E^ST
Astor Theatre
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Already touring the nation as part of Groovin The Moo, Twenty Pilots’ headline sideshows quickly sold out in venues that probably either could have been bigger or had shows added. If they wanted to drum up some excitement, then that they did, certainly at the Astor Theatre on this occasion.
E^ST opened to a full-house awaiting the headline act with baited breath, but with a confident and audience-interactive performance, they met with cheers of approval.
There’s only two of them onstage (plus a DJ at the mixing desk), but Twenty One Pilots certainly know how to fill and cover a stage, and let their crowd know who’s boss. Drummer Josh Dun and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist, Tyler Joseph, kept banter to a minimum and saved the fanfare for their performance, from the opener, Heavydirtysoul, to Migraine and Guns For Hands, to a ukulele-led version of Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling In Love With You (well-received by this extremely happy and motivated audience, but it was unclear how many of the assembled actually knew it). The light show was unrelenting (as were the screams).
By the end the duo were propped up on boards, floating across the audience and back to the stage to say goodbye.
Too soon? Not really, they’ll be back at Perth Arena on Saturday, April 8, on a national arena tour. If you thought they were big already, Twenty One Pilots are about to go off the hook. It’s good to be kings.
REMY GORDON
