Article by Umberto Scaramozzino | Photo by Andrea Ripamonti
After five days of relaxation and the claim “More than a festival. A holiday“, The First Summer closes its richest and most successful edition with its most complex and heartfelt day. It's time for Twenty One Pilotswhich a Lido di Camaiore they bring the only Italian date scheduled for this tour. Over sixteen thousand people and a fandom that slightly messes up the carefree dynamics of the Tuscan festival, including unexpected campsites, queues and races for the barrier.
Despite a day put to the test by the suffocating heat and a difficult and demanding audience, the concert by the duo from Columbus, Ohio, was exceptional, in no uncertain terms. Respects the very high standard that Tyler Joseph And Josh Dun they established several years ago, adding that pinch of craft that befits one of the most relevant live acts on the planet. Every single thing that happens on stage — and the number of things that happen, big or small, is impressive — has a reason. It's all part of the famous “lore” by Twenty One Pilots, or rather that set of narratives, symbols and cultural references that surround their discography and transform it into a single, great saga.
Nothing seems to escape the control of Tyler Joseph, who in addition to being the demiurge of one of the most complex and ambitious musical-narrative universesit is also a rare frontmanfor technical skills and interpretative intensity. He sings masterfully in each of the many styles offered by the repertoire, alternating rap, screaming and melodic openings with extreme ease. There are those who think he could easily start an entirely hip hop project and those who believe he should go post-hardcore, but in both cases he would probably keep his credibility intact. Which is already something extraordinary in itself, without this necessarily having to materialize.
Josh Dun is the perfect Samwise for his Frodo (or the Torchbearer perfect for his Clancyto stay in the lore). In addition to being a metronome who pounds the drums without ever sparing himself, he has the ability to support Tyler Joseph with a perfectly complementary energy. Just like his diegetic alter-ego, he is the guiding spirit who shows the way and allows the other half of the power duo to dissect everything Twenty One Pilots has to say. It turns out one alchemical synthesis of hip hop, rock, electronic, reggae and popseamlessly. Alternative music for those who listen to pop, but also pop for those who listen to alternative music. The triumph ofhybridization which is now the direction along which music moves.
Between fireworks, flames, tightrope jumps and unlikely alternative stages supported by fans, the show runs at breakneck speed, obviously giving prominence to the latest studio album: “Breach“. Among the new songs, “Center Mass” undoubtedly stands out, written and produced together with Daniel Fasano (drummer of dARI and half of the Italian pop rock scene) who is spotted in the audience. And if you're thinking that “the multiverse is a concept we know frighteningly little about” (cit.) know that you are not the only ones.
Obviously the hits that even casual listeners know are not overlooked, so there is no shortage of “Ride” and “Stressed Out”, but also “Heathens” and “Jumpsuit”. Towards the end of the setlist there is also a closing of a circle which for those who managed to enjoy both weekends of the festival is portentous: Jack Whitethe first headliner of this edition of La Prima Estate, appears on the giant screens to warn the audience that yes, he himself gives permission to Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun to play his “Seven Nation Army”, the same one that he himself had given to the public a few days earlier. And the two master it, as already happened last November during the induction ceremony at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with respect, taste and enthusiasm, in equal measure.
Unfortunately, the set reserved for the only European leg of the Breach Tour, almost entirely included in festivals, reaches the short duration of an hour and a half, for a total of twenty pieces, almost without breaks. In the American indoor tour there were twenty-eight songs and this gap hurts especially when you realize the heaviest absences, first of all “City Walls”, one of the pillars of the last studio album. In addition to a mere quantitative issue, what is weakened is the entire narrative apparatus, which remains in the background compared to what was seen in the Clancy Tour two years ago. But that's okay because, by putting such a gigantic concept in the background, they manage to lighten up and be even more fun than usual.
It is well known that Twenty One Pilots are one of the most appreciated and loved musical projects of the last twenty years, but the evaluations become even more absolute when the connection between audience and band is taken into consideration. There are very few fan bases in the world, but perhaps even in history, that compete with that of the American duo, with all the excesses and distortions that can derive from it. The bond between their music and their fans is in fact so visceral that it has made the so-called “Skeleton Clique” a sort of immeasurably extended family, as dysfunctional as it is all-encompassing.
All this is indicative of something fundamental: Twenty One Pilots' music is not just a pop and mainstream phenomenon, but rather a world that the formidable creative mind of Tyler Joseph has given birth to and into which more and more people decide to enter. And every little step taken within Trench coatthe fictional continent at the center of the lore, is part of a one-way trip. For those who do not make the effort to thoroughly analyze the scope of this movement, perhaps even undertaking a journey outside the confines of the record industry, it may be difficult to understand the reasons that lead so many people to connect with the work, with the artist, but also with each other. And this is where the beauty comes in: going deeper may not be enough. With Twenty One Pilots, regardless of taste, there is a sort of hidden entrance test. To use a banal comparison, it's a bit like the distinction between wizards and muggles in the Harry Potter literary saga: some are simply not able to see.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
