Fall Out Boy: Their Hearts Beat For The Diehards

When one enters an arena for a night of music they should be experiencing an event full of escapism that provides a euphoric force that brings you to your feet and makes your voice your own personal ache with unabashed vulnerability. We live in a time and age where repressed emotions rule the day and it's not looked upon fondly to unleash them. There was a time, not too long ago, where concerts found social misfits gathered close together in a unifying stance where band and fan became one through the unification of music. With ticket prices breaking the $100 barrier that fusion is gone. All too often you find stock brokers who are obsessed with celebrity in the best seats with the true fans in either the nosebleeds or left out in the cold. However, one band has currently defied this idiotic reasoning; Fall Out Boy. Commonsense would tell you that a band this popular cannot be edgy or epic in this day and age. Can one really have watershed moments from a band still signed to a major label? The answer is a resounding yes and on the "Young Wild Things Tour", Fall Out Boy is letting their music ignite a generation's message, which is often overshadowed by their indelible pop hooks.

As I headed into the arena for the show, it proved to be more than I could have anticipated. The entire evening was full of treasured moments right from the outset as openers Cute Is What We Aim For, Plain White T's and Gym Class Heroes entranced the entire 13,000 in attendance. Each opening act had the crowd on their feet in rapt attention. Gym Class Heroes even played the beginning of Van Halen's "Jump" and the reaction was far more deafening than it had been for the actual Van Halen three nights earlier. With the $30 ticket price, it ensured that anyone who wanted to see this show could. There was no VIP's bidding for tickets in the front row, because it was General Admission. Here is an organization that realizes long term success depends on the returning customer and their fanaticism. Instead of punishing them, the band and their management team is rewarding them with a first rate show, all for a mere $30.

As ferocious as these openers were, the evening belonged to one band�Fall Out Boy. When the lights dimmed, there was an enormous draping covering the stage as drummer Andy Hurley teased the audience with the beat of "Sugar We're Going Down". As the drape dropped, it was as if 13,000 simultaneously raised their arms, hands, hearts and voices to the air. The sight I witnessed was inexpressible; I could feel the chills go down my spine. Even if you don't approve of this band or its talent, one must marvel at the glorious visceral power of witnessing a band whose command was so physically powerful that everyone from the general admission floor to the person in the top row of the balcony surging their voices, arms and hearts right back to the band for an evening that was all about elevation and escapism.

It's one thing to come out and leave a pint of blood on the stage, but it's another to dazzle the audience's visual senses. Behind the band, an animated video based upon "Where The Wild Things Are" found the band taking a journey while accompanying the music on-stage. "The Carpal Tunnel of Love" found a comical animated video that was too good, as it kept my eyes off the stage. From that moment forward, I tried to keep my eyes on the four band members as they were the true show despite having one of the best stage shows I've ever seen. This band has a physical intensity that matches the subject matter of their songs. Bassist Pete Wentz was jumping and flying across the stage like a superhero and even though he is the primary songwriter, the other three members are catalysts for his inspiration. He needs Patrick Stump to convey the poetic message with his poignant voice, Joe Trohman's guitar to drive the songs and the syncopated stinging swing of drummer Andy Hurley to bring everything full circle.

"Grand Theft Autumn" and "Homesick At Spacecamp" from the band's 2003 album 'Take This To Your Grave' were as well received as the bands best known songs. This isn't a band living off their platinum glories but embracing their past and the channeling of emotions through their instruments made these songs highlights. I've made the mistake of overlooking this album, but I'll need to delve deeper into this one because the performance and the audience reaction was otherworldly. Many in the crowd have been following this band since their club days and they were rewarded accordingly. Each song felt like an old friend with perfectly ebullient hand clapping pop hooks that no one can touch. "Don't You Know Who I Think I Am?" (produced by the mighty Butch Walker), "Thnks fr th Mmrs" and "The Take Over, The Breaks Over" were all brisk and biting as the audience held onto every last note. Each of these tracks, from 'Infinity On High', proves that this album may be the band's bravest and best effort to date.

When you peel away your preconceived notions about this band, you can delve into how multifaceted their lyrics truly are. One song in particular stood out providing me with a watershed moment. "Hum Hallelujah" is the type of song children of the 60's and 70's would have found solace in the corners of their rooms as the needle creased that 12-inch vinyl and their static-filled headphones penetrated their ears. Songs like these lead to intellectual realizations that define one's life. We find ourselves vulnerable and overcome with life's obstacles but somehow, a voice reaches out from the distance that provides a cathartic moment and makes life not just easier for the time being, but more joyous to live in. I watched the aggressive and fanatic crowd hoist themselves en mass as they ebbed and churned against one another during this song not because they were fighting for space but because they were unleashing their sorrow, pain and embracing the joy that not just music, but life can bring. Seeing this made me feel alive in the same way when I first saw Eddie Vedder ascend head first into a crowd fifteen years ago.

