If you haven’t heard of Ohio-based alternative rock duo Twenty One Pilots yet, we’ll just assume you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years. Boasting countless festival dates over the summer, the global success of their fourth studio album, ‘Blurryface’, and having their song ‘Heathens’ selected for the ‘Suicide Squad’ soundtrack, the duo have ascended up to phenomenon status in a matter of months. Returning for their EMØTIØNAL RØADSHØW World Tour, last night (November 11) saw the pair (singer/guitarist Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun) take to 10,000-capacity Alexandra Palace for the first of two sold-out dates in London – their biggest UK shows to date. Having won the award for Best Live Act at the 2016 MTV EMAs last weekend, we expected big things from the boys from Ohio – and they didn’t disappoint.Here are five of the biggest highlights from the band’s explosive performance:
The night’s stunning visuals
Whether it was the multiple costume changes, the fan-art camera filters during opener ‘HeavyDirtySoul’, the hilarious devil Josh projection or the electrifying light shows during ‘Polarize’ and ‘Trees’, the night – which sold out in a matter of seconds when tickets were released in September – was full to the brim with visual treats.
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When Josh showed off his flawless backflip skills
The duo’s energy was palpable with Tyler bouncing around the stage throughout the Pilots’ staggering 105 minute set. The biggest cheer of the night, though, was reserved for the moment when Josh joined his bandmate on top of the piano during ‘Holding On To You’ then leapt right off it with an impressive blink-and-you’ll-miss-it backflip. We wouldn’t recommend trying it yourself.
When the duo magically appeared on a stage at the back of the room
Halfway through the Pilots’ set, the room went dark and the band were nowhere to be seen. Nobody could have expected them to pop up on a stage at the back of the room (not least because nobody noticed it was there in the first place), where they played a medley of songs from their debut album, ‘Twenty One Pilots’, before disappearing again in a puff of smoke. They reappeared on the main stage just moments later, giving a whole new meaning to ‘working the room’. Never has turning up so late you can’t get to the front paid off quite so much.
When Tyler zorbed over the crowd in a red hamster ball
It may be one of the oldest tricks in the book, but Tyler rolling over the 10,000-strong audience in a giant red ball was still cool enough for Muse drummer Dom Howard to Instagram it.
When the pair crowdsurfed… and took the drum kit with them
Not content with lying on his back and letting the masses float him wherever they pleased, Twenty One Pilots’ Josh Dun took his drums with him, venturing into the crowd at the beginning of ‘Ride’ and playing from there instead. Imagine being the ones having to hold him up. Tough work.
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