East Is Up! Black painted Necks and Creativity Take Centre Stage at All Points East

Pictured: Twenty One Pilots

It being the last show of quite a long festival run, the band have blessed us with an extraordinary set list, live debuting their song “Robot Voices” and going back to their roots by performing “Guns for Hands” and “Message Man”. Just playing song after song would not have been enough, so they let their artistry and creativity show off by shortening tracks, mixing covers of Britain-specific songs like the Beatles' “Let It Be” in intros and replacing original songs' bridges with a cover of Radiohead's “Creep”.

Ending the set with their iconic drum solo while being held up by the crowd, people are crying, laughing, holding each other's hands - the classic TØP experience. Shows like that remind you just how much art can convey—and that there are still artists who genuinely do this for the love of the art itself. You notice it most at a TØP show. They’re always looking out for issues or emergencies in the crowd, while somehow still finding ways to maximise every interaction with the audience. It’s no wonder that the creativity poured into every Twenty One Pilots project carries over so strongly to the fans.

Tyler Joseph’s closing words make more sense every time: “We are Twenty One Pilots, and so are you.”

Photos: Liam Hall

Twenty One Pilots fans took over the Victoria Park premises on the 30th of August for the last hurrah of The All Points East Festival season. And it was monumental. An estimated 40,000 individuals roamed Victoria Park, most of them dressed to the tens with merch or references to the lore-heavy headliner Twenty One Pilots.

LEAP kicked off the day playing at the festival's main stage, with nothing short of a high-energy performance. While admiring the masses that showed up for their early stage time, they put on a hell of a show. As their fan base has been steadily growing over the years, it has truly paid off, as they are still improving and becoming more fun with every step of the way. “Are you ready for some sweet Rock n Roll?” asks the band's lead singer Jack, and the crowd really was. Musically and energetically strong, they know exactly how to get a crowd to dance. No wonder that some people arrived as clique and left as LEAP fans.

The festival really did a great job with the line-up, mixing all kinds of genres while still staying in a fitting lane. Acts like Josie Edwards, Half Alive, Kid Kapichi and Mouth Culture brought high-energy modern rock, punky and alternative sets with a moshpit guarantee to the table, while Wunderhorse were shining with their electrifying instrumentals, deeply emotional, raw and energetic stage presence.

Pictured: Josie Edwards and Half Alive

Starting their classic-to-them, high-energy set with “Artillery”, the Kid Kapichi crowd were hyped, so much so that the atmosphere really felt like we were all ready to start a revolution. Exuding insane amounts of coolness and delivering their classic up-tempo set blended with society-criticising lyrics had the crowd going rowdy. Switching up the genres, bbno$ delivered with his classic joyous and super energetic stage presence, making the day all the more fun/turned the show into a party. Staying in the poppier lane, REN stood out with his raw and hard-hitting lyricism and rap elements. Leaning into a cartoon-style stage backdrop while also having characters on stage, representing all sorts of struggles, be it mental health issues or political issues. It truly was a show that you were not able to look away from, fan of his music or not.

“What's your ETA?” echoes through the premises. “Two minutes!” screams back the audience, a reference to Twenty One Pilots' 2024 release “Midwest Indigo”, which signals what everyone has been waiting for - the closing show is about to start.

The atmosphere during their 2-hour set is indescribable. A stage show so diligently thought out, you truly never knew their next move. The duo is no stranger to exceptional performances, with the drummer Josh Dun climbing platforms, the singer Tyler Joseph appearing in multiple lore-relevant outfits at different spots of the crowd. Victoria Park got offered a special treat with a prop car set on fire on the B stage in the middle of the crowd, Josh carrying a torch back to the stage.

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