Reviewed By: Clinton Camper
September 13, 2022 at American Airlines Center (Dallas)
Tyler Joseph, the 33-year-old lead vocalist for Twenty One Pilots, went out of his way to acknowledge many of the people who made Tuesday night’s show at American Airlines Center in Dallas the successful spectacle that it was. There were the obvious ones, like his duo-mate and drummer Josh Dun; and, of course, Todd Gummerman, Dan Geraghty, Jesse Blum and Skyler Acord, the four guys who made up their live backing band for the many songs that needed a fuller sound than just the two founding members could produce on their own. There were the behind-the scenes folks, like “Russ” and “Dave” from the crew; like that random arena staffer who was captured on camera and shown on the big screen getting a fist bump from a grinning Dun; and like lighting director Tyler “Shap” Shapard (who — somewhat ponderously — was called out by Joseph as having “messed up three times,” then soundly booed at Joseph’s request, only for the singer to chuckle and admit: “I made that up. ... He’s actually been killin’ it tonight.”)
And there were, of course, the 20,000-plus fans who backed up Joseph on vocals all night while also frequently taking the lead, collectively singing full verses on songs ranging from jazzy hit “Morph” to Americana-infused “House of Gold” to rap-rock banger “Car Radio.”
But there was also an unsung, unnamed hero out there, or maybe several, who did work that supplied Twenty One Pilots with some of the most breathtakingly crowd-pleasing moments of the night. So I’ll say it, since Joseph didn’t: Thank you, whoever you are, for always getting that big ol’ TØP mattress right where it needed to be. It was there to catch Joseph when — after performing new single “No Chances” in their familiar full-face masks, Joseph’s outfitted with a mechanism that caused smoke to pour from its eye sockets — the singer removed his head covering to fans’ screams ... and then took a flying pile-driver leap off of the stage.
It came out again an hour into the show, when Joseph needed his ukelele for a “campfire-style” mini-set with the full band but realized he’d “accidentally” forgotten the instrument on a small stage toward the rear of the floor section, where he’d been using it minutes earlier. “Would you be so kind as to surf it up to me?” he asked the throng in the GA section. There, suddenly, was the mattress, onto which the ukelele was placed. A collection of stiff, upright arms then began guiding it across the floor. “If you drop her, this show is over,” Joseph kidded. Joseph then topped that by doing a swan-dive face plant onto the mattress and taking a ride across the arena on it himself during (appropriately) “Ride,” the reggae-infused 2016 hit that helped make the duo a household name.
Later, in an effort to give non-floor fans a treat: After performing the first part of “Ride” on that mattress, Joseph continued an extended live version of the hit by venturing up into both sides of the lower bowl to sing portions while standing on portable podiums amid masses of quivering fans.
And right before the end of the night, Joseph made it seem like he believed there was no guarantee they’d be back; “I always like to mention this, but I mean it when I say it: We would love to come back sometime. So please, have us back.” At the rate Twenty One Pilots is going, though, we will surely see them again.
