Twenty One Pilots at Barclays Center, Brooklyn

In Columbus, Ohio, Tyler Joseph began playing music after finding an old keyboard in his closet, a Christmas gift from his mother, and started mimicking radio melodies. In 2007, Joseph recorded a solo album titled No Phun Intended in his basement. While attending university in 2009, Joseph formed Twenty One Pilots as a trio, by 2011, the other two members were replaced by drummer Josh Dun. After years of regional success, the duo achieved international success in 2015 with Blurryface, which became the first album in history on which every track received at least a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. Twenty One Pilots released its fifth and most recent studio album, Trench, on October 5, 2018; all 14 tracks from the album charted in the top 25 of Billboard's Hot Rock Songs chart, where five tracks were in the top 10.

Eight months into Twenty One Pilots' "The Bandito Tour," the band pulled into Barclays Center in Brooklyn for a performance that was both visually and sonically stunning. Fans along the front line of the general admission floor had waited on line for their coveted for two days or more. The house lights dimmed, the stage lights came on, and Josh Dun came out wearing a bandana and hoodie such that only his eyes and forehead were exposed, with a torch in hand. The floor in the back of the stage opened, and Joseph, similarly obscuring his face with a ski mask, and with his bass in hand, squatted on the hood of a car rising to floor level. As the band began "Jumpsuit," the car was set on fire. The fire was masterfully controlled, allowing Joseph to mount and dismount the burning car, until the end of the song when the platform with the car sunk into the bowels of the stage. The spectacles and wardrobe changes were only beginning. Later stunts included the lowering of a suspended catwalk so the musicians could walk above the audience to a stage in back of the arena (U2 had done this previously), and performing vertically on platforms held aloft by fans. The blend of light rock, electropop, reggae, emo and hip hop was solid as well, although much of it was pre-programmed and not live. Surprisingly, Twenty One Pilots performed the current album in its entirety, foregoing some of the band's hits from previous albums. Joseph sang, crooned and rapped, played ukulele, bass and piano, and captivated the spotlight, while Dun kept the rhythms on his drums and did an occasional backflip. For two hours, the duo performed pleasant music that was given color by confetti canons, videos, creative lighting, hydraulic platforms and other effects that made the concert unforgettable.

Setlist:

1. Jumpsuit
2. Levitate
3. Fairly Local
4. Stressed Out
5. Heathens
6. Legend
7. We Don't Believe What's on TV
8. The Hype
9. Lane Boy
10. Nico and the Niners
11. Smithereens
12. Neon Gravestones
13. Bandito
14. Pet Cheetah
15. Holding on to You
16. Ride
17. Cut My Lip
18. My Blood
19. Morph (snippet of Seven Nation Army during drum solo)
20. Car Radio
21. Encore:
22. Truce
23. Chlorine
24. Leave the City
25. Trees