Twenty One Pilots’ The Clancy Tour: Breach brought their music and lore to life under the open sky of North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, CA. The tour supports Breach, their latest album, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, ended a narrative arc that began with Blurryface in 2015 and evolved through Trench, Scaled and Icy, and Clancy. The crowd was restless long before the lights went down, and when “What’s your ETA?” rang out over the speakers, the answer thundered back from the crowd: “Two minutes!” That ritual call-and-response, lifted from the lyrics of “Midwest Indigo”, set the tone for the night.
Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun command a stage like few can – Josh hammering out every beat with precision and Tyler switching from vulnerable to untouchable in a breath. The show opened in a wash of red light as the intro of “Overcompensate” filled the amphitheater with Josh on the drums. A minute later, Tyler burst onto the stage, leaping from his piano as fireworks erupted from the lighting rig above. The impact was immediate, and the energy carried through “The Contract” and “RAWFEAR,” where Tyler held a handheld video camera, filming himself, Josh, and the audience. The close-up shots filled the screens, turning the 20,000-seat amphitheatre into something more intimate.
From the start, the performance was entrenched in lore, their storytelling as much a part of their art as the music itself. As a crash course: the story unfolds in the fictional continent of Trench, where the city of Dema is ruled by the Bishops who force the practice of Vialism. Outside its walls, the Banditos rebel, with Josh’s onstage persona, Torchbearer, among them. Tyler plays Clancy, a citizen of Dema turned rebel leader. The lore goes far deeper with more characters and concepts, but with that in mind, Josh performed the opening songs as the Necromancer, wearing a sack mask with glowing eyes, echoing the lyric from “The Contract”: “I have a feeling that necromancer’s outside.” Tyler, meanwhile, donned the Clancy balaclava and stole. The “Message Man” ritual returned this tour, with Tyler dipping his hand in black paint and smearing it across his shirt, a callback to the Blurryface persona. The B-stage featured the flaming car from the “Heavydirtysoul” video, symbolizing destruction and rebirth. Tyler wore his Clancy shirt, while Josh, dressed as Torchbearer, carried a torch and a “Chula Vista” flag signed by fans on his walk from B-stage. As he reached the main stage with his back to the audience, a curtain dropped to reveal Dema’s skyline. Every visual, from lighting choices to props, reinforced the world they’ve spent a decade building. The fans came equally prepared: a sea of red and black (Blurryface and Clancy colors), yellow and green (Bandito colors), painted necks and hands (a Blurryface concept), and costumes inspired by Clancy, Bishops, Banditos, and Neds (another character from the lore), eager participation in the world that Twenty One Pilots built.
One of the most striking things about Twenty One Pilots live shows is how much they include their fans in the performance. Before “We Don’t Believe What’s on TV,” the screens showed videos of fans from earlier that day, featuring their outfits, face paint, art, and handmade signs. During “Tear in My Heart,” Tyler led a sing-off between Josh’s side and his side of the amphitheatre. “Lane Boy” exploded into chaos in the best way possible: Tyler stood on a small platform held up by fans as he sang the first verse, then, for the final drop, had the entire crowd crouch before the cryo blasted upward and hazmat-suited crew in the pit fired handheld jets into the sky.
Both Tyler and Josh spend time away from the main stage, walking through the aisles of the amphitheatre high high-fiving fans to get to different parts of the venue. Tyler took fans’ sunglasses while singing “Routines in the Night” into the camera en route to the B-stage. “Message Man,” “Pet Cheetah,” and “Polarize” were performed from there, collapsing the distance between band and crowd in the amphitheatre’s back half. Returning to the main stage during “Chlorine,” Tyler sang surrounded by a group of Neds – fans dressed as the creature from the song’s video. For “Ride,” he roamed the venue again, performing from different corners before bringing a kid onstage to finish the song with him. Later, during “Drum Show,” Josh played the second half of his solo on a platform supported by fans near the back of the venue.
The 28-song setlist leaned heavily on the Blurryface (2015) and the Clancy (2024)/ Breach (2025) eras, with highlights from Scaled and Icy (2021), Trench (2018), and Vessel (2013). Both of their soundtrack singles, “Heathens” from Suicide Squad and “The Line” from Arcane, made appearances. “The Line” stood out as one of the night’s most cinematic moments, bathed in deep blue light that gave the entire amphitheatre a surreal calm before the next eruption of sound. The production deserves its own mention: the lighting shifted with precision, pyro boomed at just the right moments, cryo blasts and confetti came in perfect time. Josh’s vocals during “Drum Show” drew huge cheers, as it is the first song and tour where he contributes lead vocals. Tyler’s presence, meanwhile, carried its signature urgency – part confessional, part command.
The encore began with the “City Walls” music video projected across the screens, and the stage stayed dim as the visuals played, chronicling the story’s end. As Tyler sang, “Entertain my faith / This is the last time that I try / Address my soul,” the crowd raised their hands to form the band’s “|-/” symbol. The feeling of unity in the crowd with the band was incredible to witness. “Guns for Hands” had the entire crowd lifting their arms in unison, and its seamless transition into “Stressed Out” sustained the momentum, ending in a fiery, extended outro. As Tyler stepped behind the synths and the lights turned green, he paused to thank the crowd, expressing gratitude for being able to play these shows. In a long-standing tradition, the show closed with “Trees”, during which thousands of voices sang the words together. In a final act of joining the crowd, Tyler and Josh climbed onto platforms held up by fans for the closing drum sequence, red confetti falling as they played the final notes. After nearly two hours of music, storytelling, and pure energy, it was clear why this band’s live shows leave such a mark. Their attention to detail, fan connection, and emotional storytelling fuse into something larger than a concert. They plugged us into the story, made us feel seen, and delivered one of the most immersive live experiences I’ve personally seen. As the music faded, leaving only the sound of the crowd cheering, the duo took a bow as they always do. Before leaving the stage, Tyler looked out over the crowd and said, “We are Twenty One Pilots, and so are you.” The phrase has ended hundreds of shows, but it still feels sincere – like a reminder of the bond between the band and the people who keep showing up.
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