One of my favorite things to do every since I was 14 is go see live shows. Throughout 2016 I got to see some great bands perform such as Blink-182, good bands perform in bad venues like when I saw Moose Blood at Game Changer World in Howell, NJ, and bands I don’t really care about but saw live because of my job at a broadcasting company (I really didn’t need to experience country artist Big & Rich’s awkward intro full of hip-hop songs). Despite seeing lots of different types of music live, there was a clear winner for my favorite concert of 2016: Twenty One Pilots.

I saw Twenty One Pilots close their Emotional Roadshow summer tour at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was my first time seeing a band at MSG and now I really understand all the hype. I went with my sister (who had nicely bought the tickets for me for my birthday) and we still had an awesome view of the stage in our mid-level seats, the screens were huge with amazing quality, and this was the first show I have ever been to where I could actually hear every lyric and every little in-between-song-conversation the entire time. Quality of the venue definitely played a huge role in why this was the best show I had seen that year, but the band also did an amazing job.

Tyler Joseph (vocals/piano/ukulele) and Josh Dunn (drums) put on a passionate, emotional, and entertaining show that stuck with me more than most shows do. There were funny moments like when a T-Rex joined TOP and the openers on stage for some cover songs, there were surprising moments like when Joseph had his brother surprise the audience by rapping his part in Kitchen Sink, and a very emotional ending when the two guys brought out their manager to award him on his last day working with the band, as well as a heartfelt story told by Joseph about how the last time his grandmother was at MSG it was to take him to the circus as a little boy, and now she is watching him perform in that same sold-out venue.

I can’t wait to see what awesome shows I see in 2017 (Twenty One Pilots may actually be the first) and I hope your new year is full with awesome musical experiences as well!

 

Check out Twenty One Pilots here on their YouTube channel.

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