Behind every pretentious music nerd’s self-proclaimed eclectic taste and snobby standards lies some ‘guilty pleasure’ musicians that young cultural critics rue to admit has a special place in their hearts. If one cares to peruse through my last.fm artist chart for the past few months, you won’t be surprised to scan through and note expected names like JPEGMAFIA, black midi, and Magdalena Bay, but sandwiched right between relevant performers like 2Hollis and FKA twigs, you would find the Columbus natives Twenty One Pilots. Hell, my last.fm username, mayorofslowtown, literally references the eponymous nostalgic track off their 2011 non-DSP tape Regional at Best.
For all my gatekeeping about anti-Blackness and East Asian fetishism in mainstream music, one may find it hypocritical that one of my most streamed acts is a Christian rock group consisting of two Midwestern white boys who blend Rebecca Sugar-core ukulele pop with reggae — and then RAP over it — but they are the sole reason why I am as into music as I am today.
Attending school in Columbus for a year and immersing myself in the local music scene reanimated twenty one pilots’ influence for me firsthand. The numerous signs reading “DO YOU REMEMBER BABYSITTING ME?” and “YOU GOT ME THROUGH CHEMO” peppered through the stands only illustrate this further.
Everywhere you go in Columbus, you hear people saying “Tyler Joseph went to my church” or “Josh knows my barber” or bands saying “they’re the lowkey reason we make music.” Attending this concert, the two-piece band proves they haven’t forgotten their hometown’s influence on them in return. Recognizing the fiery dynamic they have with their fans highlighted in the sentimental intro video for Blurryface track “The Judge,” they chose to harness this synergy for a live album recorded throughout the three nights in Columbus, and I was lucky enough to attend the final show.
At the heart of Twenty One Pilots’ music, they have always been about battle: battling time… battling mental health… battling expectations… battling faith. Hosted in the Nationwide Arena, this cataclysmic fight approaches a peak as they box allegations in real life of falling off with the release of 2021’s Scaled and Icy or that their music only hits when you’re a child.
Concurrently, they brave the authoritarian regime of Dema’s accursed bishops within the band’s expansive lore. If you aren’t a devoted loreseeker, you can still rest assured as they curate the setlist with enough non-diegetic songs to keep you satisfied even if you don’t understand the significance of the yellow petals during “Jumpsuit” or find yourself wondering “What’s a Blurryface?” or asking “Who’s Dema?” to many exasperated sighs.
The greatest musical strength that the Columbus’ brotherhood brings to the ring has always been their prowess in live environments. On this tour, before their decade-long storyline of prodigal son Clancy and his trusty Torchbearer concludes, they reminisce on all the reasons they continue to fight. The duo jumpstarts this climactic end by returning to the immersive, wild ambience of Trench with opening track “Overcompensate” and the archetypal Twenty One Pilots song “Holding On To You” while backflipping off pianos. Visitors hear vultures squeal throughout the electrifying “Vignette”’s keyboard solo and witness the world’s sorcery as singer Tyler Joseph teleports across the stadium before emotionally screeching the final chorus of “Car Radio” (I have no idea when he could’ve switched with the double).
The first half of the setlist animated their whole discography (yes, even Regional At Best) with comic-book-like visuals flickering across the stage. The crowd invested themselves in the chorus of “Backslide” like a congregation during a responsorial hymn before escalating into Joseph giving in to the music and shrieking over Josh Dun’s insane drum fills. Indie rock banger “Shy Away” was toned down and made more intimate for the show before transitioning to the creeping bass of Suicide Squad anthem “Heathens.” Clancy highlight “Next Semester” was made to be played live and did not disappoint at all.
As Tyler submerged into the pit and crooned the underrated, subdued backing vocals on “Routines in the Night” — likely recording for a music video — the whole experience resonated like church while he weaved through to get to the lift.
Going off of that, church is about more than the priest; it’s more about the interaction with the gathering, and likewise — from the cathartic drum circle in the sea of adoring fans for their famous “Trees” encore to inviting a child to sing the glorious “RIIIIIIDE” — the crowd is integral to why these shows work. Little unplanned moments like the proposal in the pit amid “The Craving” or the audience’s spontaneous rendition of “Leave the City” before the encore make this more than just a concert.
This sappy first half wrapped up with “Mulberry Street” featuring vocals from the loveable drummer — (I’m so glad that when you look up clips of Josh singing now, it’s not just a barely 2 minute compilation of the same clips anymore) — and a rehearsed singalong bridge with the whole stadium. As it faded to black for an intermission, they ritualistically transitioned to the more rebellious second act as the Torchbearer/Josh Dun promenaded through the pit.
Sharp, cinematic strings pierced the darkness until flames immolated the stage, revealing the decimated car and burning city of Dema. They broke the suspenseful silence with the teeth-gnashing bass-driven “Navigating” and rebel fight song “Nico and the Niners” as they welcomed us to the inferno.
This redder chapter showcased their most insurrectionary tracks (without sounding TOO red like the gladly omitted seemingly anti-vax anthem “Never Take It”) like the suppliant “Guns for Hands,” the glitchy “Fake You Out,” or the immature “Slowtown” — which almost brought me to tears. The main setlist culminates with Dun and Joseph’s touching duet on the climax of “Paladin Strait,” bringing us to the current point in the storyline where the titular Clancy faces his demons.
When fans enter the Nationwide Arena, they walk in expecting a concert, but they get so much more than what they paid for: a resonant churchlike experience, a match in a never-ending fight to survive, and a tour through the continent of Trench. People often forget this is a band that shares Billboard records with Elvis Presley and the Beatles, and they have their music’s ability to connect with fans across all nationalities and ages to thank for it. This Columbus show serves as a reminder that guilty pleasures should never be guilty. Love the music you love with your whole chest.
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