Twenty One Pilots showed their musical duality and flexed their extensive catalog when they performed a setlist with a mix of fan-favorite hits and new songs at their electric, over two-hour-long show at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday night. The venue erupted with cheers when the musical group made up of the duo Tyler Joseph and Joshua Dun took the stage at 8:45 p.m.
after the opening act Balu Brigada. Fans donning black and red packed against the barricade in front of the stage, some with duct tape on their clothes to match frontman Joseph’s outfit and others with ski masks over their faces. Twenty One Pilots skyrocketed to fame after their 2015 song “Stressed Out” became popular, peaking at number one on the Billboard Adult Top 40.
Many of their songs mask heavy themes, including isolation and mental health struggles, under upbeat alternative melodies featuring Joseph’s blend of fast rapping and singing. The duo opened the concert by jumping into “Overcompensate,” the lead single off their May album, “Clancy,” accompanied by fireworks and smoke that rained down from the stage. Despite the album being out for only three months, fans sang along loudly, filling in for Joseph during the many moments he turned the microphone to the crowd.
The setlist then immediately jumped back by over a decade when Joseph launched into “Holding Onto You,” the lead single from their sophomore album, “Vessel.” Fans held Joseph up, literally, as he stood within the crowd.