On Sunday, June 19, Twenty One Pilots brought the Emotional Roadshow to Hershey, PA, in their biggest show of the tour, and they did not disappoint.
The night started with opening acts, Chef's Special and Mutemath warming up the audience with some high energy songs. Then, at about 9 p.m., the curtain dropped to reveal Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun standing in their signature red suits and black ski masks.
Playing in front of a sold-out stadium, they opened their set with an intro of "Fairly Local" and segued into "Heavydirtysoul." Then they played "Migraine" and "Hometown," ending with a neat little magic trick from Tyler--he was covered with a sheet onstage at the piano, only to reappear on top of the press box on the side of the stadium. Needless to say, the Clique went wild.
About half way through the show, they threw it back to their older albums with a medley of "The Pantaloon," "Fall Away," "Johnny Boy," "Forrest," "Addict With A Pen," "March to the Sea" and "Kitchen Sink." After which, they brought Chef's Special and Mutemath back on stage to assist with some covers of a few well-known songs--"Twist and Shout," which Tyler dedicated to his grandparents who were in the audience, "My Heart Will Go On," with Josh providing a lovely trumpet solo, Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself" and "Jump Around."
Tyler and Josh kept up some of their signature moves, climbing into the crowd and allowing fans to hold them up while they effortlessly continued to play their music. Tyler even ran over the crowd in a giant hamster ball. The fans cheered as Josh backflipped off of the piano, and Tyler jumped excitedly across the stage.
Throughout the show, the boys performed with an energy and enthusiasm that can only come from truly loving what they do, and their appreciation for their fans was not lost on the crowd for one second. They didn't set out to just play music on a stage, they set out to put on a show and entertain and that is exactly what they accomplished. They didn't just play at the audience, they included us and made it feel like it was just as much our show as it was theirs.
The energy from the crowd was so contagious that you couldn't help but jump and dance and sing at the top of your lungs! There's something comforting and exhilarating about screaming along to the lyrics to a song that had literally kept you alive with a stadium full of people who feel the same way about Twenty One Pilots as you.
I've been to some great concerts, but I've never left one feeling as amazed as I did leaving the Emotional Roadshow.
