by Victoria Race

Last week, Sophie and I had the chance to attend the EMØTIØNAL RØADSHØW tour and see one of our favorite bands, Twenty One Pilots. On tour with the band are New Orleans-based, MUTEMATH, and our friends from the Netherlands, Chef’Special.

 

Chef’Special opened up the show with their track “Amigo.” Though most of the fans did not know the band or what to expect from their music, they seemed to enjoy their set and have a good time. Personally, I thought they were a great start to the night and helped get everyone pumped up for an awesome night of music. Other tracks from Chef’Special’s set included “Peculiar,” and “Biggest Monkey.” My favorite was their new track with the lyric, “money is the root of all evil.” The band finished up their set with the performance of a slower track, “In Your Arms.” By the end, the crowd had lit up the arena with their phones. To learn more about Chef’Special and their music, check out our recent interview with the band here.

 

 

MUTEMATH was up next with their impressively staged setlist. Their hit “Light Up” was one of the first tracks and was followed by one of their early songs, “Reset.” The track is entirely instrumental and was written when lead vocalist Paul Meany had laryngitis.

By far, they were the most instrumental band of the night, with similar qualities to artists like Alt-J and Silvers Pickups. While down in the pit, Sophie made a point of telling me that drummer Darren King duct tapes his headphones.

Other tracks from their set included “Typical,” and my personal favorite, “Spotlight.” MUTEMATH finished with the performance of  “Monument” and an “endless thank you to Tyler and Josh.”

 

 

While waiting down in the pit for Twenty One Pilots, Sophie was approached by a security guard and they had the following conversation:

“Are these the guys that do ‘Stressed Out’?”

“Yes.”

“These dudes are lit.”

 

Finally, after intense anticipation, Twenty One Pilots made their entrance. They opened up their set with “Heavydirtysoul” followed by “Migraine.” During the middle of “Hometown,” Tyler (who we thought was onstage) suddenly appeared in the crowd and across the arena, leaving everyone dumbfounded. After Tyler got back to the stage, he broke out his guitar for “Polarized” and then the ukulele for a brief snippet of “House of Gold.”

More tracks were played from Blurryface including “Judge” and “Lane Boy” before Tyler and Josh switched to a smaller stage the back of the arena. There, they performed some earlier tracks like “Forest,” “Addict With A Pen,” and “Kitchen Sink.” Later on in the set, Twenty One Pilots brought out Chef’Special and MUTEMATH to play a medley of covers including Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” and House of Pain’s “Jump Around.”

Of course, a Twenty One Pilots show would not be complete without Josh playing out on his crowd kit. Tyler even got in a giant, red inflatable ball to run across the crowd. I found the highlight of their set to be the performance of my personal favorite, “Trees,” and the impressive crowd reaction it invoked at the end of their set.

I have never known a band so appreciative and dedicated to their fans. Twenty One Pilots will forever hold a special place in my heart and those of so many others.

Check out more of Sophie’s photos in our gallery.

 

 

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