It is absolutely mind-blowing to me how rapidly and deservingly Twenty One Pilots have grown over the past three years. The first time I saw these guys was on an openings slot at a festival here in the Bay Area called BFD. I was bouncing from stage to stage that afternoon, so I only saw bits and pieces of the set. The first time I truly saw their full show was when they opened for Fall Out Boy a few years ago. I was impressed but not mind blown.
Now that the two-piece have been given a full headlining set (along with Echosmith, who shared a co-headlining spot with the band during a two night stint at The Fox Theater last weekend), I can understand what drew people into them. Their sound is eclectic, a wide variety of rock, R&B, hip-hop, and pop, mixed with vocal elements, a unique styling of drums, and piano riffs. The show that both of these bands played sold out several months in advance, so this was guaranteed to be a must-see.
The night was actually kicked off with a perfect fit: a native Bay Area local band on one of their first large-scale tours. Finish Ticket opened up the show with a high-energy set, a stark and fantastic contrast to what I’ve been used to seeing of them in the past (then again, the last time I saw them was years ago when I was in high school, so it makes perfect sense that they’ve changed a bit since then).
Echosmith followed, playing the best set I’ve seen them perform thus far in their career. The band have always had an 80s synth-pop vibe about them, and I found Saturday’s performance to be no exception to this statement. Okay, maybe not synth pop. But definitely 80s pop. Their set traversed throughout the various numbers found on their Talking Dreams album, released back in 2013, playing out very well with the crowd comprised both of Echosmith fans and those dressed to the nines in black face-paint and red beanies awaiting the Twenty One Pilots gentlemen to take the stage.
This was a very special night for the TOP crew. Massive video cameras and a film crew were present as the band chose the Fox Theater to be the centerpiece for their upcoming live DVD. I don’t know if it was because of that fact specifically, or maybe because the show was sold out, but the energy seemed extra high that evening. Every single song played went off extremely well.
Without a doubt, this was one of the biggest shows of the year. If you missed it, well, that’s a shame. But there’s always the DVD.
This has been another Shameless Promotion.