People ask why you would wait for hours, even days, in line for a concert. "It's just a band/ it's just a concert", they say. Twenty One Pilots is completely its own category. Of anything.

I go to a lot of concerts. I'm in a band, myself. But so far I've been to seven Twenty One Pilots shows and so far, nothing else has been able to stand up to them. It's more than just music. It's a way of thinking, an experience. Everything has meaning. Their lyrics have a way of knowing exactly what you're feeling and how to make you feel better. As a band member, probably the single greatest thing you can hear from a fan is that your music helped them in some way. I don't even think you can quantify how many people have been helped by their music. It brings people together and tells a story. They know what people go through and reach out to them. In that way, their concerts are like therapy. Being in a room with like-minded people singing the songs that we all love is a feeling I can’t describe. It's about looking out for each other and helping people who need it. It's about letting you know that you're not alone and you're stronger than you think. Not many bands speak out for mental illness and actually help so many people.

My first Twenty One Pilots show was the Bunbury Festival in Cincinnati, June 2015. This was about 2 weeks after the award-winning album Blurryface was released. A friend and I decided to do the black paint on our hands and neck that Tyler Joseph, the singer, is now well known for sporting at concerts as part of this album cycle. Since it hadn’t gone viral yet, we got a lot of weird looks and were stopped by probably 30 people asking why we were wearing black paint. We explained repeatedly that it represented the singer’s insecurities, and that it was a representative of their latest album. It was also where the music video for Lane Boy was filmed.

I usually try to get General Admission/Pit for their shows. It involves being squashed by strangers and camping outside the venue for a day (a few days, for some), but it's totally worth it. Not just to be close to the stage to be able to interact with the band -- they always go out on top of the crowd on platforms with drums for some songs-- but for the fact that camping out is more like a huge fan party. The Twenty One Pilots fandom/'Skeleton Clique' is more like a family than just fans. I'll go get in line by my--very shy--self and end the day with a lot of new friends. I always bring my ukulele and we end up having jam sessions with crowds of people singing along. Sometimes people will bring other instruments or take videos to share with fans that couldn't come to the show.

Looking only at live music performance & theatricality, I don't think you'll easily find a live band that puts so much into shows. Their light shows are amazing, they have fog & confetti cannons, videos, giant LED screens, costumes,etc. At the Emotional Roadshow World Tour part 2 kickoff, Tyler invited a fan on stage to play Mario Kart on the big screens. I've also never seen a band that will actually go from the stage and into the crowd. Their fans mean so much to them.

The two members, Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph are from Columbus, Ohio. As an Ohio State student, I was thrilled to see our school mascot on stage with them at their 2015 Hometown Show at the Schottenstein Center on campus. Ohio has always taken pride in everything local and we couldn't be more proud to have them. They recently won a Grammy (in their underwear, in case you missed it) and they have had 3 songs hit the top of the Billboard charts simultaneously. They also recently played a week of hometown shows, Tour De Columbus, wanting to go back to where they started and give back to the people who have helped them grow from the beginning. I was lucky enough to attend 2 shows: The Newport Music Hall and Schottenstein Center, both on The Ohio State University campus. I'd always walked past the Newport and other local venues (or gone to shows there) wishing I'd been able to see them there before they got too big to play there. It was truly humbling to see their journey from tiny venues to selling out arenas. Having a lot of hometown connections with them makes everything even more meaningful. They've done it, they're following their dreams. "Power to the local dreamer".

As they grow in popularity, it's becoming increasingly more difficult to buy tickets to shows. I encourage you to go at least once, though. It's something you have to experience yourself. It's more than a band, it's a unique experience. A movement. It's a living testimony that a small band from anywhere can truly do anything, even from Ohio. It's the few, the proud, and the emotional.

"We're Twenty One Pilots and so are you."
-Tyler Joseph at the end of every show

(Side note: the cover photo is one of the official tour photos from their Facebook page. It was the June 21st Newport show, I'm the very first person on the end of the balcony to the left, just above the stage)