Fall Out Boy is having a new-age resurgence, one where twenty years of music is finally paying off for them. At PPG Paints Arena, fans erupted into screams when asked if this was their first Fall Out Boy show. People are caring now, possibly more than in the past, because the band is giving back to its fans through guitar picks, drumsticks and surprise songs.
For a barricade-or-bust kind of fan to any artist or band, the nosebleeds provided an experience too distant.This is especially true if you compare the nosebleeds to the floor seats or those in Level 100. Fall Out Boy, I am begging you, please do a tour of intimate shows. I am not talking about arenas or amphitheaters, but theaters that can only hold 500 people.
Our first time seeing Fall Out Boy was in 2014 and 2015, and we have never looked back. They have mostly been playing their arena hits for the past ten years, and we are longing to have a more intimate Fall Out Boy experience. We are glad that songs from older albums are getting played and acknowledged. The set consisted of nine post-hiatus songs and half of their older songs.
The fact that in 2024 they played “The Music or the Misery” live is an 8-Ball miracle. It was the first time they played it since 2006, according to setlist.fm. While it is admirable that B-sides from Under the Cork Tree, Folie a Deux and Infinity on High are being played on this tour, they could attract even more fans by playing songs that haven’t been heard since 2005 or 2008.
Pittsburgh was blessed with a specialized piano medley, which started with a loving anecdote and ode to Pittsburgh pop-punk band Punchline, who were labelmates and toured with Falltwenty years prior. The cover of Punchline’s “Heart Transplant” was a great introduction to “What a Catch, Donnie,” “Golden” and “Don’t Stop Me Know” by Queen. I would have easily traded in their sloppy cover of “Song 2” by Blur for “A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me.”
Fall Out Boy also, arguably, sounded the best they ever have. They were present on stage and were not afraid of steering away from the typical vocal tracks or guitar features in their songs. Thank you, Pete Wentz, for the bass flame thrower. It was a novelty that I hope you consider a necessity.
I hope Fall Out Boy continues to perform until they are in their 80s. If Andy Hurley can still drum as he does and not pass out from a combination of heat exhaustion and failing willpower, Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz and Joe Trohman will have my heart forever. Yes, the band has become mass-commercialized, but there is no doubt that each member cares tremendously for what they do.
The band could have done without the on-stage pyro features. In an era where concert deaths and mass shootings are normalized, there should be a warning to fans detailing when pyro explosions or fireworks are going to be featured and the length of time they are going to occur. Both of our minds were in double-time, trying to sing along to every word we knew while worrying about when the next firework was going to go off.
The “So Much For (2our) Dust” tour had a pretty phenomenal opener lineup. In Pittsburgh, CARR, Hot Mulligan and Jimmy Eat World took the stage for three hours. CARR and Hot Mulligan provided playful show experiences. Jimmy Eat World surpassed fan expectations with their graciousness and nostalgia when they played their career-spanning set. Also, Fall Out Boy, I am an old 20-year-old with a bedtime. Please do not tack on two more openers with a co-headlining artist next time. Your band does not need the extra hype!
