this decision if it materializes - Tyler and Josh have been in the music industry for over a decade, and it’s time that they settle down with their wives and lead the life they’ve been away from for so long.
I am so thankful for the influence TOP has had on my life. There are very few music artists who have impacted my life for the better, and TOP is one of them.
My vlog of the concert: https://youtu.be/n1Wd9663N7c
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