It was a family affair at Twenty One Pilots‘ Sunday night (August 21) show in Cincinnati at the Queen City’s Heritage Bank Arena, complete with shout-outs to mom and pop, an adorable dad-and-baby moment and a special birthday cake for drummer Josh Dun’s dog, Jim, as well as an unexpected Purina treat for the burly basher.
Singer Tyler Joseph noted early on in the two-hour gig that his dad was in the house for what amounted to a hometown gig for the duo who hail from just 80 minutes up the road in Columbus, Ohio.
And since this leg of the outing in support of 2021’s Scaled and Icy album isn’t set to bring them back to their actual home base, Joseph also noted that his mom was on hand as well before performing “House of Gold” during the “Campfire Sessions” portion of the band’s latest arena extravaganza. “This song is for my mom, she’s in the house as well,” Joseph said while strumming his ukulele while seated in front of a roaring fire mid-stage surrounded by the normally two-man band’s touring ensemble on bass, guitar, violin and accordion, with drummer Josh Dun slapping a cajon percussion box.
“I’m realizing the song before that was for my wife, she’s also here and that would not be good [if I didn’t mention her],” Joseph told the adoring crowd as a way of back-introducing “Tear in My Heart,” an homage to his beloved spouse Jenna. Speaking of Jenna, after Joseph made his way to a small b-stage in the middle of the arena floor for a solo piano run through a medley featuring “Addict With a Pen/Forest/Ode to Sleep/Hometown/Bandito/Choker,” he stopped off to give the couple’s daughter — cradled in Jenna’s arms at the foot of the mixing board — a sweet kiss on the forehead before sprinting back to the main stage. (The Josephs are parents to 2-year-old daughter Rosie Robert and infant Junie Belle, born in April.)
Then, in a break in the action, Dun surprised the crowd by walking his adorable Labrador, Jim, onto the stage for a special birthday surprise. “Today is Jim’s birthday, he turns 5 today,” Joseph said as the audience howled at the sight of the beloved pooch. While leading fans in a spirited round of “Happy Birthday,” Joseph laughed as Jim eagerly dug into a doggie bday cake set up near the front of the stage.
“What Josh doesn’t know, though,” he added. “Is that this is actually a dog cake, made for dogs, but I brought a fork up here. I want Josh to try Jim’s cake.” Dun, always game, then proceeded to grab a giant forkful and prove that he really is a dog’s best friend.
Watch the cute cake moment below.
Today was Jim Duns birthday so we had a dog come on stage, eat a dog cake, while his dad, Josh Dun, proceeded to also eat the dog cake.
This is the #IcyTour pic.twitter.com/3dUfsckWsX
— Nick ( ͡°👅 ͡°) (@Nick_Astalos) August 22, 2022
