Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Twenty One Pilots lead singer Tyler Joseph was joined initially by two high-school friends. After performing locally and gaining recognition throughout the Midwest, those friends left the band; before departing, one of them introduced Joseph to Josh Dun, who worked at a local Guitar Center. Since then, Joseph and Dun have become one of the most talked-about acts of 2015. Their latest LP, “Blurryface,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling a massive 146,000 units its first week, boosted by the singles “Tear in My Heart” and “Stressed Out.” The alternative-pop duo has been recognized for its captivating live performances, ranked by Rolling Stone among the “40 Best Things We Saw at Lollapalooza 2015.” As the pair prepares for a concert at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion on Saturday, Joseph (above right, with Dun) talked about five things he and Dun do to prepare for their world-renowned performances.  Relax “The adrenaline is really quick to kick in before a show. You get excited, ya know? So we make sure just to relax and preserve energy so we can come out of the gun firing. You don’t want to be halfway through a show and lose your kick. The crowd notices that.”  The Huddle “You know how a full band is supposed come together for a huddle before the show? Josh and I like the idea of that, but it’s only us up there on stage. We don’t really have a band. So before every show, just so it’s not weird, we find someone random to join in on our huddle. It could be the sound guy, our manager, the intern, whoever, just as long as there is a third person there.”  Proper Nutrition “Good nutrition is key. The day of the show we’ll make sure to eat something good and filling, but I personally don’t like to eat an hour or so before the show. I’ve had some pretty close calls on stage from jumping around.”  Ask Who We’re Performing For “Is there 100 people or 100,000 people? We want to know before we go out there. We always have our manager take a look into the crowd and give an estimate. We don’t want to come out expecting 100 people and then there are thousands of people screaming at us, that’s pretty startling.”  The Handshake “The moment right before we go out to perform, Josh and I do our secret handshake. Well, actually, it’s not that secret anymore. If you watch our music video for ‘Stressed Out’ we do the handshake. It’s still pretty cool, though!”  Twenty One Pilots play with Echosmith and Finish Ticket at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion on Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets: $25-$35. 800-653-8000, www.ticketmaster.com
Tyler Joseph of alternative-pop duo Twenty One Pilots reveals five of the secrets behind the band’s acclaimed live performances.