Hi! My name is Angela. I’m from Pennsylvania. I am a huge live music fan, and I probably go to more concerts than I should. I’m an aspiring music photographer and hope to work in the music industry after I finish college.
I first stumbled across Twenty One Pilots’ music in late 2013 but only ever listened to “Holding on to You.” I didn’t become a fan of them and their music until a few weeks before the release of Blurryface in May of 2015. I’m glad I had the chance to watch them blow up in fame and get the recognition they deserve.
On March 27, Twenty One Pilots announced that they were doing a tour of venues in their hometown of Columbus, Ohio. They announced that they would be playing at The Basement, Newport Music Hall, and Express LIVE! After doing two consecutive arena tours, they would play in a venue that had a capacity of 300.
Tickets were hard to get. Fans had to register to receive a code to purchase tickets to the show. A certain number of codes were sent out at random for each venue. After those shows sold out, they announced two more shows: Nationwide Arena and the Schottenstein Center. Tickets for those venues were more open to the public, and they literally sold out within seconds. At the end of the madness, I was heartbroken when I didn’t have a ticket.
I was convinced that I wasn’t going. A couple weeks before the tour started, opening acts were announced. When I heard that Vesperteen was opening for the Schott show, I knew I had to go. I was able to snag a great seat off of StubHub. Before I knew it, I was on my way to Columbus to see my two favourite bands in an arena.
Vesperteen was the first opener of the night. This was the biggest audience that they ever performed in. It was also the first time seeing them play that I wasn’t in the front row. I didn’t know what to expect since the largest crowd I’ve seen them play in front of was only 250. Let me tell you, they owned that arena! I have a feeling that it won’t be long until they are headlining arenas themselves.
Misterwives was the second opener. As always, their set was upbeat and very colourful. There is no way you can sit still while watching their performance. They’re such a talented group of people, and their songs can cheer you up in seconds.
Immediately after Misterwives walked off the stage, red lights illuminated the venue. A Sigur Ròs song played over the speakers while they set the stage for Twenty One Pilots. I wish I could find words to describe the kind of feeling it is to sit in an arena like that. If you’ve seen a Twenty One Pilots show, you know what I’m talking about. It’s peaceful, yet exciting. Almost like a calm before the storm.
Nothing in the show was drastically different than the two shows I saw during The Emotional Roadshow. It was mostly the same setlist with the same tricks. There was a smaller B stage where they did a mashup of old songs. Josh still did a backflip off of the piano, and Tyler still ran to the back of the arena to climb during car radio. They did the hamster ball and a drumline. Almost everything was the same, but yet it was like seeing them live for the first time again.
The back of the pit looked like they were having the time of their lives. There were a few different times where there was a conga line of at least 100 people. During the cover of Can’t Help Falling In Love, there were groups of people slow dancing. They really showed that you don’t have to be in the front of the pit to have a great time.
The Schottenstein Center was not only the last show of TDC, but it was the very last show of the Blurryface album cycle. It was weird knowing that this was the last time they would do a show like this. Some of the songs being played would never be played live again. It was an honour to experience it. It was nostalgic because it was at that same venue I saw them live for the first time back in 2015.
I’m not sure if the two hours flew by or dragged on (in a good way), but the “Trees” finale came. As Tyler was slowly playing the first chords of the song, people were shouting “thank you” and “we love you.” I heard someone scream from across the arena “you saved my life.” As Tyler started talking, no one was screaming or cheering. Every single person in that room was quietly listening to him speak.
He talked about how when him and Josh first started playing music together, they had playing arenas in their minds from the very beginning. Multiple times through his speech he kept saying “You can not put a ceiling to your dreams.” Being a creative person with big dreams, that statement really stuck with me.
Looking back on the show as I’m writing this, it doesn’t feel like it happened. It was like one big, wonderful dream. It feels weird not knowing when the next show will be. It feels weird knowing that the next time I see them perform, they will be playing songs that might not currently exist.
Tyler and Josh will be on a break from touring until further notice. They will be working on new music for us. Next time they’re doing a show in your area, make sure you go! You won’t regret it for a single second. |-/
Check out Angela’s concert photography here!
Follow her on Twitter @hipstrmoon.
Spinning Thoughts 