Like a lot of us in Columbus, Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph are hosting a few out-of-town guests this weekend.
Unlike the people here to see a lot of us, those guests stood in line during a chilly, rainy afternoon Oct. 16 to buy T-shirts and other merchandise bearing the name of the musical duo.
About 30 hours before Dun and Joseph, as Twenty One Pilots, were set to take the stage for a sold-out hometown concert at Ohio Stadium, their fans got into the spirit by snatching up concert shirts and other items, touring a pop-up exhibit of band memorabilia and visiting places around Columbus that have been featured in their videos.
For many, seeing the city where the musicians got their start playing at local clubs was worth long drives or international
flights.
"They clearly appreciate where they're from," said Jodi Foster, who traveled to Columbus from Birmingham, England, for the Twenty One Pilots concert set for Oct. 17. "It's why everyone in their fanbase it so loyal. It's the sweetest thing they could have done."
Foster, her partner, Jack, and friend Liam Austin of London, got to Columbus on Oct. 14 and had yet to get some sleep before joining a merchandise line that snaked around a trailer outside St. John Arena on the campus of Ohio State University.
They planned to visit Twenty One Pilots’ video locations around town throughout the weekend before heading home the day after the concert. As rain fell Oct. 16, Foster said none of them minded or were hampered by the Columbus weather.
Tammy and Olivia Thompson had a shorter trip to town, four hours by car from their western Pennsylvania town between Erie and Pittsburgh. The Ohio Stadium show will be their 16th Twenty One Pilots concert. The three-hour wait in line to buy merchandise ahead of time meant they won't miss any of the music, Tammy Thompson said.
"We come to Columbus pretty much every time they're here," Olivia Thompson added. "The hometown shows are always special."
Bracelets bring Skeleton Clique together
While waiting to buy merch, Twenty One Pilots fans traded friendship bracelets with lyrics and other messages. Some had umbrellas, and many did not. The forecast for the concert is much better; the National Weather Service said cloudy skies are expected to clear after mid-morning Oct. 17. It will be clear, though cooler, by evening.
Rain didn't keep Madeline Zezuto, Larissa Van Galen and Lara Ruttkowski from concert-related lines, either. The three women who struck up a friendship through Twenty One Pilots social media pages met in person for the first time for this show. Zezuto lives in Grove City, while Van Galen traveled from the Netherlands and Ruttkowski came from Germany.
The three friends visited video locations and bought hats, shirts and posters the day before. On Oct. 16, they came back to OSU to take in the band's makeshift museum.
They were happy with the way they arranged their itinerary. Unlike the three-hour merch line Oct. 16, the wait for the exhibit required only 1.5 hours in the rain.
Follow Dispatch reporter Bob Vitale on Instagram at @dispatchdining. You can reach him directly at rvitale@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: For Twenty One Pilots fans, a visit to Columbus is part of the show
