Five years of supporting and loving Twenty One Pilots, I finally had the opportunity to see them live on their Bandito tour. I went to see them in Miami at the American Airlines Arena. To sum it up, it was the best show that I have ever been to; I’ve been to a lot of concerts so that is a big claim.
The opener was Bear Hands and, unfortunately, I was late to the show so I only experienced the last ten minutes of their set. From the 10 minutes I had seen, they were alright. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing special.
And then came the taunting wait. They were supposed to be on around 8:30, but as per usual, they were about 15 minutes late. At this point, my adrenaline was building with every minute that passed. My heart was racing, my breathing was off pace, and my mind was all over the place.
Then, the music changes and everything goes dark. My excitement spilled out and I held onto my best friend as if my life depended on her. Breathing became a hard task, as I saw Josh Dun (the drummer) come out on stage with a torch, lighting up enough for us to see him. A few seconds later, Tyler Joseph (the vocalist) follows behind him. The lights come on and reveal a burning car, as represented in the music video for “Heavydirtysoul” and “Jumpsuit.” Each and every detail set the scene for the Trench era.
The drums and bass lead the way to “Jumpsuit,” and that is when I lost my mind. Tears were threatening to come out as I was finally seeing one of my favorite bands live. This was absolutely the best opening to a show and I couldn’t have done it better myself.
“Jumpsuit” then leads into “Levitate,” which was absolutely incredible. On their most recent album, Trench, “Jumpsuit” perfectly blends into the next song, “Levitate.” The fact that they brought that aspect to the setlist was really pleasing and made the show that much more amazing.
During “Fairly Local,” Tyler falls into this hole on the stage. For a couple of seconds, it’s dark, and then you see him show up in a random part of the crowd, continuing to sing the song. This really shows their intimacy with the crowd. A lot of artists will only interact with the people in the pit and sometimes won’t interact at all with their audience. Tyler and Josh aim to please everyone, including those in the pit and in the seats.
Jumping forward a few songs, hearing “Lane Boy” live really lit the fire for me. Lane Boy is my favorite song by them so hearing and seeing it live was an experience I’ll never forget. They had hazmats come out in gas masks to really make the song come to life. The light show and pyro also added to the incredible energy of the song. Everything about it was just perfect, and it left me out of breath. “Pet Cheetah” live had the same exact effect.
There was this really special moment when Tyler asked all of us to sit down as he played “Smithereens” and “Neon Gravestones.” It made the songs even more special, and almost allowed us to relax and to take in the words of the songs even more.
Then we reach the heartbreaker of the night. The second I heard the first piano chord of “Truce,” tears were coming faster than I thought they would. Possibly the most beautiful part of the show is the fact that Tyler wasn’t singing; the lyrics were on a screen and the audience sang the words to Truce as he played the piano. There was something so beautiful about hearing 21,000 people collectively singing “stay alive.” This moment made me feel as if I was in a safe space, like these people surrounding me were my family and we were all in a community. Nothing could beat the amount of love I felt in that exact moment.
Finally, the last song of the night, “Trees.” For those of you who don’t know, ever since it was released, they have always played “Trees” as the closing song in their shows. This is understandable because the song is so incredibly powerful live, and is the perfect way to end a show. At that moment, tears were streaming down my face. It was a mixture of sadness that the concert was ending and the fact that the song had such an important impact on me. I had seen countless videos of this song live, and I had several people tell me that it was powerful. Obviously, seeing videos does not do it justice; it’s when you finally get to experience it yourself that you understand the feelings people felt hearing that song live. They really involve the audience in this performance, and it made me feel connected to everyone in the room. “Trees” was definitely my favorite song that they played.
“We are Twenty One Pilots and so are you” were the last words they said to us before they left the stage. Those nine special words that make you feel like you actually mean something to the band in front of you, and makes you feel like you are apart of something so much more special than anything else.
I left that concert with an endless amount of love in my heart, and no other concert has ever had that big of an impact on me. It’s safe to say that it was the best show that I have ever been to. Nothing else can beat the amount of important and special connections that there was between the artist and the fans. Not to mention, the attention to detail and bringing the Trench era to life was amazing. They really put blood, sweat, and tears into planning every aspect of the concert and it definitely shows.
All I have to say is, thank you Twenty One Pilots for the most special night of my life. Thank you for making an impact on my life. Thank you for making me feel loved and like I was apart of something bigger than myself. Thank you for giving me a home away from home, and a community of people that I could depend on.
Written by Kenna!
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