Concert Review: 21 Pilots

Midwest Mint: 21 Pilots

By: Brady Litteral

Twenty One Pilots, an energetic electronic/rock/rap band from Columbus, Ohio played an amazing show at Kidd Coffee on March 19, 2011.  The band is made up of lead singer/pianist Tyler Joseph, drummer Chris Salih, bassist Nick Thomas and stand-in bassist Tom Atha.  The audience at the show reflected the bands diverse appeal with a crowd made up of young kids, older parents and plenty of swooning girls of all ages in-between.

The band immediately captivated the audience by kicking off the show with their rendition of “Time to Say Goodbye.”  During this performance the audience fed off of the energy the band was emitting and the crowd went crazy with excitement as Tyler jumped on the piano while performing.  The audience’s elation only grew as the night went on and the band continued to play crowd favorites such as “Pantaloon” and “Car Radio” while the crowd sang the lyrics in unison with Tyler.  Watching as the band performed and sang the lyrics it was clear how much they believe in the message they are sharing with their audiences.  They are not just singing meaningless words to a beat as many artists seem to these days, but instead challenging their audience to think about what the lyrics are saying.

The boundless energy continued throughout the rest of the night as the band played their current single “slowtown” which included crowd surfing and Tyler’s incredible stage presence as he hopped around clapping his hands and waving his arms.  The night ended with a spectacular performance of the song “Trees” where Tom and Tyler placed two drums for the front rows of the audience to hold up while they pounded on them till the end of the song.

There was not a dull or unenthusiastic performance from these guys the entire show.  They know how to get the crowd involved and keep the anticipation high.  The music has an infectious feel to it and the depth of lyrical styling mixed with a magnificent stage presence will take Twenty One Pilots far.  Their show has the creativity and excitement that deserves to be seen on the summer music festival circuit.