Written by Mark McWhite
Navigating through their Clancy World Tour that touches down in four continents, the band 21 PILOTS performed a spectacular live show in Dallas Friday night at the AAC giving their fans a truly interactive concert experience. The audience was primed when the curtains dropped to reveal a fog covered bright red, multi level stage enhanced with large media screens. A mostly younger crowd packed the arena. Many, were sporting red duct tape on their shoulders in reference to the newly released album Clancy. The crowd was totally engaged with the duo Tyler Joseph, the lead singer, and Josh Dun the drummer that makes up 21 PILOTS. Josh brought hard hitting drum licks and Tyler’s proficient talents on multiple musical instrumentalists brought the fans along for an awesome ride.
At the end of the song “Vignette” Tyler appears to jump into a black hole on the stage but immediately appears on the upper deck in the back of the arena where he sings their hit “Car Radio”. The band played a ton of hits from their fifteen year career as Grammy winning artists while feeding off of the pumped up crowd who was on their feet and singing along with every word the entire show. When performing “Tear My Heart”, “Dark Side” and “Shy Away’, Tyler and Josh moved around the stage playing different instruments and standing on their piano where Josh did his famous back flip onto the floor and Tyler was lying on his back while playing the keytar.
After playing a host of hits the duo appeared on the arena floor in the middle of the crowd on separate sub stages that elevated and illuminated their individual performance. Their mix of pop/ rock with a rasta feel along with the versatility of using the entire arena space kept the excitement at full throttle. When Tyler wanted the audience to focus on his vocals he pulled a chair up to the very front of the stage and performed under a spotlight bringing intimacy to the performance. Both artists use their skill of playing multiple instruments to cover music that is usually handled by several musicians.
The PILOTS directed sections of the audience to flash their phone lights during specific parts of the show to create an audience assisted custom light show. Then Josh appears walking through the crowd on the floor dressed in a cape and carrying a fiery torch to the stage to interact with the dark cityscape projected on the background. The special effects of real flame throwers, plumes of smoke and sparklers coordinated with the media special effects provided a seamless flowing concert experience. From Josh showing his six pack abs and taunting the crowd with giving away his shirt to letting a young fan sing along to the mega hit song “Ride”, the audience was encouraged to participate in the show. When Tyler asked the people on the floor to make an open circle everyone complied, and staff brought a piano and drum set to the circle and then allowed fans to press in close to the band for a very up close and personal performance.
21 PILOTS played more than 25 songs for over two and a half hours and with opener Balu Brigade from New Zealand bringing some smooth alternative tunes, they created one of the best live shows you will ever experience.
Balu Brigade
21 Pilots
