By Jase Walker
It seems to be a bigger trend in recent years where bands that are generally considered to be, for lack of a better term, fucking massive, do really small shows as if a return to their roots. Architects did it back in 2021 for example and I had the privilege of being there for it – but on this particular occasion, it’s Fall Out Boy!
The only act on this evening, we’ve got a full, all encompassing set to get stuck into that I imagine will cut across all of their different eras and will probably be the most comprehensive setlist they’ve ever played.
Before Fall Out Boy takes the stage, a man loudly shouts for people to help the bar out by taking empties back to the bar and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a venue fall so silent so quickly due to someone shouting! The moment the lights go dark the crowd erupts into deafening screams and the guys jump onto the stage and I don’t think Pete has stayed still for even a passing moment. It definitely still seems completely bizarre that I’m sitting in a venue of this size watching Fall Out Boy doing their stuff rather than a massive arena! It’s also quite another thing to get to experience Patrick Stump’s vocals up close and personal like this.
We’re barely past the start of the show and we’ve already hit ‘Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down’; I never thought for a second I’d get to see this song in such a way but it makes me wish I’d been able to see this way earlier in their career! With the new album, ‘So Much (For) Stardust‘, looming just after these two unique ÜK dates and prior to an extensive tour later this year, we’re getting a bit of a treat with some tracks off it as well, which just adds to the feeling of being extremely privileged to be here for this show. They’re not forgetting all of their massive ‘bangers like ‘Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy’; the moment the penny dropped for the audience it sounded as if they’d been waiting all night just to hear that one song, except it’s been like that for pretty much every song they’ve played so far!
‘American Beauty/American Psycho’ followed by ‘Dance Dance’ keeps everyone hyped up and the energy levels high and it looks like the front centre of the audience just can’t seem to get close enough to the stage! One of the songs I’ve personally been waiting for the whole night though, ‘This Ain’t a Scene, It’s An Arms Race’, and watching the entire audience all losing their minds and screaming every single word is an incredible joy to behold. ‘My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)’, in the same vein as a lot of their songs, is an immense singalong and conversely, Brits love a good chant as well so the crowd easily matches Patrick’s vocal volume, amazing!
‘Thnks Fr Th Mmrs’, pops up in the non-stop onslaught of Fall Out Boys biggest songs, the audience singing loud enough to match the band’s volume again, every word crystal clear! Pete explains they’re forgoing the whole encore shenanigans and just playing right through and we’re getting another treat in the form of ‘Centuries’: ‘banger!
To say this was a privilege to have experienced Fall Out Boy in such an intimate setting is a complete and utter understatement. I still can’t quite get over the fact that a band who’ve been playing arenas for more than a few years now and is arguably one of the biggest emo/pop punk bands in the world have played such a cracking show in a venue that only just breaks 500 capacity and it popped off for the entire show. Absolutely stellar show, a setlist filled to the absolute brim of their biggest songs and some smaller introductions to their new album material – I’ll cherish the “mmrs” for years to come.
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