"A Little Less Sixteen Candles�" was performed with an uplifting oomph that served as a revelatory moment. What I laid witnessed to and took part of was religion. These fans do not just feel the music but believe in its dogmatic qualities. The reactionary screams during the acoustic set were otherworldly as band and fan became one. All four band members were seated at the front of the stage as dry ice overtook the stage as Stump's soulful voice accentuated "Golden", "Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner" and the current melodious single "I'm Like A Lawyer�(Me & You)". It occurred to me that during this acoustic set that Fall Out Boy may be associated with the Emo genre, but they aim for timelessness with their music. Genres of music are useless when trying to covey the intensity of music. The pop framework of these songs will age well because the guitars rip, the rhythm makes you quake and the lyrics imbed themselves within your soul.

The band continued to belt out hit after hit with an unrelenting passion that sizzled. "Thriller" was off the charts, "This Ain't A Scene, It's an Arms Race" radiated and a surprise cover of the Killers "Mr. Brightside" was spot on and perfect. Amidst a crowd that never relented, I marveled at the awesomeness of it all. "This is what a rock concert should be like" is what I kept thinking to myself repeatedly. No show should ever cost north of $100 and nosebleed seats should not cost an arm and a leg. The lunacy of the crowd could be FELT amidst the blazing fire, video animation, pyrotechnics and dazzling lights. Because the band kept prices fair, it allowed for a surreal experience like this to be possible. If they had auctioned off seats to the highest bidder, they intensity of this show would have been lost. The subversive attitude of the band puts them in another league few bands at this very moment can touch. The show was devoid of shtick and heavy on harrowing but catchy melodies and the set list was executed with perfection and the performances were delivered with pinpoint precision. Add in the extra ingredient of a hometown crowd and it makes the evening an indescribable one, but one that will not leave the memory bank anytime soon. Fall Out Boy rose to the occasion and proved they deserve to be in the big leagues.

In the last few months, I have written articles on artists who have contradicted themselves so often, I have attempted to steer them back in the right direction in hopes they will see the light. I have criticized artists on everything from ticket prices to how they handle GA to the length of their shows. I am happy to say that I do not have a single aspect of the Fall Out Boy concert to criticize because they did not just meet my expectations, but exceeded each and every one of them. They fully realize the value of a fan while comprehending and understanding that long-term careers are built through word of mouth, winning over fans one person at a time and treating them with respect. They are following the blueprint for longevity to a T and are so logically sound that one wonders why others don't follow their lead.

The party jam "Dance, Dance" threw the crowd into a level of hysteria that ranks in possibly one of the greatest crowds I've ever been a part of and this is no easy feat. The shrieks were louder for Fall Out Boy than they were seven-months earlier for Justin Timberlake. The evening came to a triumphant close with a frenzied performance of "Saturday" which found Pete Wentz surging into the crowd. When the band took their bows and descended into the darkness, the house lights went on and the four-plus hour show came to an end as Huey Lewis & The News "Power of Love" played over the PA. As a collective unit Fall Out Boy is defying the odds and is proving to be one of this generation's vital artists. The audience basked in the glow and love of the music in a way that will soon be extinct. Attempts to tear this band down or criticize them are futile. The dissenter's can fire away all of the ammo they have, but they can't refute the irresistible pop hooks embroidered with weighty insight and macerating performances like the one I witnessed. This band has fought hard to be where they are today and based on this performance, they are not surrendering in any way.

I walked away feeling renewed and part of a larger family who helped me dance and sing my problems away. The indigenous influence at this concert was infectious and incendiary. Here is a band that enlightens and is redefining what music can do for an entire generation. More importantly, this is a band who has introduced rock n' roll to them and as a result, the fans have opened their hearts and minds to their music. Fall Out Boy paints pictures that are snapshots of the emotive force of humans and on this particular night, they were the heroes of the day to a generation of fans who will not forget this show any time soon. Pete Townshend once said "Rock won't eliminate your problems, but it will sort of let you dance all over them" and at this moment in time, no one exemplifies this quote better than Fall Out Boy.

Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and can be found at The Screen Door

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