I’m back with yet another concert review, and it’s a band readers of our last edition should be fairly familiar with by now. After traveling back home to Maryland for a few days, I trekked up to New York City and met up with some of my friends from Brandeis. We had one goal: on Oct. 4, see Twenty One Pilots in Wantagh, Long Island, and somehow make it back to Manhattan before our 10 a.m. train the next day.
After spending a few hours at The Met Museum, we headed out to Wantagh. None of us had been to Jones Beach Theater before, but in a way, I was returning to my roots. Three of my grandparents grew up on Long Island, one of them just outside of Wantagh, and they all had spent time at Jones Beach and been to concerts at the theater when they were my age.
Frontman Tyler Joseph stated during their set that Jones Beach Theater was one of his favorite venues he had ever played at, and even with the hassle we had getting there and back from the train station, I understand why. With a perfect view of the full moon and the water on three sides of the stage, it was nothing short of incredible.
Twenty One Pilots opened with “Overcompenstate,” the debut single from their second-most-recent album “Clancy.” Joseph delivered the same power in his vocals live as he did in the studio, but did it while holding cameras, swinging around a microphone and having several minor quick-changes throughout the set. They next went into “The Contract” and “RAWFEAR” off “Breach,” and at times, I swear the crowd was just as loud as the band. The show looked nearly sold out, and provided effortless backing vocals on “Blurryface” tracks: “We Don’t Believe What’s on TV” and “Tear in My Heart.” Drummer Josh Dun took to the trumpet on the former, playing along to the melody as the fans belted it back at him.
Next on the setlist was “Backslide,” an emotional song from “Clancy.” I think it was the largest group of people I had ever seen swaying their hands in sync, guided by Joseph as they transitioned into “Blurryfaces’ ” “Lane Boy.” While Joseph’s vocals on this song are great, the star was truly Josh Dun. With the lights aligning with nearly all of the beats he hit, “Lane Boy” was the first of many amazing drum moments of the night. Joseph switched out his ukulele for a keyboard on “Shy Away,” before quickly shifting into 2016 hit “Heathens.” While “Heathens” isn’t anything close to my favorite song in Twenty One Pilots’ discography, it is by far one of the best songs they play live. With the entire amphitheater screaming “WATCH IT!” in between basslines, I felt the sound in my chest. They directly transitioned into “Next Semester” following “Heathens’ ” end—one of my favorite songs of theirs—and showed absolute mastery on drums, bass and vocals.
After those first ten songs, Joseph and Dun journeyed to the B-stage with “Routines in the Night,” which was just a few sections away from my seat. They mashed up “Message Man,” “Pet Cheetah” and “Polarize” before heading back to the mainstage with “Chlorine.” It was incredible to see Twenty One Pilots up close; the last time I had a view anywhere like that seeing them was back in 2019, on the second leg of the Bandito Tour in Baltimore. Although my seat this time cost double the price it did six years ago, it was just as incredible.
Back on the mainstage, Twenty One Pilots then dove into my favorite part of their set. As Josh Dun held his signature torch and a flag with “Wantagh” on it in all capital letters, the stage revealed the inner layout of the fictional city Dema, and they dove into “Trench” album opener “Jumpsuit.” An incredibly bass-heavy song, the energy from both the band and the crowd was insane. It persisted as the song seamlessly transitioned into “Nico and the Niners,” and when Joseph began the rap-heavy bridge, Dun began playing the drum pattern to the “Blurryface” opener: “Heavydirtysoul.” I will forever stand by that “Heavydirtysoul” is one of the best songs I’ve ever heard performed live, only beaten out by a few Car Seat Headrest songs (who I was lucky enough to see this year in DC and Boston); the mixture of lighting design, smoke and fire effects and the way the band played made it simply remarkable.
Following three loud, amped-up tracks, Joseph sat down at his piano for “The Line,” a newer song from the soundtrack of TV show “Arcane.” The crowd still kept the energy, but the focus was on the vocals; Tyler Joseph chose to do his famous opt-up toward the end of the song, made known from their performance of the song at the 2024 Game Awards. It was emotional, beautiful, and truly harnessed the ability of the band to turn a slower, quieter song into something incredibly powerful. Joseph stayed at the piano for the more upbeat “Garbage,” which was fun to sing along to, before going into “Doubt (demo),” which blew up on social media platforms in recent months. They followed it with fan-favorite “Tally,” where Dun once again had time to shine. Immediately after, Joseph went into the crowd once again for “Ride” and did segments of the song on platforms on each side of the venue. He was even closer to my section than where he had been on the B-stage, and it was nothing short of awesome to sing my favorite part of “Ride” with Joseph a few feet in front of me. Joseph then brought up a young fan named Atticus onto the stage for the last part of the song, who received tons of cheers from the crowd, and deservedly so.
The final song of the main part of the concert was “Drum Show,” the second single from “Breach” and a love letter to both playing music and Josh Dun himself. Dun sang his rare part before playing the most impressive drum part of the night, with Joseph hitting a metal-worthy scream at the same time. Dun then took to the crowd again, appearing in the section above mine that time. Needless to say, my friends and I chose the right seats for this show. Not only was “Drum Show” an incredible display of Dun’s talent, but it also highlighted Joseph’s vocal range and how emotion can be carried in his singing style and words.
The band took a short pause as Josh Dun returned to the stage for the encore, beginning with “City Walls.” The ending of that song is fantastic, and being able to hear all the callbacks to prior moments in Twenty One Pilots’ discography was truly special. They followed it with the “Vessel” hit, “Guns for Hands,” which got one of the loudest crowd reactions of the night, before going directly into their most famous song: “Stressed Out.” Like “Heathens,” while it isn’t my favorite song of theirs, it is so incredible live because of the extent to which Joseph and Dun take the bass and drums. All power was turned to 110%, and the energy was maintained for the set closer “Trees.” Twenty One Pilots always close out their shows with “Trees,” as the audience, from venue to venue, consistently cheers “Here we f*cking go!” during the buildup. This was the first time between the four Twenty One Pilots shows I’ve been to where the entire crowd participated in the chant. Joseph and Dun went into the crowd for the final time, only then they were on platforms supported by the general admission pit with giant drums in front of them both. As the final breakdown of the song happened, they played the drums in sync, the lights went crazy, and the fans joined them in moving to the beat. Finally, they made their way back to the stage, took their bows, and closed out the show with a constant final message: “We’re Twenty One Pilots, and so are you.”
This show was a true highlight in my year, and it was great being able to experience it with my friends. I am forever grateful to Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, not only for their music but for their consistent, fantastic performances and pure dedication to their fanbase. We ended up making it back to Manhattan after a bit of a wait for rideshare, and I couldn’t help but rewatch the videos I had taken of the show. The band has said it’ll be a little while before they do a large tour again, but I will be patiently waiting for the next time I’m inevitably in their crowd again.
