Twenty One Pilots Sold Out Merriweather Performance

Owen Paterline | June 11, 2016, 01:49 PM | 0 Comments

Merriweather Post Pavilion was stuffed to capacity last night, with dyed hair and black and red T-shirts. Twenty One Pilots was to perform and where they go a very large loyal fan base goes with them. Some of the “Clique”, as they are called, even slept in line the night before so they could be right on barricade for the show. A number of these fans drove miles and many cities over just at a chance to see their favorite band.

Chef’s Special started off the show while many people were still filing in from the copious amounts of traffic around the venue. They had a lot of energy and started warming up the crowd. For a band that had so much energy it was sad only seeing vocalists Joshua Nolet dancing around the stage. The other members were entertaining to watch as well but never left their position on stage even though they had plenty of room on the newly renovated Merriweather stage.

They were received quite well by the crowd and seemed like a good fit as an opener for Twenty One Pilots who crosses so many genres. Chef’s Special also crosses genres sounding like a very relaxed reggae mixed with some hip-hop and and catchy pop, kind of like a cross between Dirty Heads, 311 and 2AM Club. If you would like to hear some of Chef’s Special you can check out there latest hit “In Your Arms” here.

Next up was the New Orleans alt-rock band Mutemath. By this time most of Merriweather was filled and rocking out with the band. Mutemath was sure to take some of their creativeness from their music videos and apply them to the live show. For” Monument” they brought out LED gloves with drum samples on the palms for a select lucky few in the pit. Lead singer Paul Meany then would high five each glove/fan to create an impressive drum fill and light display.

Finally, the moment arrived for Twenty One Pilots to take the stage. The fans were rowdy chanting “T. O. P.” in anticipation for the performance. The duo took the stage to thunderous applause and cheers, starting things off with the “Fairly Local” intro into “Heavydirtysoul”. The crowd erupted into singing every line of every song.

The production on this tour was higher than it has ever been. Throughout the set the Ohio based boys changed wardrobe a couple of times. The light panels behind the band had integrated strobe and spot lighting inside which created electric visuals that could only be compared to light heavy EDM shows, only Twenty One Pilots did it better. The panels also doubled as a large screen for videos that accompanied the songs or to create a quick set backdrop like when it was the front of a house for “Stressed Out”.

They performed a few songs and a medley of older songs on a mini stage at the back of the pavilion right in front of the lawn. This gave those in the far back of the lawn a little bit better view of Tyler and Josh. The mini stage also had CO2 and LED lights on it which made it feel more like an extension of the stage than a separate acoustic stage that other bands have used it for. The medley was a nice way to include many of the older songs Twenty One Pilots had before they were picked up by Fueled By Ramen. Older fans were more than ecstatic to hear snippets of “Forest” and “Addict with a pen” and the brevity allowed them to play more of their newer tracks that a larger portion of their fan base knows.

Twenty One Pilots added some new stunts/performances to their normal bag of tricks for this tour. New highlights from the set included Josh Dun performing in a drum line at the end of “Tear In My Heart”. Also Tyler Joseph had his moment of walking across the crowd in a human sized hamster ball during “Guns For Hands”.

Finally they brought out Mutemath and Chef’s Special to do three covers with them “Twist and Shout”, “Love Your Self” and “Jump Around”.

If you have never seen this duo perform live do so as soon as possible. They have a few shows that are not sold out yet but most people who do not have tickets will need to wait for the next tour. It is a non stop performance and fun that not even Las Vegas could top. By far one of the best concerts you will see in your life. Grab any remaining tickets for the tour here. You can pick up Twenty One Pilots latest album Blurryface there as well. You can also pick up Chef’s Special’s new EP here. For more pictures from the show, scroll below.

All images provided by: Owen Paterline Photography.