Just four years ago, Twenty One Pilots were playing the small, now-defunct Crocodile Rock Cafe in Allentown as an opening act. On Tuesday, Jan. 24, the “schizoid pop” duo packed the huge PPL Center down the street with over 10,000 fans.
“There was like 12 people there, but those people told some other people and they told some other people, and tonight we sold this place out,” vocalist and keyboardist Tyler Joseph recalled.
Long Island singer/songwriter/rapper Jon Bellion and Nashville folk-hop group Judah & the Lion were fitting openers that night, mashing up musical genres as effortlessly as the ski masked Pilots on their worldwide Emotional Roadshow Tour that kicked off last year in May. Members of both acts later joined them on stage for a cover song medley.
Twenty One Pilots’ boundless energy poured into the crowd, quite literally, as they stepped into it throughout the concert, performing almost every song on their latest album, “Blurryface,” during their two-hour set. By the time they come back to the Lehigh Valley, even this stadium may not be enough to hold their ever-growing fan base – or their enthusiasm.
