twenty one pilots Return With Mind-Blowing 'A Complete Diversion' London Show

twenty one pilots performed their first live show in over a year at Brixton’s O2 Academy last night and it was nothing short of mind blowing.

The band have been taking some time off touring to write their new album Trench which is due to be released next month, and what better way to return to the stage than with this special one-off show (that sold out in MINUTES) in a city they consider home.

The setlist was every twenty one pilots fan’s dream - if we could have written it for them, this is exactly what we would have come up with. They played their greatest hits from Blurryface and Vessel as well as giving us live debuts of new tracks from their forthcoming record, Trench.

A twenty one pilots show takes you to another dimension, and as Tyler Joseph told the audience during the show, they give you EVERYTHING they have at EVERY show they do. The last time they performed here they sold out the iconic London venue Alexandra Palace, twice, and took everyone at the show to the land of Blurryface - a place we didn’t want to return from. Last night’s show felt like a homecoming, a return to the place Tyler and Joshua feel most comfortable - on stage performing to thousands of doting fans. 

Opening with their comeback single ‘Jumpsuit’ the band were joined on stage by a car, but not just your standard stage prop, an actual size car ON FIRE *insert 100 fire emojis here*. If that wasn’t enough to give you heart palpitations, watching Tyler throw himself into the middle of the flames and scream ‘JUMPSUIT COVER ME!’ should just about do it.

‘Levitate’, ‘Nico And The Niners’ and ‘My Blood’ also had live debuts and you would never have guessed that this was the first time they’d played them for an audience. The eerie catchiness of ‘Nico…’ was perfectly complimented with the poppy chorus of ‘My Blood’ showing the breadth of their new material, giving us a taste of what’s to come on the new album. 

During the latter Tyler split the crowd in two, making us sing different parts of the chorus in unison, and he seemed genuinely touched by the response. If this is how 5,000 fans are reacting to a track that’s been out for a matter of weeks, can you imagine the reaction they’ll get when they return to play The SSE Wembley Arena in the new year? 

Speaking of their Wembley shows, the band took last night as the perfect opportunity to announce a third show due to the overwhelming demand and rate at which the first two sold out. Seriously, get on their mailing list to bag some tickets, you don’t want to miss out. 

WATCH TYLER’S WEMBLEY ANNOUNCEMENT HERE:

A highlight from the show was when the duo performed ‘Lane Boy’. They did the classic ‘everybody get down on the floor’ stunt, but we did not expect it to go OFF as much as it did. The CO2 cannons, the guys in hazmat suits, the lights - it was an assault on ALL the senses and we didn’t want it to end. 

Whatever this one-off show was (was it the end of Blurryface? Is it the start of the Bandito/Trench era?) twenty one pilots didn’t scrimp on production. Despite the smaller venue, they gave it the full twenty one pilots treatment, think multiple outfit changes, pyro, acrobats, you name it, they did it, and with each song on the setlist having it’s own look and feel fans definitely got their money's worth. 

We didn’t think we could become even bigger twenty one pilots fans but last night has made us even MORE obsessed with them and oh so excited about what's to come in the next era... Bring on Trench! 

SETLIST

Jumpsuit (Live Debut)
Levitate (Live Debut)
Heathens
We Don't Believe What's on TV
The Judge
Nico and the Niners (Live Debut)
Lane Boy
Holding On To You
Stressed Out
Ride
My Blood (Live Debut)
Car Radio
Trees

CHECK OUT ALL THE MUST-SEE PICS HERE:

WATCH THE TRENCH MUSIC VIDEOS HERE: