“Welcome back to Trench.”
The curtain came down and the crowd at Footprint Center in Phoenix was bathed in fog and dizzying red lights as twenty one pilots drummer Josh Dun pounded away at the opening beats of “Overcompensate”.
Seconds later, singer Tyler Joseph came flying into view dressed in his signature ski mask and carrying his lantern microphone to kick off the Arizona stop of The Clancy World Tour. Fans dressed as every era of the band’s deep lore packed the pit and the stands at the sold out arena show and filled the venue with their screaming and passionate singing.
An opening as wild as this is really only ever the tip of the iceberg with TOP- their shows have reached astounding heights since their humble beginnings and this tour took their production into the stratosphere to celebrate the band’s latest album.
Before we got to the madness, New Zealand duo Balu Brigada warmed up the restless audience with their throwback rock ‘n’ roll energy. The literal band of brothers- Pierre and Henry Beasley- might be new faces to their current audiences but they quickly won the room’s approval with an upbeat set.
Dun and Joseph have always preferred to be in the thick of the crowd for their live shows and this has not changed with the upgrade to arenas. By only the second song, Joseph was screaming “Holding on to You” from atop the first row of the pit and the band worked some magic during “Car Radio” to appear in the middle of things as well. The set was a mix of what are now becoming old favorites and new cuts from Clancy but the volume of singing coming from the crowd never wavered.
“Routines in the Night” found the duo leaving the main stage yet again to meander through a respectful audience to reach their respective performance platforms across each other on the floor. In an amusing stage malfunction, Dun’s platform didn’t rise alongside Joseph’s, causing the latter to burst into giggles when he realized. The fans were thrilled to be so close to the band throughout the show, waving signs and expressing love that was reciprocated by both members.
“This is turning out to be- so far- my favorite show of the tour,” Joseph said, prompting massive cheers from an audience of longtime fans. The band stayed at their B-stages for a medley of TOP classics before lighting up the room on every beat of “Mulberry Street”.
The second half of the set turned up the energy even more with a return to Trench on “Nico and the Niners” and the uncontainable Blurryface opener “Heavydirtysoul”. The band had a few tricks up their sleeve as well, “teleporting” both Joseph and Dun into the stands at intervals to introduce each new segment of the show. Dun is famously reticent onstage but surprised and delighted the fans with his interactions, including revealing a Phoenix jersey and promptly tossing it into the crowd.
Joseph couldn’t stay away from the audience, returning to the B-stage to invite a tiny Skeleton Clique member to join him for the final chorus of “Ride” as the crowd cheered him on. Then it was Dun’s turn, jumping on his drum island supported by the fans in the pit to close the main set with a heart-pounding performance of “Paladin Strait”.
The stage had been covered in flames and confetti but twenty one pilots was not ready to let their audience go just yet. They didn’t make the room wait long before popping back out on “Jumpsuit” and “Midwest Indigo” as part of a lengthy encore. The middle of the floor concealed a large red circle and fans knew exactly what to do when Joseph directed them to open the area for the band’s final goodbye.
The duo closed an incredible set surrounded by fans for “Stressed Out” and “Trees” before bowing to a grateful audience and a farewell of “We’re twenty one pilots and so are you”- a moment that means just as much to an arena of people as it did to a tiny basement crowd all these years later.
