On the weekend of October 2, I got to live out one of my dreams and please my music-loving heart by attending Austin City Limits, my first ever music festival. All in all, the whole weekend was such a great experience; I got to listen to the bands I love and even some new ones. However, the one show that I was looking forward to the most was Twenty One Pilots, which exceeded my expectations. This was my first time getting to see them perform live, despite my many attempts in the past. The wait was so worth it though because seeing them in a crowd of people just as pumped up to see them as I was (or maybe they just had a whole bunch of pent up energy waiting for A$AP Rocky and Drake, but I’d like to think otherwise) just elevated that excited pre-concert feeling. When Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun came out on stage they were dressed in a skeleton jumpsuit with a balaclava and an alien mask, respectively. Seeing this worried, not because of their upcoming performance, but because they could’ve passed out from heatstroke if they didn’t remove them soon. After all, it is a Texas summer! But soon as they started singing “Heavydirtysoul,” all that concern washed away because I was so enthralled with their strong start! As the show went on, they kept the crowd excited with all of their onstage antics; Josh was doing backflips off of Tyler’s piano while Tyler was jumping over speakers and platforms. Even at the end of the show, both Tyler and Josh were standing in the audience playing the “Trees” outro. However, the most exhilarating (and slightly heart stopping moment) was when Tyler climbed up the side of the stage and sang a song from the very top - at least 50 to 60 feet off the ground! All of these shenanigans only added to the overall performance. On top of Josh’s amazing drumming abilities (which are absolutely insane!) and Tyler’s wonderful voice (it’s the perfect mix of raspy-ness and smooth vibrato), the antics just energized the crowd further. Every song that they performed was better than the last, but my absolute favorite had to be “Lane Boy” off of their newest album Blurryface; the live performance blew away the studio recording. The drums and synth just get you pumped and ready to rock out! Tyler’s voice live is different - not in a bad way, but to where he can change some of the runs to add flair to the live version. Another one of my favorites was “Tear in My Heart,” which is their radio single from the album. Before they started it, Tyler began telling a little anecdote about texting A$AP Rocky. To introduce the song, he said, “So, usually I dedicate this song to my girl, but today, I’m gonna sing it for A$AP.” Which he in fact did; he even changed the gender pronouns from ‘she’ to ‘he’. Overall, Twenty One Pilots put on one heck of a show! If you ever get the chance to see them live, I strongly recommend it. It will not be a night wasted, I can guarantee that! So shout-out to Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun for putting on an amazing performance that I will never forget. - Lizzie Goodfriend