This first of October was all about one of the most iconic pop-punk bands of all time: FALL OUT BOY! The US band opened their European tour in the Emerald Isle's capital.
PETE WENTZ AT TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN
In the morning, Pete Wentz made a stop by Trinity College Dublin, the most prestigious university in the country, to accept the Gold Medal of Honorary Patronage of the Philosophical Society. He then did a Q&A in front some lucky few of the Society members, including myself. He answered questions about his career, his music and his life philosophy. He remembered that the first time Fall Out Boy played in a small club in Belfast and confessed that the song to which he related the most to is Sugar, We're Goin Down, which he reckons is also the track which allowed him to tour the world and be here in Ireland today, but his most memorable statement was when he shared a tale from a Native American tribe:
"There is this father, and he is talking to his son and he is like, 'There are two wolves inside of everybody. There is one wolf that is all sadness and selfishness, and lacks confidence, and is insincere and doesn’t understand the world. And there is this other wolf. The other wolf is compassion, and joy, and empathy, and peacefulness. And they fight inside everybody', so the boy is like, 'Well, how do you decide which wolf wins?' And the father answered 'Well, the wolf that you feed the most is the one that wins. You’re the only person who can choose which wolf to feed.' And don’t forget that. You know, feed the right wolf."
He also spoke of his understanding of the importance to be nice to his fans, as he is not only a fan of other artists himself (he spoke of that time he met Drake) but also as a father, and how it would affect his kids if their idols would not treat them right.
Pete then went in another room to sign the Society's Guest Book and take pictures with the organising committee of the Phil. As he walked out, a few fans and myself were still waiting outside in the hope of getting a picture. Despite his bodyguard and the Phil's president repeatedly insisted that Pete had to go and could not take any further selfies, Pete proposed a very quick group picture to make everyone satisfied. Top lad! 'Pete, could I get you to sign this please' I then asked him while holding out a part of my flag and a marker as he was about to go down the stairs. He did it and calmly made is way out whilst shaking the hands of the people waiting outside the building. This is a tiny man of great talent and with a big heart.
THE GIG
OPENING ACT 1: CHARLEY MARLEY
The first opening act is a protege of Pete Wentz himself. Alternative musician Charley Marley is the first British artist to be signed on Pete's label DCD2 Records. On stage with a drummer and a DJ, Charley struggled to get the audience into it during the first track. During the second one, Pete made an appearance of literally 10 seconds on stage to film Charley with his phone. And the crowd went wild...! Following this impromptu visit, the audience stayed warmed up and jumped and cheered along the rest of the short set, responding to Charley's incitements to do so. My major critique would be technical: the music was louder than his mic and one could hardly understand him, especially when he was speaking in between songs, as his DJ kept the music on even then. However, he has got a great sound and a good stage presence, hence I shall add him to my list of upcoming artists to keep an eye on.
The British rapper had no troubles getting the crowd going with a series of his hit songs, including I Need you Tonight, Just Be Good to Green, Remedy, Monster and Read All About It. Great performance!
OPENING ACT 2: PROFESSOR GREEN
The British rapper had no troubles getting the crowd going with a series of his hit songs, including I Need you Tonight, Just Be Good to Green, Remedy, Monster and Read All About It. Great performance!
FALL OUT BOY
I have been listening to FOB ever since I was a teenager, yet it was the first time I saw them live. My inner-emo-teen was dying with excitement. Their latest LP American Beauty/American Psycho is in my top-3 pop-alt-rock records of 2015 (along with All Time Low's Future Hearts and Bring Me The Horizon's That's the Spirit).
The gig kick off with Sugar, We're Goin Down. The rest of the 21 track-long setlist included at least two tracks from their six albums, thereby covering their whole discography since 2003. Looking down at the pit (I was in the first balcony) I found the crowd a bit calm during the first couple of tracks... Irresistible and The Phoenix finally got the audience jumpin' and movin' like it should.
After This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race, the band gave way to a short-movie while they were moving to the small stage in the middle of the pit for an acoustic version of Immortals and Young Volcanoes.
