Metro Theatre, Sydney
Monday March 25, 2013 :
Fall Out Boy toured Australia in March, playing… two shows. And I’ve been wondering why the Chicago four-piece made a brief appearance in Australia three weeks before their new album would appear on our shelves. Then it hit me. Oh right, it’s got to be a ‘thank you’ tour to all their devoted old-school fans… before they sell out completely. I’m talking about a band who’ve done a full 180 degree turn on their original genre, completely changing their style, becoming a casualty to overly produced pop music, and what I like to call “radio sheep”.
These guys wrote some of the catchiest Pop Punk songs in their heyday, which came from their biggest records, Take This To Your Grave, From Under The Cork Tree and Infinity On High. Back from their hiatus, they’ve returned to the scene with a new one, titled Save Rock And Roll. And from what I’ve already heard from the album, it definitely won’t be ‘saved’ onto the computers of anyone that likes rock and roll! Time for the review…
The Metro Theatre was packed, the venue sold out. The tickets to the show were snapped up quickly and at 90 bucks a pop, the audience would only be listening to two acts, DJ music (the only support of the night) followed by the headliners.
Fall Out Boy are an amazing live band, through years of constant touring they’ve perfected their stage presence. Guitar swings, punk jumps, mixed in with a setlist full of likeable hits from their earlier records pleased the crowd. Pete Wentz took charge (as always) of talking to the crowd and teasing the younger fans with his charm, while the talented Patrick Stump (vocals), belted out those insanely high vocal notes that he’s known for without breaking a sweat.
‘Dead on Arrival’, ‘Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner’, ‘Dance, Dance’ and ‘I Don’t Care’ are strummed out before they play their version of Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’ – which is a ridiculously good cover of an artist so hard to imitate. Stump’s vocals compliment the classic, nicely.
They finished their set with ‘Saturday’ and the 16-year-old inside of me was more than happy to bump shoulders with the rest of the punters in the mosh pit, bringing the end of an era for these guys as a Pop Punk band. Good luck on your new endeavor, boys.
Reviewer: Sean Frazer
Photographer: Ashlee Kellehear
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