For our first show of the Bandito Tour, we had decided on Prague. Easily accessible from Brussels-Charleroi via low-cost company Ryanair and fairly cheap compared to other European cities, it felt like a great way to start, especially because the show was on a Saturday, which meant we could leave on Friday and come back on Sunday without missing any work days. Here’s how it went.
DAY 1
After a half day of work for me and an accidental last-minute wardrobe change for my friend Louise, we departed for the airport around 7pm on Friday night. Surprisingly, we already ran into other Banditos coming from France to go to the show as well, and by 11pm we had landed in Prague. Seeing as it was late already, we had first planned on taking an Uber to our AirBnb, but changed our minds when we saw the lines of regular taxis in front of the airport entrance. We might have paid less with Uber, but having never used it before, I kind of panicked a little bit. That said, our taxi journey was fairly nice, the driver very funny and we even got to hear Stressed Out on the radio!
Half an hour later, we were at the apartment, welcomed by a very nice guy in his pajamas. The place was small, but clean and well-arranged, with every amenities we needed, good enough for just two nights, and very cheap! Hit me up if you’d like me to send you the exact offer on AirBnb, and if you haven’t tried it yet, feel free to subscribe through this link and you might get €30 savings!
DAY 2
After a short night, we spent some time curating our Bandito outfits for the day, then left for a random visit of the city. Since we’d already been there a couple years ago, we decided we’d play it cool, and simply went to the Old Town Square to soak in the sun (which was surprisingly warm enough for the season!) and see the Astronomical Clock which is always impressing. We also tried eating Trdelník for the first time (a pastry made from rolled dough wrapped around a stick, then grilled and topped with sugar) then headed over to the John Lennon Wall. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed, because the original Lennon face has long disappeared behind layers and layers of new graffitis and it’s not as impressive and artistically beautiful as I imagined it would be, but still it’s something to see if you ever go to Prague.
During the day, we’ve crossed paths with a fair amount of other people dressed as Banditos, and a family from Israel even started a conversation with us because they’d recognized our outfits and were going to the show as well!
Towards 4pm, we decided to go back to our apartment to rest for a bit and charge our phones. What seems like an easy bit ended up causing a lot of trouble and delays in our plans, as metro tickets can only be paid for in coins, and we only had cards so as to avoid ending up with lots of Czech korunas we didn’t really need in our pockets. This took us far longer than expected and we only got to rest for an hour before leaving for the reason we were here: the show.
THE SHOW
We got to the venue well after 6.30pm. Doors were already open, and we quickly made our way into the O2 Arena, where we decided to get merch right away, seeing as we had seats this time and didn’t have to rush to get a good spot. Unfortunately, it took us far longer than expected, again, and when we got to our seats, The Regrettes had already started their set.
I’m not sure if that’s because I was too excited to see Twenty One Pilots again or if I was just too tired to enjoy, but I didn’t feel the energy I was expecting from the band, although I love listening to their music. Moreover, they left the stage kind of abruptly and without saying goodbye, which didn’t sit well with me. Hopefully I’ll have my mind changed by the end of the tour.
Around 9pm, finally, the lights went off for Twenty One Pilots. Our seats were ideally placed, and I got to fully enjoy the show introduction I didn’t really manage to see back in London last September. Bandito Josh Dun stood alone on stage with a magic torch that suddenly lit itself on fire in his hand. He took a few steps right then left, acknowledging the audience before heading towards his drumkit while a car rose from the ground, a wild Tyler Joseph standing on it.
The stage is almost bare except from Josh’s drums, the car and Tyler’s piano, yet it’s all they need to put on a hell of a show. I’ll pass on the details for those of you who’d like to keep the surprise, but the band has really put their everything into the production on this tour. The lights are genuinely magical, especially for the B-stage bit, and the video screens are something else altogether. All in all, I’m really glad I’ll get to experience this show many times over, as I’m sure I haven’t been able to see all the details of the visuals and have surely missed some interesting things. A Twenty One Pilots show is always more than just the music, so if/when you go see them, make sure you don’t focus only on what Tyler and Josh are doing on stage! Look around, there’s so much more to see!
Other than that, I’ve been very moved to hear the new songs live for the first time, especially Leave The City that completely overwhelmed me and might have made me shed a tear or two (or a million).
THE AFTER
After the show, we stayed inside for a little bit while my friend got herself some merch, and we met the family from Israel again. We had a nice little conversation and learned about each other, and that’s part of what I was talking about on the first blog of the series: never would I have imagined that I’d get to know people from Israel and that we’d share such a good (although short) time together.
It was very cold when we finally went out, and although we didn’t expect anything from it, my friends and I decided to wait around by the tour buses. We’ve almost always done that, especially a couple years ago when the band used to come out and greet fans, and I know they’re much more famous now, but I truly didn’t expect us to be the only ones waiting around.
We stayed there a couple of hours then, without any expectations, and I think that helped. We talked to a couple of techs and crew people. One of them, in particular, comes to mind, and I wish I’d gotten his name. He came to us on his own, starting the conversations himself and thanking us for “the opportunity” (his own words) and for allowing him to have that job. During the conversation, we told him we were from Belgium and he started marvelling at our great festivals, saying he’d been there many times, including Rock Werchter with Linkin Park, with whom he’d word for years before working with Twenty One Pilots. He told us about Chester and the awful way he’d learned of his passing, and with my girlfriend being such a huge Linkin Park fan, I think that’s a conversation we’ll never forget.
Then something else happened. I don’t remember if it was before or after the Linkin Park guy, but another crew member walked up to us, got something out of his pocket and gave it to my friend. We were confused at first, then realized it was a piece of broken string from Tyler’s bass. And it might seem ridiculous for many, but it made us all really happy. And since we’re such good friends, we decided that every one of us would get to keep a piece of it.
Nothing else happened after that. We did see Tyler and his wife Jenna enter their bus, and although I wish I would have had the guts to say hi, I don’t regret any second of the time we spent outside that night because I can’t remember the last time I’ve had that much fun. And that’s also part of “touring” with your favorite band: the simplest of things can become your favorite part of the day.
DAY 3
We didn’t get much sleep that night, and had to leave the apartment before 10am, so we knew we wouldn’t do much on our last day. Simply put, we went to the Old Town Square again, and the weather was so nice that we just sat there for hours on end, playing Pokémon Go after treating ourselves with a nice Italian restaurant lunch. Around 4pm, we took the metro and the bus to the airport, and that was the end of our trip.
The next blog should have been focused on Dublin, but instead, on Monday we randomly decided we wanted to go to Cologne first and booked the tickets on a whim. So I’ll see you next week!
Emma's Culture Corner 