Whilst they made their way back to the main stage, Andy Hurley did an amazing drum solo! The second part of the gig was much better in my opinion, the crowd was much more 'into it'. Perhaps because it contained their biggest recent hits, like American Beauty/American Psycho, Uma Thurman and Centuries, their timeless successes Dance Dance and Thnks Fr Th Mmrs as well as their famous cover of Michael Jackson's Beat It. The Encore consisted of My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up) with awesome pyrotechnics (as well as a couple of little fireworks) during the chorus and Saturday, during which Pete took up the mic and ended in the crowd.
Overall it was an excellent gig! The performance was on point, the visual effects (videos, the pyrotechnics on two songs, giant balloons thrown in the public) were awesome and Patrick's voice flawless. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
On the downside, I thought that the order of the setlist was not ideal. I always thought that Uma Thurman would make an amazing opening track, with the band walking on stage in the dark and the song would start at the same time that the light would turn on, in an explosive musical in media res. Same for the closing song of the Encore, I would have picked Thnks Fr Th Mmrs because I believe it is better to end on a well-known energetic track, which would leave the fans eager for more. Plus the title of the song destines it to be a great closing song. Saturday is a good track but less known by the most recent fans and the general public. Furthermore, a little bit more communication with the audience would have been great. Patrick and Pete spoke a little bit about the fact that they were glad to be doing a big show in Ireland after a couple of songs, and Pete told the wolves tale that he had narrated previously at Trinity, but that is about it.
1 Sugar, We're Goin Down
The gig kick off with Sugar, We're Goin Down. The rest of the 21 track-long setlist included at least two tracks from their six albums, thereby covering their whole discography since 2003. Looking down at the pit (I was in the first balcony) I found the crowd a bit calm during the first couple of tracks... Irresistible and The Phoenix finally got the audience jumpin' and movin' like it should.
After This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race, the band gave way to a short-movie while they were moving to the small stage in the middle of the pit for an acoustic version of Immortals and Young Volcanoes.
Whilst they made their way back to the main stage, Andy Hurley did an amazing drum solo! The second part of the gig was much better in my opinion, the crowd was much more 'into it'. Perhaps because it contained their biggest recent hits, like American Beauty/American Psycho, Uma Thurman and Centuries, their timeless successes Dance Dance and Thnks Fr Th Mmrs as well as their famous cover of Michael Jackson's Beat It. The Encore consisted of My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up) with awesome pyrotechnics (as well as a couple of little fireworks) during the chorus and Saturday, during which Pete took up the mic and ended in the crowd.
Overall it was an excellent gig! The performance was on point, the visual effects (videos, the pyrotechnics on two songs, giant balloons thrown in the public) were awesome and Patrick's voice flawless. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
On the downside, I thought that the order of the setlist was not ideal. I always thought that Uma Thurman would make an amazing opening track, with the band walking on stage in the dark and the song would start at the same time that the light would turn on, in an explosive musical in media res. Same for the closing song of the Encore, I would have picked Thnks Fr Th Mmrs because I believe it is better to end on a well-known energetic track, which would leave the fans eager for more. Plus the title of the song destines it to be a great closing song. Saturday is a good track but less known by the most recent fans and the general public. Furthermore, a little bit more communication with the audience would have been great. Patrick and Pete spoke a little bit about the fact that they were glad to be doing a big show in Ireland after a couple of songs, and Pete told the wolves tale that he had narrated previously at Trinity, but that is about it.
2 A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More "Touch Me"
3 I Slept with Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me
4 Irresistible
5 The Phoenix
6 Thriller
7 Alone Together
8 The Kids Aren’t Alright
9 This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race
Acoustic set in the middle of the pit:
10 Immortals
11 Young Volcanoes
Drum solo
12 Dance Dance
13 American Beauty/American Psycho
14 Uma Thurman
15 Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy
16 Beat It (MJ Cover)
17 Thnks Fr Th Mmrs
18 I Don’t Care
19 Centuries
Encore:
20 My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)
21 Saturday
WHERE YOU THERE?
OR AT ANOTHER DATE OF FOB'S EUROPEAN TOUR?
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF IT?
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