Ed Masley

The Republic | azcentral.com

"Regional at Best."

That's the name Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun came up with for Twenty One Pilots' second album, which they self-released.

Five years later, they're holding court at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix as headliners, leading a very young crowd in one spirited singalong after another in support of "Blurryface," a platinum album that debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's album chart and spun off one of last year's biggest pop songs, "Stressed Out."

It may not be quite an overnight success, but they are definitely on the fast track.

Mixing hip-hop, EDM, rock and reggae

On paper, it doesn't make sense. Two guys in ski masks and red blazers (one a drummer, the other a singer who sometimes strums a ukulele, sometime plays piano) mixing hip-hop, EDM, rock and reggae with heavy doses of piano-driven pop are suddenly the fastest-rising names in modern rock?

In practice, it makes perfect sense.

For one, their songs have clearly touched a nerve. That much was written all over the faces of the fans who hung on and/or sang along to every word, from "Can you save my heavy dirty soul?" to the chorus of their biggest hit – "Wish we could turn back time to the good old days / When our mama sang us to sleep / But now we're stressed out."

Remember the manufactured outrage earlier this week about that poor girl catching Pokemon at a Beyonce concert? I sincerely doubt that there many people catching Pokemon at this show.

Another key to understanding how they got so big so fast is that the way they blend those genres is so seamless, you don't even see the hyphens. They're post-genre, in a way – like Gorillaz, but younger and blessed with the pop sensibilities it takes to manage singles as contagious as "Heathens."

And their showmanship is undeniable. Wearing ski masks with blazers and ties is a brilliant touch, it turns out. It was certainly a striking image as they launched into the show with "Heavydirtsoul," Dun bashing out the beat while Joseph sang into a microphone suspended from above the stage, at one point dropping to the ground and lying there a little longer than most entertainers would for dramatic effect.

Three songs in, as Joseph played his upright, someone draped a large black cloth over the whole piano. Seconds later, Joseph magically appeared out in the crowd, where he removed his ski mask as he sang to prove that it was really him. Of course, that person in the ski mask at the upright wasn't him. Or was it?

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Dusting off older material

Midway through the show, they walked through the crowd to a smaller stage at the back of the venue to dust off some rarely played older material, including "The Pantaloon," "Forest" and "March to the Sea."

Returning to the main stage, they played their breakthrough single, "Holding On To You," during which the singer climbed on top of his piano and began to dance. Eventually, Dun wandered over and joined him, doing a backflip off the upright, a gymnastic feat Joseph attempted to top by running at the upright, leaping in the air and springing, cat-like, off the top of it.

They're able to do these sorts of things in part because although they do play instruments, a large part of the music is piped in, allowing them to get away without auxiliary sidemen as a touring duo. And because they're playing to a generation raised on lip-syncing performers, Auto-Tune and sampling, no one seems to mind. It's all the part of the show. And it's a great show.

After "Holding On to You," they brought out the members of Mutemath and Chef'special, the opening acts, for a short set of crowd-pleasing covers – "Twist and Shout," "My Heart Will Go On," which featured Dun on trumpet, "Love Yourself" and "Jump Around," during which one of the members of Chef'special showed off his breakdancing skills.

'We would love to come back'

It was a fun departure and a friendly gesture, after which they brought the concert to a climax with a reggae-flavored "Ride," a rousing singalong on "Stressed Out," "Guns for Hands" (during which Joseph climbed into a giant red ball and rolled over the crowd), "Tear in My Heart," which featured a drum line, and "Car Radio," which ended with Joseph at the back of the arena on a little platform high above the crowd.

They returned for a two-song encore of "Goner" and a dramatic, emotional reading of "Trees," on which the singer let the audience take over on lead vocals at one point. Before he started "Trees," though, Joseph took the opportunity to tell the crowd how much he enjoyed playing Phoenix and said, "I want you to know if you would have us, we would love to come back."

Judging by the way the crowd responded from the time they took the stage until the final notes of "Trees," I'm pretty sure those fans would gladly have them back (although, at this rate, they may need a bigger room).

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Setlist

"Heavydirtysoul"

"Migraine"

"Polarize"

"Heathens"

"House of Gold"

"We Don't Believe What's on TV"

"The Judge"

"Lane Boy"

"Ode to Sleep"

B-Stage Medley

"The Pantaloon"

"Fall Away"

"Johnny Boy'

"Forest"

"Addict with a Pen"

"March to the Sea"

"Kitchen Sink"

After Medley

"Holding On to You"

"Twist and Shout" (with Mutemath & Chef'Special)

"My Heart Will Go On" (with Mutemath & Chef'Special)

"Love Yourself" (with Mutemath & Chef'Special)

"Jump Around" (with Mutemath & Chef'Special)

"Ride"

"Stressed Out"

"Guns for Hands"

"Tear in My Heart"

"Car Radio"

Encore

"Goner"

"Trees"