It was a busy night in Detroit.   Venues in the surrounding area all had shows that filled seats.  To start, you had 49,000 fans in attendance for Kenny Chesney at Ford Field, The Fillmore was hosting Black Label Society with Anthrax and Hatebreed to add a couple thousand more people,  you had a Tigers game at Comerica Park and now throw roughly another 20k people in the vicinity for our show of choice, 21 Pilots’ Icy Tour at Little Caesar’s Arena.

21 pilots brought along up an coming artist, Peter McPoland.  Peter’s expression, energy, and performance showed that he understands and is taking full advantage of the exposure generated by touring with 21 Pilots.   His excitement is hard to put down on paper.   It’s not an easy position to open for a band like 21 Pilots as everyone there really only wants to get to the headliner.     That said, Peter handled it. Fans quickly gained interest in Peter’s exuberance.   Peter and his band did a great job getting the crowd fired up for the coming event.   

21 Pilots were set to take the stage after a brief intermission.  Being the Icy Tour,  the stage was set in a snowy setting.  The two man crew appeared from under the stage through a 16 panel house door that likely resembled the door to their home from their upbringing (Blue Door intro).  As the door flipped open,   A gust of arctic air burst through.   A bright glowing outer worldly light emitted from the passage and snow flurries soon covered the stage.  The duo had matching masks that would eventually emit a heavy vapor/steam    The whole feel was sub-arctic and the production was money.   

21 Pilots is a band that I’ve followed and became a fan of since my first encounter with them in 2015 at Meadowbrook Music Theatre.  While the sold out crowd was mostly teen kids at that time,  21 Pilots hadn’t quite become a household name yet.  Those kids were definitely onto something as these guys have obviously blown up since.  Their talent and performance struck me as unique and the music was well written and deep.  A fun yet dark band in my opinion. I have a habit of enjoying things with excessive contrast. 

The Icy Tour and their latest release “Scaled and Icy” reaches some pretty dark depths.   Tyler Joseph Josh Dunn just have a knack for diving deep into the far reaches of the soul yet still maintaining a catchy uplifting feeling in their music.  As popular and big as the band has become,  I’m not convinced they are done climbing.   Artists like Tyler and Josh will continue to adapt and manipulate their art throughout their career.   This is their 6th album now and I’m sure we will see much more from these guys as time passes. 

Overall, with all the amazing shows going on that night, I’d say we made the right choice.   21 Pilots production level has definitely grown since 2015 along with their audience.  The show, although Icy, was absolute fire.   Visit their web page to find a tour stop near you, your ears will be glad you did. 

https://www.twentyonepilots.com/tour

~Joe