LIVE REVIEW: We Caught The First Show Of Twenty One Pilots Aus Tour, Here's What Happened

RAC Arena, Perth
7 December 2018

At a time where it’s becoming increasingly common to have support acts disregarded at arena shows and given three inches of stage to perform on with the house lights on, it’s good to see Drapht being handed the full assembly. 

The man clearly needs no second invitation as the hometown hero appeared hell bent on either showing up the headliners or making everybody remember him first the following day. Slamming down more recent cuts such as The Come Down Was Real alongside favourites Rapunzel and Jimmy Recard, Drapht effortlessly turned what was a cold crowd into a festival style mosh pit with just a thirty-minute set.

Drapht

It may just have been the continued energy from such a solid opener or simply the anticipation of a loyal following but considering Twenty One Pilots left our shores just last year, this first stop of their national tour had the room in pure hysteria from the start. 

Most ticket holders likely would have already seen crowd footage of the elaborate stage efforts that have gone on so far for “The Bandito Tour”, though it remains a pale comparison to the experience firsthand. From flaming wreckages to endless showers of confetti, the all-out affair is meticulously crafted to visually support the Trench heavy setlist, allowing the pairs own sonics to beam together with astonishing perfection.

Frontman Tyler Joseph is a force of infectious energy, reading the room with striking accuracy as he continually builds the floor into a frenzy and to push even the furthest seated punters into jumping along. As though it’s not sweaty enough already, they refuse to take a backward step as they throw in their crazy physicality with sprints, flips and vaults of any surface they can find. 

With the audience placed firmly in their palms, they genre shift their way through the likes of glittery ukulele pop in We Don’t Believe What’s On TV , the dancehall rhythm of Lane Boy and the down tempo piano driven Taxi Cab, inspiring every voice in the RAC Arena to scream out the choruses, no matter how tone deaf. 

There’s no doubt a disappointing disclaimer that some of extravagant elements of this tour have been unable to make it to our Australian venues. It is however obvious from what has been delivered for these Australian shows, that this band is a live act who only care about one thing when performing, which is to outshine even the loftiest expectations, and based on the deafening screams from the Perth fans, they’ve nailed it.