Twenty One Pilots Live at The Filmore, Detroit

Creating something that is truly unique in the music industry today is a rare commodity, and it seems Twenty One Pilots has done exactly that. In fact, their style is so different that it’s classified under “Schizophrenic Pop”, which is yet to be established as a pop genre. Detroit fans who are already familiar with their songs, and those who have yet to discover it, can enjoy their performance on Thursday, 2 October, in The Filmore.

Even though Twenty One Pilots is no stranger to the popular MTV channel, they are still relatively unknown to the rest of the world. It took 2 self-recorded albums and a sold out show to get the attention of big labels, and in 2012 they signed a contract with “Fueled by Ramond”, a sub division of Atlantic Records. The band originally formed in 2009 with 3 college friends namely, Tyler Joseph, Nick Thomas and Chris Salih. Joseph derived the name of the band from a play he was studying, and it represents the moral dilemma of the human condition.

The first self-recorded album they released was in 2009 and simply called “Twenty One Pilots”. This was followed by a second self-recorded album in 2011 by the name of “Regional at Best”. Up until that point the three guys generated a stable fan base, but it wasn’t enough to convince Thomas and Salih to keep going. Tyler on the other hand decided to stick with it and was joined by Josh Dun, better known as the live drummer for “House of Heroes”, and this is the duo that currently makes up Twenty One Pilots. The regret Salih and Thomas had about leaving must have stung bad, because only a few months later Joseph and Dun played for a sold out audience and received various offers from popular labels.

Defining the type of music they fall into is a very difficult task. Their blend is one of the most creative compositions today, and they have no problem flowing between Rock, Pop, Indie and even Rap if the lyrics are too long for the melody. The songs are typically piano driven, although the type of piano differs from time to time. It also consists of drums, synthesizers and every now and again a ukulele is thrown into the mix. Tyler is in charge of the lead vocals and the lyrics are poems that he writes.

For a two man band Twenty One Pilots is very entertaining and interesting. They might be new to the scene, but they contribute heavily to the expressive side of music as supposed to creating sing-a-long pop songs fit for commercial radio. Their sound is distinct and will help them greatly in reaching new heights. Make a note Detroit, they are coming your way and you don’t have any excuse not to be there. This particular tour dominantly promotes their debut album since signing with a label and it’s called “Vessel”. These guys are the future of the music world, so take a listen.