Skully's back room was unusually crowded and exceptionally enthusiastic for a Wednesday night. Shamelessly clad in T-shirts bearing the name of the band on stage, swarms of teenagers of both genders surged along to blood-pumping synth bangers that slid seamlessly from hip-hop to house to indie rock. They seemed to know every lyric.

Skully's back room was unusually crowded and exceptionally enthusiastic for a Wednesday night. Shamelessly clad in T-shirts bearing the name of the band on stage, swarms of teenagers of both genders surged along to blood-pumping synth bangers that slid seamlessly from hip-hop to house to indie rock. They seemed to know every lyric.

The trio of guys on stage fed on the fervor, hopping furiously through each number without missing a beat. Relying on loops and samples to keep the tension building, keyboardist Tyler Joseph often left his post to rouse the crowd with some good old-fashioned showmanship - clapping, hopping, hand-waving and the like. It all came to a head when he and bassist Nick Thomas carried toms to the front of the stage, dropped them on the crowd and began pounding along with drummer Chris Salih.

It was probably the first time in my life a band reminded me of Attack Attack and Arcade Fire in the same moment.

I first heard about Twenty One Pilots when I spoke to a class at the Charles School and one of the students recommended I check them out. I filed the name away along with the dozens of other monikers that get passed my way until a few months later, when a Facebook friend perked my attention by posting, "You will never hear anything like Twenty One Pilots."

I won't go that far. This band isn't a complete anomaly. In fact, one of its biggest strengths is an ability to sound accessible and familiar while slyly pushing the artistic envelope. That said, when the closest reference point I can come up with is Yoni Wolf's bizarre, hip-hop-inspired indie rock wonderland WHY?, a band has tapped into something unique.

Twenty One Pilots are much glossier than WHY?, of course, with broader widespread appeal. This local crew is far less artsy and significantly more bubbly, with a boundless enthusiasm that would make Bono blush. It's not hard to imagine them pulling that drum stunt in front of thousands at some big-budget summer festival, and judging by the reaction they got last Wednesday, such fantasies might be realities sooner than they think.