On January 19, Her Campus at UCLA attended the second annual iHeartRadio ALTer EGO presented by ALT 98.7. We loved singing along to the night’s lineup, which included twenty one pilots, The Revivalists, Rise Against, Bishop Briggs, Weezer, The Killers and Muse.
twenty one pilots never fails to blow us away. The two man band played all of their hits, including a few songs from their latest album, Trench. The crowd went wild for every song they played, and even though they opened the concert, the energy was at an all time high. A band with as much caliber as twenty one pilots should be closing out shows like this, and lead singer Tyler Joseph even joked about it, saying “save the best for first.”
As Joseph and drummer Josh Dun went through their set, they changed their outfits to go with which era they were performing songs from. Omnipresent on the stage was a car lit on fire, signifying their latest album and era, they wore skeleton jackets for older songs like “Stressed Out,” and they ended their set with ski masks and “Car Radio” for a real throwback.
American rock band, The Revivalists, kept the good vibes rolling with their popular songs “All My Friends,” “You & I” and “Wish I Knew You.” The band did a great job of interacting with the crowd and created a really intimate concert experience.
Rise Against pleased the crowd with their songs “Savior” and “Satellite.” Before the song “Re-Education (Thru Labor),” lead singer Tim McIlrath gave a shout-out to teachers in the L.A. area and thanked them for what they do, particularly because of the recent L.A. teacher strike. The crowd went wild when McIlrath brought out Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello for “How Long.”
Bishop Briggs, the first-ever female headliner, absolutely blew us away with her strong vocals singing “The Way I Do.” This was the first time we heard her sing live, and her energy and charisma completely mesmerized us. In the middle of her performance, she took the time to acknowledge that she was the only woman in the lineup and thanked “iHeart Radio for representing female musicians.” She finished off her set singing one of her breakout hits “Wild Horses,” her latest single “Baby” and one of her most recognizable songs, “River.”
Possibly the best performance of the night, The Killers killed their set. Playing classics like “Somebody Told Me” and “Mr. Brightside,” the band knew exactly how to please the crowd. Lead Singer Brandon Flowers rocked a sparkling black jacket and literally shined on stage. The energy and vocals coming from the band reminded us why their songs are so iconic.
The epitome of the 90’s, Weezer put on an amazing show. With songs “Island in the Sun” and “Beverly Hills,” the crowd was hyped and singing at the top of their lungs. Their performance was confetti filled and gave us so much nostalgia. They ended the show with their infamous cover of Toto’s “Africa” and left the crowd on a high.
Muse was the closing act and did not disappoint their die-hard fans. With a discography of diverse songs from the past 20 years, we can only imagine how difficult it was for the band to select which songs to sing during their set. The song “Uprising” seemed to strike a particular chord with the crowd, who shouted out the following lyrics in unison: “They will not control us, we will be victorious.”
The 2019 iHeartRadio ALTer EGO concert brought so many iconic bands together onto one stage, and we cannot wait for next year.