Images: Fall Out Boy, New Politics June 15, 2013 at the House of Blues

Back in 2003, I caught Fall Out Boy opening for Less Than Jake at the House of Blues and they immediately won me over with their Lifetime-influenced pop punk, catchy hooks and dynamic stage presence. A lot has changed for the band over the past 10 years – they began to incorporate influences from outside the punk and hardcore spectrum, they saw a period of immense pop culture saturation (particularly for bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz) and they took an extended hiatus where the members all dabbled in solo and side projects – but I was excited to be there when they made a triumphant return to Vegas last week, after a 5 year absence.

Vegas isn’t really known as a city that sells out shows, at least not months in advance. But with these FOB tickets being gone in less than ten minutes, there was a lot of time for fan excitement for the event to grow to a fever pitch. And it showed, with the packed crowd bursting into an a cappella rendition of “Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes” while waiting in line, still 20 minutes to doors opening. That kind of enthusiasm is refreshing when I so often see lots of quiet head nodding and complaining, so I can appreciate the complete lack of cynicism that was on display. Once inside the House of Blues, we were treated to an excellent house mix including Kid Dynamite, Bad Religion, Descendents and the aforementioned Lifetime. I did hear one young fan mistake a Bad Religion song for Green Day, but I’ll let it slide because they did seem to like their first taste of BR.

Coming all the way from Copenhagen, opener New Politics is a pop rock group not that far removed from bands like The Summer Set and fun., though with an obvious affection for 90s alternative. The three piece (no bass) – really know how to work a crowd.  Chatting with a few FOB fans up front gave me the impression I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t listened to them before, but everyone was cheering and grinning ear to ear during their set, particularly when boisterous vocalist David Boyd leapt into the crowd, correct in his confidence that the audience of new fans would hold him up. The band was a lot of fun (and bonus points to guitarist Søren Hansen for rocking a sweet Doctor Who shirt).

The lights dimmed and Jay Z’s recorded intro to Fall Out Boy’s 2007 album Infinity on High blared through the sound system, as the guys burst onto the stage and into IOH opener “Thriller.” The group actually sounds better than I remember them, with vocalist Patrick Stump particularly pitch perfect throughout the night. Stump has always been the band’s not-so-secret weapon, with a powerful and often theatrical voice that helps Wentz’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics transcend from cheesy to biting.

Fall Out Boy has always put a lot into their live show, building their initial reputation through posi jumps and mid-air spins. The guys may be a little older, but the jumps are still there, only now the focus is definitely placed more on the sound. Stump has obviously worked a lot on keeping his voice in pristine shape, no longer succumbing to shortness of breath or other like problems that plagued many of their later day shows. The rest of the guys are in top condition as well, particularly drummer Andy Hurley, who many felt was underutilized on the band’s comeback Save Rock and Roll. In the live setting his drumming really brings new life to songs like the dance-poppy “Alone Together” and acoustic jam “Young Volcanoes.” Those are two songs I particularly like from the new record but Hurley destroys the drums live making them hit that much harder.

The LCD screens behind the band blared things like “Save Rock and Roll,” “Fall Out Boy,” and artwork from the new album. But they also used it to pay tribute to their roots, showing an old Fireside Bowl flier during “Grand Theft Autumn,” a track from the band’s Fueled by Ramen debut Take This To Your Grave (for those that don’t know, the Fireside Bowl is a venue in Chicago where the band got their start). The screens also paid tribute to the many musical legends that came before and have inspired the band, ranging from the Rolling Stones to Notorious BIG, during the new album’s title track (which featured Stump on piano doing a perfect impression of Elton John, making me seriously question if he didn’t get involved in some kind of Ariel/Ursula-style voice stealing magic).

Ultimately what really mattered were the songs, and they did a fairly good job sorting through their growing catalog of tunes (though I sorely lament the lack of “Chicago is So Two Years Ago” and From Under the Cork Tree highlight “Of All The Gin Joints In All The World”). Being that they are a successful mainstream band touring for the first time in over half a decade the hits needed to be represented and they were, with tracks like “Dance Dance,” “I Don’t Care” and current single “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark” all getting huge responses from the fevered fans. I was pleasantly surprised that “Water Buffalos,” my favorite track from the originally divisive though now revered Folie à deux was not only played but had possibly the biggest sing along of the night, with the crowd chanting the refrain of “Detox just to retox” louder than anything I can remember in recent years.

I was happy that the band still chose to end with TTTYG favorite “Saturday,” complete with Pete Wentz tossing his bass to their tech so he could leap into the crowd for his hardcore vocals, bringing things back to his days fronting Arma Angelus.  It’s the same song they ended with ten years ago, the song that first made me a fan, and it sounds just as fresh now as it did back then. Their music may have changed a lot over the years but Fall Out Boy still has that spark and reverence for their fans that I never grow tired of.

-Emily Matview | https://www.flickr.com/photos/holdfastnow/

Fall Out Boy setlist:

Thriller
I Slept with Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me
A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More “Touch Me”
Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes
The Phoenix
This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race
“Tell That Mick He Just Made My List of Things to Do Today”
Alone Together
What a Catch, Donnie
Death Valley
Hum Hallelujah
Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy
Sugar, We’re Goin Down
Young Volcanoes
Dance, Dance
I Don’t Care
My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)

Encore:
Save Rock and Roll
Thnks fr th Mmrs
Saturday