Thnks Fr Th Mmrs: Fall Out Boy 2013

This summer I have officially been a fan of Fall Out Boy for eight years. I’ve been in love with them since I first saw the video for “Sugar We’re Going Down” back in 2005 when I was 13 and just getting my feet wet in the alternative scene. Since then Fall Out Boy has been one of my all time favorite bands right up there with My Chemical Romance and just shy of Green Day.

When the band announced their hiatus back in early 2010, I was disappointed, but not quite heartbroken; I figured there was still hope. Then when the band got back together this past February (you can read my thoughts on this in my previous blog “Fall Out Boy Has Given Me Butterflies”), I was beyond excited. On top of that, when I heard tickets were going on sale for a show at The Pageant in St. Louis, I was more than ready to jump on it.

Much to my surprise and dismay this didn’t work out as well as I had hoped. I got online to buy tickets the exact minute they went on sale and before the time switched from 5:00 to 5:01 the screen had told me there were no tickets available. I refreshed and retried for probably a good 15 minutes after that with no luck. I then checked the site StubHub that I kept seeing angry FOB fans mentioning, there were nearly 300 tickets available for the show for double the price (and this site claims that they are helping people!). My hopes were pretty much crushed at that point. They were doubly crushed when I checked again later that night and saw the cheapest ticket listed at $140.

The next morning I checked the concert event page that I joined, in the hopes to win tickets, and saw people say that they were purchasing from scalpers left and right. I had never purchased a ticket from a scalper before, but this was Fall Out Boy and I felt like I needed to be at that show. So I found one General Admission ticket on ebay for $100 and I figured I’d never get a better price than that so with the help of my friend Aaron I got the ticket; I was now going to the show.

Stage set up for The Unlikely Candidates at The Pageant in St. Louis. MO June 28, 2013.

On the morning of June 28^th I got up at 7:30 a.m. and prepared to head out to The Pageant where I planned to wait for a good 11 hours. The line for Halo bar entrance (21 and over) was actually fairly small and conveniently situated in the shade. This plus the great conversations I had with the people around me made the wait not so miserable. I literally sat and waited outside from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and then inside the bar from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and the show still didn’t even start till 8 p.m., needless to say, it was a long day.

Opening bands that open for a big band with a hardcore fan-base such as FOB kind of have it a bit rough when trying to get the audience’s attention. Especially considering the only thing the fans want you to do is stop playing so their favorite band can come out, but The Unlikely Candidates actually put on great show and managed to impress the kids anxiously awaiting FOB. They had a fun pop rock sound with a hint of southern flair (maybe because they were from Texas?) that reminded me a bit of The Maine. I honestly enjoyed their performance despite my undying desire for FOB.

Pete Wentz at The Pageant in St. Louis, MO June 28, 2013.

FOB certainly didn’t waste much time getting on the stage. While most bands will make you wait for what feels like forever, FOB gave themselves an efficient 30 minutes between them and The Unlikely Candidate. I’m not going to lie, I was in the second row from the stage right in front of Pete Wentz’s mic, and I was terrified of how the crowd would react as soon as the band hit the stage. As I expected the crowd did take a big charge forward, but it was nowhere near to what I’ve felt at shows like Green Day and Thirty Seconds to Mars. For the majority of the show the crowd was pretty tame (little to no moshing, no crowd surfing, and no throw-outs that I could see). Although at one point in the beginning of the show Pete did have to ask fans to step back so that no one would faint… “you didn’t like it when you fainted…”.

The band played a great set with a lot of variety playing 3 songs from Take This To Your Grave, 4 songs from From Under The Cork Tree, 4 songs from Infinity On High, 3 songs from Folie A Deux, and 6 songs from their latest album Save Rock and Roll. Unlike Green Day, FOB opened and closed with both old tracks; I wasn’t surprised that they closed with “Saturday” like they always do, but I was pleasantly surprised with “Thriller” as the opener. Some of the surprising songs of the night were definitely “Hum Hallelujah”, “I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me”, “Tell That Mick He Just Made My List of  Things To Do Today”, and “Death Valley”.

The biggest highlight of the performance was definitely the encore especially when they opened with “Save Rock and Roll”. Before the band came back out the crowd loudly sang out “Oh no we won’t go, cause we don’t know when to quit oh oh…” with several other chants proceeding, but the crowd singing the lyrics to “Save Rock and Roll” seemed to take the guys in FOB a little off guard; whoever started that was a genius. Many people claimed to have tears in their eyes during the “Save Rock and Roll” performance especially when all the members stood up and sang the lyrics the crowd had been bellowing just minutes before.

Overall the band seemed to be happy to be back on stage with more energy and confidence than ever before. The fans were even more thrilled to greet them back to the stage, maybe mauling each other at a few points, but the love was still there. Even after the show ended over 200 fans lined up for the chance to meet at least one member. While not everyone stayed long in enough to meet Patrick Stump, who eventually came outside with a big grin on his face, a few walked away with a hug and some with even a few tears in their eyes. Trust me it was an honor to get to hug Patrick and tell him “Thank you”. It really was a perfect night and any Fall Out Boy fan’s dream come true.

Me and FOB singer Patrick Stump outside of The Pageant in St. Louis, MO June 28, 2013.