Ever wonder where all the post-emo scene kids ended up? At Twenty One Pilots' sold-out Auckland show, of course. The American duo, comprised of singer-songwriter Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun, took over the Powerstation for a night of mania, and their devoted fans lapped up every second of it.
It's incredibly difficult to pin down Twenty One Pilot's sound, and it's obvious that they make an effort not to be. Playing a mix of old and new tracks - including songs from their latest album, Blurryface, the band moved rapidly though indie pop, alternative hip-hop, reggae, screamo, rap and back again. TOP made the genre-bending mishmash work for them, creating an intensely fun live show.
From the second they stepped on stage, the crowd was screaming, jumping and singing along to every word. Joseph rapped Heavy Dirty Soul into a lit-up mic hanging from the ceiling, wearing a skeleton mask underneath his black jumper with the hood up.
Mimicking their Stressed Out music video, Joseph donned a bright red beanie, hands stained with black paint as he spit out the lyrics to the spooky rap-influenced track. Dun pounded the drumkit, which was elevated on a platform to the side of the stage - bright red lining the bottom of his eyes.
The moshpit quickly turned into a dance floor for the pop heavy Guns For Hands, synthesised notes swelling atop smashed piano keys. Joseph soon swapped his hoody for a Hawaiian shirt, white-rimmed sunglasses and a ukulele, while Dun tooted a few notes out on the trumpet, pulling off an indie-folk vibe. Lane Boy changed gear from reggae into an EDM rave - after TOP had the entire audience crouch down and leap back up again, sending fans into a thrashing frenzy.
