Fall Out Boy
Cobra Starship, All-Time Low, Hey Monday
Orlando, FL • April 22, 2009
Christopher Long
Tick, tick, tick – do you hear that? Tick, tick, tick – that’s the sound of Fall Out Boy’s 15 minutes running out.
Yes – these times, they certainly are a changin’. The last time I saw Fall Out Boy live they were performing in front of a sellout crowd in Miami in 2006. Back then the poppy/punky/wannabe-hip-hoppy poster boys were riding a wave of chartbusting hits like “Dance Dance” and “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down.” But what a difference a couple of years can make. This time around, Orlando’s 10,000-seat UCF Arena was downsized to accommodate approximately 8,000 music fans, yet half of the venue still remained empty as FOB hit the stage.
Escorted by intimidating-looking guards in full riot gear as they ran onto the stage, Fall Out Boy’s set kicked off with a bang. And then, well, not so much. I doubt that the member’s poorly fitted business suits and vocalist Patrick Stump’s Newt Gingrich-looking grey wig were terribly effective in appealing to the primarily late teen/early 20s audience. Also, what’s up with guitarist Joe Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley lately? With their shoulder-length Jesus hair and bushy, lumberjack beards, the two musicians look better suited for a Blue Oyster Cult tribute band than a modern day platinum-selling pop combo (which is not necessarily a criticism – personally, I still love BOC). And with a greased-down, Revenge of the Nerds-ish coif, even golden child bassist Pete Wentz-Simpson seemed to have been dolled-down for the big event
But it’s really all about the music – right? Well, following the band’s bombastic entrance, the energy of the music also took a nose-dive, as the boys immediately busted into a few early-set, mid-tempo snoozers.
But Fall Out Boy is still (I guess) a huge international band, so I doubt that any of its members will be filling out job apps at Starbucks anytime soon. After all, Mr. Wentz is THE music industry go-to guy these days and Mr. Stump is one of pop music’s premier songwriters. However, it was a bit obvious, at least to me and my 15-year-old son, that FOB was humiliated by opening act, All Time Low. With members barely out of their teens, this edgy, Maryland-based, pop powerhouse actually got a bigger crowd response when they teased fans with a taste of “Sugar, We’re Going Down” than FOB when they played the hit in its entirety an hour and a half later. In fact, based on the deafening screams from the throngs of female tweens attending the show, I’m not quite sure who the main act really was. One thing I do know is that based on the unbiased and quite passionate assertions of the 14-year-old girls sitting behind me, All-Time Low’s frontman, Alex is apparently “fucking hot” and “has a great ass!”
Fall Out Boy: http://www.falloutboyrock.com ◼
