7 things we learned from twenty one pilots’ smallest UK show in nine years

twenty one pilots are back on UK soil this week for the first time since the pandemic, tearing up London on their four-date Takeøver Tøur. We headed to the first night at the Camden Assembly to catch Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun doing what they do best in a very, very small room…

…well, duh. With bigger shows in London happening this week as part of their genius Takeøver Tøur (the duo are also playing at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, O2 Academy Brixton and then finishing up at the OVO Arena Wembley), this is the most intimate UK twenty one pilots gig in almost a decade. Returning to the scene of their first-ever London date back in March 2013, Tyler and Josh have seriously outgrown such small confines, and the 250-or-so fans crammed (very literally) into the Assembly know how lucky they are to be here. Even if it does feel like a sauna…

Performing at such a historic place for twenty one pilots, tonight Tyler takes a moment to look back and take stock. “It’s pretty incredible to be playing this venue,” the frontman shares from behind his piano, before a beautifully stripped-back Holding On To You. “We played this venue – what was it? – nine years ago. And whether it was that night, or plenty of other nights between then and now, there’s a lot of faces I recognise. Thank you guys so much for sticking around with us; it means so much.” We’re not crying, you are…

Despite this being such a small venue (where you’re pretty much guaranteed to be closer to Tyler and Josh than ever before in a live setting), fans have nevertheless been queuing since the very early hours to get as near to the stage as possible. And with three more shows in London this week, there’s no doubt those who have tickets will leave Camden tonight and rush straight over to Shepherd’s Bush (and then Brixton and Wembley) to do it all over again. Who even really needs sleep?!

Rather than performing a set simply full of their biggest hits (Stressed Out, Heathens, Ride, etc.), Tyler and Josh know what these diehards want to hear – and, in fact, happily 2013 album Vessel gets the most plays in the setlist tonight, with seven songs from that record (there’s six from Scaled And Icy, four from Blurryface and two from Trench). And what a treat it is, too: opening with Ode To Sleep, before dropping in lesser-played oldies like Migraine and Semi-Automatic. Guns For Hands threatens to have the floor crumble through all the jumping, while Car Radio and closer Trees are just as life-affirming as when they were first released.

Tyler graciously thanks fans for singing along just as loudly to all the stuff from Scaled And Icy, which is being played for the first time here. Choker and The Outside are early highlights, while the frontman partly performs Bounce Man on his ukulele, before a wonderful one-two later in the set of Good Day and Mulberry Street. The absolute best, though, is lead single Shy Away, which sees Tyler (rather reluctantly given the heat) go for something of a costume change and don his big winter jacket. Hey – even in the summer, given the UK’s notoriously crap weather he might be needing it at some point on this visit…

Given that Tyler’s head practically touches the ceiling while he’s performing from atop his piano, there’s absolutely no chance of a classic Josh backflip tonight, or proper drum solos on the crowd. That would be impossible. Production is still rad, though, with the Scaled And Icy logo beaming bright from the stage, a dazzling light show, and the pair planting water-covered drums on top of the audience for Trees’ glorious ending. It all makes for a refreshing change from their usual antics – but we’re expecting Josh to limber up and get his gymnastics on for the next three shows…

No matter what stop you’re going to on this run, the Takeøver Tøur is, frankly, a genius idea. From those more intimate moments to seeing the band in the huge arenas we’ve grown accustomed to over the years, this is an event that’s properly for the fans. Fresh setlists, different production and a whole new vibe each night, it’s the chance to see Tyler and Josh growing and changing with their surroundings in real time. Not to mention, if you got tickets for every date, you get to see twenty one pilots four times in a week. Yep, we’ll happily take that.

Read this next:

• twenty one pilots: Every album ranked from ‘worst’ to best
• The 50 best albums of 2021
• Trench: The story of twenty one pilots’ most ambitious album ever