Alternative-rock duo Twenty One Pilots brought the Clancy World Tour to Houston’s Toyota Center with support from Balu Brigada.
Once the Scaled and Icy era came to a close, Clancy came to full effect. The streets near Toyota Center was flooded with people wearing red, black and yellow to signify the new era. Fans camped overnight for a great spot, and although word on the streets were that the line and camping system were dissolved by the venue, fans were still excited to see the duo return to the Houston arena.
Starting off the night was up-and-coming duo called Balu Brigada, who hailed from the city of Auckland, New Zealand. The duo currently consists of brothers Henry and Pierre Beasley, who are talented dual musicians that work on a genre fusion of both indie pop and alt-rock. In 2019, they released their debut mixtape titled Almost Feel Good Mixtape, and released their debut EP I Should Be Home followed by EP Find A Way.
The crowd welcomed Balu Brigada as they made their Houston debut, eventually starting their set with “Moon Man,” “But I Do” and “2Good.” The brothers highlighted how this was their first show in the space city, and they absolutely adored Houston. The crowd kept hyping up the opening act, and they powered through performing more tracks from their discography, such as “Find A Way” and “Could You Not.” After a hype-inducing set performance, Balu Brigada ended their set with their brand new single “So Cold.”
Twenty One Pilots, which currently consists of vocalist/instrumentalist Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun, took the stage soon after. The lights dimmed and fans screamed at the top of their lungs – the duo came out to the track “Overcompensate” from their seventh studio album Clancy. The song melded with the beginning of “Holding On to You,” in which Joseph joined the crowd. He rejoined Dun on stage to perform “Vignette,” followed by an over-energetic performance of Car Radio.
As Joseph sat on stage performing the piano, he performed a cool stage trick as he showed up in the nosebleeds section of the arena during the final chorus. As Joseph made his way back to the stage, a heart-warming fan video played on the screens which included fans singing “The Judge” from Blurryface. The band performed the track with a fun addition of the chorus from “Cut My Lip,” in which fans absolutely adored.
The songs often transitioned into each other, making it more of a straight forward run through of tracks – after all, they had a whole two hours of music to perform. While Joseph was a man of few words, he often praised Dun on the drums and the crowd would always go nuts. Tyler and Josh made their way to the B-Stage through the crowds during “Routines in the Night.” Once on the B-stage, the duo performed an intimate medley of older songs like “Addict With a Pen,” “Migraine,” “Forest,” and “Fall Away.” They remained on the B-stages during “Mulberry Street,” in which Joseph encouraged fans to use their phone lights on cue, making for such a warm moment.
The duo returned to the stage for the next act of their set, and performed more tracks like “Navigating,” “Nico and the Niners,” “My Blood” and “Guns for Hands.” During the song “Oldies Station,” Tyler became known for forgetting the lyrics to the track, in which a generous fan in the crowd made a poster with the correct lyrics. Tyler thanked them for helping them remember, but later forgot another portion of the song in a hilarious manner.
The most fun part of the show had to be the duo’s lavish (pun-intended) performance of “Lavish,” which involved Dun debuting a Houston jersey and throwing into the crowd to a lucky fan. Joseph exclaimed: “there’s no where else i’d rather be than to be here playing music for you.”
It was time for the band’s Blurryface hits, including the track “Ride.” Joseph made his way back to the B-stage and invited a young fan named Jodie to sing the bridge and final chorus, where the crowd chanted her name afterwards. The duo also performed a more heavy alternative rendition of the band’s biggest track “Stressed Out,” which was accompanied by cool visuals.
Per tradition, Twenty One Pilots ended their set with “Trees,” this time heading deep into the crowd with their instruments – the night ended with a bang as the arena filled with joy and confetti. “We are Twenty One Pilots, and so are you.” Joseph said the final words of the night, adding another notch to Twenty One Pilots belt for the Clancy tour.
We are in agreement – this is the Clancy World Tour, and the setlist was a perfect blend to showcase the new songs along with fan-favorites and the classic hits. What made this show one of the best tours to watch out for is the amount of love Joseph and Dun have for their fans. On top of galavanting around the stage together, they also try to include everyone else, no matter where fans are seated. From performing on the impromptu rising B-stages to playing the final song within the crowd, it’s fun to see the new ways they try to outdo themselves. The duo remains phased on how popular they have become, and its refreshing to see a well-rounded act in the scene that respects their fan base as much as they do.
With a captivating opening act and an immersive set, the Clancy World Tour stop in Houston was by far one of the best shows Toyota Center has seen this year. We’re counting the days for the Twenty One Pilots + Balu Brigada return.
Keylee is a full-time music journalist/photographer from Houston, Texas. She has received a B.S in Radio-Television-Film from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as an M.A in Mass Communications from the University of Houston. As an avid concert-goer and movie fanatic, she aspires to create her own path as a content creator by bonding with others over the power of local music and media. If she isn’t listening to her favorite band Paramore, you’ll catch her hanging out with her brothers or playing with her husky Luna.
