Pausing to draw breath between a 73-date, four-continent tour that included Oceania, Central and South America, and Europe in support of their seventh album Clancy and returning to the road for further dates in the US and Canada to promote their ninth, Breach, Twenty One Pilots can reflect on their choice of a Cohesion PA system for all.
To support The Clancy World Tour, all aspects of production, particularly the audio system, needed to align with the artists’ vision of a wholly new and exciting experience for their fans, making extensive use of visuals, pyro, cryo and lasers to complement their mic of alt-rock, hop-hop and pop rap.
System Engineer and audio crew chief Josh de Jong has also worked with Guns ‘N Roses and Fall Out Boy. ‘The artists are very involved,’ he says of the Twenty One Pilots sound system. ‘They want people to hear exactly what they are playing.’
The band didn’t look to replicate the studio album for The Clancy World Tour, instead working up new arrangements and s’urprises’ for fans. The results proved memorable. ‘It’s about evoking an experience,’ says FOH engineer Kenny Sellars of the tour. ‘Sometimes you feel like your head is pinned back. We have insane sub drops, fire, magic tricks – you name it. Our show is a full-body feeling.’
Clair Global deployed the PA, which featured 16-to-18 Cohesion CO12 per side for the main hangs, and 16 CO12 on each side hang. When a show required 270° hangs, Sellars opted for 16 Cohesion CO10. ‘I went with 16 deep for splay more than power,’ he confirms. ‘We also used the CO10 as a side hang when we need to cut back on weight for certain buildings.’
Nine Cohesion CP218 II+ per side were flown behind the main hangs. ‘On a lot of tours, I’d tip them out 30°, but we kept them straight on this one,’ says Sellars, who also has experience of Cohesion PA systems on tours with Kid Laroi and Jojo Siwa. ‘It wound up making more sense with rigging, and since they aren’t in cardioid, I don’t feel like I’m losing much on the sides.’
An additional 14 CP218 II+ in seven pairs were stacked forward-facing in an arc across the front of the stage. The Cohesion CP118+ was kept at FOH, and another placed behind the drum riser. Sellars said he prefers an odd number of subwoofer stacks because it gave him what he describes as ‘an extra timing zone to play with – that little extra bit of control’.
Four Cohesion CF10s were used on the stage wings underneath the side hangs as out fill and five CF28s provided fill for the first few rows of seating. ‘I don’t like wrapping the PA straight down; I want to keep the focal point in front of me, not on top of my head,’ says Sellars. ‘The outside subs have to be under the stage for the stage design, so we added the CF28 out on the wings.’
The CF28s were strapped to the top of subwoofer stacks, not only to keep speakers off the stage but also to make loading in and out more efficient. ‘I don’t have to push them hard, and they just keep up. It’s a natural fit,’ Sellars says.
‘[Frontman] Tyler Joseph can sing very quietly across the front of the barricade, and I don’t ever have to turn down or EQ the front fills for that moment because of where I’ve placed them. It’s great for feedback.’
‘They’ve rapidly become our favourite small speakers,’ adds monitor engineer Cliff Skinner ‘Previously, I used the CO8 for high-end clarity, but I replaced those with a single CF28 per side and got better coverage. Having the pin switch and being able to run on a single amp channel is so cleaner – we have four CF28 on one amp compared to one CO8.
‘In my role as an Operations Coordinator for Clair Global I had some insight,’ he continues. ‘I chose the CF28 for amplifier economy, but it ended up being the perfect speaker for this show. They are wide, but not tall. Blending in is crucial.’
‘Tyler is particular about his vocals,’ Sellars says. ‘The cleaner it is, the more room there is for nuance, from in-your-face vocals to wide splashy choruses. To make it precise and consistent is the goal.’
‘He spent a lot of time in the audience,’ de Jong adds. ‘There were two stages out by FOH in the audience. He could have gone anywhere in the arena. It was a bit shocking at first.’
Consistency and reliability from the audio system were further factors in selecting Cohesion for the tour, especially with the musicality of Twenty One Pilots had marked as a high priority. ‘It’s the most uniform PA we’ve ever taken out,’ Sellars says. ‘I mix around 98dB for the show, but half a song will be at 103, then the next two songs are at 92. Our show is a rollercoaster. There’s a part in ‘Heavydirtysoul’ where I use every last sub in the building for about ten seconds at a time, and it evokes a visceral feeling. Most people are just wowed – they’ve never felt that before.’
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