I don’t know about you, but music is a huge part of my life. Any chance I get I have music playing. Two things that inspire me most are live music and this band called Twenty One Pilots. Have you heard of them? You probably have. Since the start of the year they have blown up in every good way possible, and I’ve had the honour of watching it happen.
Last September, my best friend and I took a spontaneous three hour trip to Columbus to see them perform at the hometown show. Even though we were one of the last rows in the Schottenstein Center, I never thought another concert would top that one (pun sort of intended).
A little less than a month later, I received some of the best news ever: Twenty One Pilots were coming to Pittsburgh for their summer tour! I ended up getting tickets literally the second they went on pre-sale. I knew that this show had the chance to be better than the Hometown show. I spent the weeks before our show making a game plan about how we were going to wait in line all day and get close to the stage.
This show didn’t disappoint. This is my Twenty One Pilots concert experience.
After what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, June 1st was here. There was only one problem: I woke up with no voice! Isn’t that supposed to happen after a concert? I didn’t let this even come close to bringing me down. This was my day, and it was going to be the best day ever.
We got to the venue around 10 AM and met up with a friend I made through a fan page on FaceBook. The wait was long and hot, but I was happy to sit on the sidewalk in my favourite city waiting to see my favourite band.
Eight hours later, the doors were open, and we were let in to the venue. I was so unbelievably excited about how close we were able to get. We were no more than ten people back from the stage.
The two opening acts were phenomenal! Mutemath has been one of my favourite bands for a long time. It was a dream come true seeing them play. In between the opening acts, the security at Stage AE were spraying us down with hoses because of the heat. It was disgusting, but in all honesty, if they weren’t doing that there would have been even more people passing out.
After Mutemath was finished, a white curtain was hung from the top of the stage. Red lights hit it from behind. There was a low, continuous note that was being played through the speakers as they were setting up the stage. The whole time this was happening, I was standing in the pit completely shocked. I couldn’t believe I was finally here. I was holding on to this day for nine months, and it was here. Eventually the curtain came down and the note’s pitch got higher and higher. Once the note hit its last new pitch, the familiar bass rhythm of Fairly Local started playing. What followed were the scariest ten minutes of my life.
As soon as Josh came out on the stage, people started pushing. Now, I’ve been to plenty shows in concert pits before, but this was by far the worst pit experience I have ever had. The people behind us pushed us so hard we ended up moving maybe five feet up. This wouldn’t have been too bad if my feet were on the ground as it was happening. Until the third song on the setlist, we were constant being pushed around. The adrenaline going through me kept making me feel like I was going to pass out. It was terrifying.
It wasn’t long after that that the pushing stopped and we were able to enjoy the show. Everything about it was wonderful. This visuals on the screen behind Tyler and Josh mixed with the light was stunning. Their performance was outstanding. There were many jumps, a back flip, and even a climb up a huge pole in the back of the pit. Towards the end of the set, Tyler got in a human sized hamster ball and came out into the audience. I never wanted the night to end, but it had to. My favourite part was ironically the finale.
If you aren’t familiar with Twenty One Pilots’ live performances, during their last song titled Trees, they both go out into the audience on platforms and finish the song. Josh was right in front of us. Experiencing the Trees finale that close was such a magical thing.
That whole concert was magical. Since I didn't have a voice to cheer and sing along, I was able to just stand and take it all in. I have never felt more alive or happy in my entire life. I cried from happiness and excitement the whole time they were on stage. I highly recommend seeing them live if your even a little bit of a fan of their music. I’m not exaggerating when I say that it was life changing.
Thank you Tyler and Josh for creating this music that so many resonate with. Keep changing the world. |-/
