twenty øne piløts, Auckland NZ, 2018

twenty øne piløts

21st December 2018
Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Matt Henry Mendonca.

I will stay alive.

If there was one message that fans should take away from last nights spectacular twenty øne piløts Auckland show, ‘I will stay alive’ would be it. Wrapping up their worldwide Banditøs tour for 2018 in New Zealand on the 21st of the last month of the year seemed to add a component of perfection to their performance, thousands of fans both young and old – many of them wearing yellow or at least highlights of it – flooding the arena in anticipation for a show that has stunned audiences across the globe.

And twenty øne piløts did not disappoint.

There is a reason that the duo of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun won a Grammy Award for best duo performance; there is no other pair like them in the world that can command a stage for a solid two hours by themselves. No additional band members, no backing vocalists or dancers. Just two friends and a whole truckload of talent.

As the lights dimmed and a haze of smoke crept across the stage, from the darkness emerged Josh Dun, bandana wrapped around his face, flaming torch in hand, a spotlight illuminating Tyler Joseph in a camo jacket and balaclava atop a flaming lifeless body of a car. The heavy undulating bass line tones of ‘Jumpsuit’ echoed across the room and in the blink of an eye pandemonium ensued. The Banditøs tour is one of the duo’s most ambitious yet and while the Australasian leg did not get the full bells and whistles – as is so often the case – of what was on offer overseas, no one would have left feeling unsatisfied with what they had witnessed, the superb stage set-up making you greatly appreciate the time and effort that goes in behind the scenes to make these nights come alive; a fact that even Joseph himself both points out and gives thanks for.

With a heady set list that included a little bit of everything the pair quickly moved into ‘Levitate’ – again from their latest album Trench – before the opening notes from ‘Fairly Local’ had the whole arena buzzing. Known for his ‘magic’ tricks, fans were beside themselves as Joseph disappeared from stage and reappeared towards the back of the arena for the final bars of the song, dramatically tearing the balaclava from his face to prove to one and all that it was indeed him. The sheer physicality of a twenty øne piløts show is one of the elements that make them so endearing to their skeleton clique, even when seated behind the piano for some of their slower numbers, there is an energy that exudes from Joseph that captivates you. He holds thousands of hearts and minds in his hands, and he knows it. Despite exhaustion creeping in around the edges he continues to give them every last drop he has, the fans loving him all the more for it.

While never muttering a word, Dun commands his drum kit, his bright yellow sticks an extension of himself as he hammers out intricate patterns and even pulls out a trumpet solo for good measure. His traditional backflip from atop the piano celebrated by all. Treasured favourites such as ‘Stressed Out’ and ‘Heathens’ which featured the now highly recognisable purples and greens of the Suicide Squad film worked the crowd up, the fans voices joining together as one as they sang along to every word. Breaking out his ukulele the multi-instrumentalist Joseph serenaded the arena with ‘We Don’t Believe What’s On TV’ and a brief snippet of the Elvis classic ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ before once again launching into the mind-boggling antics of rave infused ‘Lane Boy’ complete with CO2 cannons.

For the day one fans there was the deep cut of ‘Taxi Cab’ featuring the first ever rap that Joseph wrote, the bounds of genre bearing no weight in the life of the creative genius who trips across waves of alt-pop, reggae, rap, indie and rock with unbridled freedom. Performing one of the stand out highlights from Trench ‘Neon Gravestones’ spoke to one and all; Joseph’s message of not succumbing to the glory of being celebrated in youthful death and instead paying respect to your elders who continued to walk the path into the twilight years one that should be spoken about far more often.

Several costume changes later – the periodic gaps between sets of songs the only downfall of the evening as it at times broke the momentum – and a light show to rival even the biggest pop stars, twenty øne piløts closed their set out on the emotive ‘Car Radio’. Joseph once again displaying his speed and agility as he sprinted from the stage and re-appeared atop of a scaffold behind the sound desk. An encore of ‘Leave The City’ which saw hundreds of fans hold up squares of paper with the words I will stay alive printed across them, moved into ‘Trees’ which by Joseph’s own admission the duo have been signing off their shows with for quite awhile now. His spine-tingling falsettos and ability to have the crowd sing on masse without ever asking them to a sight to behold. The pair soon climbing atop boards to surf above the heads of their fans, both Joseph and Dun beating drums while yellow confetti rained down from the ceiling.

In the tumultuous times that we live in, in a world that at times appears to be self-imploding; the constant pursuit of finding purpose in one’s life seems to relentlessly be banging at the door. twenty øne piløts encourage you to both create and then find your own meaning in that creation, therefore giving yourself a purpose and a point to staying alive.

So… stay alive.

Were you there at Spark Arena for this intense genre-bending performance? Or have you seen twenty øne piløts perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Setlist:

1. Jumpsuit
2. Levitate
3. Fairly Local
4. Stressed Out
5. Heathens
6. We Don’t Believe What’s On TV
7. Can’t Help Falling In Love [Elvis Presley cover]
8. The Judge
9. Lane Boy
10. Nico And The Niners
11. Taxi Cab
12. Neon Gravestones
13. Pet Cheetah
14. Holding On To You
15. Ride
16. My Blood
17. Morph
18. Car Radio
19. Leave The City [encore]
20. Trees [encore]

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