One by one, the buzzing audience on Bigelow Boulevard strips off layers of jackets and hoodies and places them in the nooks of their elbows and sweaty palms. As the last shackles of winter release their hold on the city of Pittsburgh, Bigelow Bash seems like the perfect kick-start to the long-awaited warm weather. The area in between the Cathedral of Learning and Bigelow Bash fills with eager co-ed’s dressed in summer frocks and tank-tops, who all conveniently avoid thoughts of finals week. While the winning band of this year’s Battle of the Bands, “Red Hook Winery” warms up the crowd with up-beat alternative rock music, other students play carnival games and create airbrushed T-shirts.
Members of Pitt Program Council selling merchandice for Neon Trees and Twenty One Pilots.
Once the talented band of Pitt students finish, the crowd grows in preparation for the headliner, Twenty One Pilots. This band made its mark on Bigelow Bash last year, and left many with a newfound appreciation for this duo’s unique sound and love of ski masks.
Everyone turns their heads as cheers ripple through the crowd on Bigelow and the coifed members of Twenty One Pilot’s saunter onto stage. The lead singer wears strikingly red pants, coupled with a skeleton body suit while the drummer sports pants that look like the party animal cousin to the outfit’s that Destiny’s Child wore in their music video for “Survivor”.
Before any music begins, the lead singer Tyler Joseph sardonically announces that a dramatic entrance had been planned but would no longer occur. This lackadaisical statement sets the fun, informal and honest tone of the performance; immediately winning over the unpredictable crowd of college students. As the opening of their song, “Ode To Sleep” begins to play, the lead singer and drummer, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun nod skull mask covered heads to the beat. As the song continues, Joseph and Dun rip their masks off and embark on an hour long musical extravaganza including back flips off of pianos and a cameo by a Pitt student named Miles (singing Call Me Maybe) . Throughout the concert, Joseph wields several instruments, including a “keytar” while inserting off-color jokes . Dun, a drumming powerhouse, keeps the energy flowing with his emphatic pounding and stick brandishing. Twenty One Pilots introduced their “last song” by requesting that the audience cheer for an encore, however, the band may not have needed to place a request considering the overwhelming support the Pitt audience showed the Ohio-based band. At the end, Joseph directs the crowd into a circle and he and Dun transfer their equipment to the middle of the formation. Pitt students ate up the powerful show of drums and coordination and cheered the duo on as they proved their musical talent.
Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots greeting excited fans.
The weather grows increasingly warmer as Twenty One Pilots exits the stage, and more students filter in for the main show. Those congregating amongst the sides of Bigelow fill in the empty spaces on the street as the tech crew clears and re-assembles the makeshift stage. Eventually, a group of interestingly dressed individuals arrive on stage and the crowd cheers in recognition. A skinny, platinum blond, man bounces to the mic wearing a shirt replicating a cartoon woman biting her lip. As soon as he speaks, we can hear the raspy grit that makes Top 40 hits like “Everybody Talks” sound so hypnotic and inviting. The band sings their famous hits, such as “Animal” and “1983”, along with some other tunes off of their album “Habits”. Throughout the performance the lead singer, Tyler Glenn, screams and dances to his heart’s content. Finally, at the end, Glenn decides to end his show by crowd surfing and then slowly climbing over the fence and calmly walking away.
While this ending left many confused and disoriented, it made for an interesting end to a perfect spring day and concert. Thanks to the hard work of Pitt Program Council, this year’s Bigelow Bash was a huge success.
Pitt student attentively watching Tyler Glenn sing during Neon Trees performance during yesterdays Bigelow Bash