The party was started by Danish band New Politics, whose album had just dropped here in the UK. They blew up the stage, completely succeeding in getting the arena full of people ready for the rest of the show. Their latest single, 'Harlem', was the song that got the crowd singing along the loudest and set the energy bar high.
Also supporting was hard rock band, The Pretty Reckless, fronted by former Gossip Girl actress Taylor Momsen. They were a little too full on for my liking bar a few songs that I knew, but the arena was full of fans that joined in with their songs and enjoyed their performance. They too performed their new single 'Heaven Knows', which had a very 'We Will Rock You' vibe, one of the songs that I loved, especially performed live.
After a short wait the lights dimmed and the arena erupted with screams, only for the lights to come up again, thank you tech guys. But then five minutes later, it happened for real. To no ones disappointment, Fall Out Boy had decided to kick the show off with the one song that was guaranteed to get everyone pumped for the rest of their set - "The Phoenix" As soon as the famous "PUT ON YOUR WARPAINT" introduction echoed out around the arena we all lost it and the four piece appeared donning black masks, referencing a line in the song. Everyone immediately rose from their seats and started singing along, a lot of the time the crowd was louder than Patrick.
After the epic opening number from Save Rock and Roll, we took a trip back to From Under the Cork Tree with "I Slept with Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me" and "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More "Touch Me"". Throughout these songs the crowd was absolutely buzzing. "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" was next up, and as expected, everyone chanted along to the chorus. This was the moment I started to feel pretty overwhelmed by the whole atmosphere that was created by us singing back to them.
Tracks "Alone Together" (another crowd pleaser that had us all shouting "YEAH!" over and over) and "Death Valley" followed before Pete took it upon himself to get a Mexican wave going around the arena. This lead us into what was for me, the most anticipated song of the set, "Sugar, We're Goin Down". Probably one of, if not the best known songs from the band.
They played "Young Volcanoes", an upbeat track with an air of revolt that performed live has an amazing vibe. The setlist included a cover of Michael Jackson's "Beat It" which had been recorded for their Live In Phoenix CD/DVD in 2008.
At this point in the show we were treated to a short Iggy Pop film reminding us of the album and tours premise of saving rock and roll. All the while Patrick, Pete and Joe moved to the B stage for a short but sweet acoustic set that consisted of tracks "Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year", "I'm Like a Lawyer with the Way I'm Always Trying to Get You Off (Me & You)" and "Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy". As an acoustic set it was successful in connecting the artist and audience, especially when being performed from the centre of the arena, nothing makes me happier than a good old acoustic sing song.
Back to the mainstage and we're straight into a rendition of "Dance, Dance", the ideal track to get the energy levels up after a calm acoustic set especially with a drum solo from Andy Hurley thrown in at the end. The mix of past hits and new tracks kept us truly entertained as we were treated to another old school song, this time "I Don't Care" from 2008 album Folie à Deux.
The beginning of the end did not fail in keeping to the high standard of the rest of the gig and "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light 'em Up)" proved that. The band then left the stage and the arena was full of foot stamping and cheering for more.
Back on for the encore, Patrick took up position at a piano, tuning his inner Elton John for title track "Save Rock and Roll". The song really made us feel like we were all in on the same plan to save the legendary music genre and this was reinforced by the slideshow of rock and roll "alumni" so to speak.
"Thnks fr th Mmrs" from third studio album Infinity On High and "Saturday", their usual closing song, rounded off the gig nicely and left everyone with a feeling of Take This to Your Grave nostalgia.
As someone who's been a fan of Fall Out Boy since my "really cool" uncle introduced me to them when I was twelve years old, finally getting to see them live is something I'll treasure. My personal highlight was "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light 'em Up)", the song was my anthem for most of 2013 and hearing it live was incredible. Patrick's vocals were on point as were the rest of the band with their respective roles resulting in one of the best gigs I've ever been to.
If you're a fan of the band and haven't seen them live yet, I really recommend you do if you get the chance. After last night, I know that I definitely wouldn't hesitate to see them again.
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