After a 45 minute queue around the block to get into the arena, deafening screams are heard as the big screens on either side of the stage show Panic! At The Disco‘s Brendan Urie leading to a huge sing-a-long to Death Of A Bachelor. Things calm down after this, that is until Against The Current take to the stage.
I’ll admit, I was sceptical seeing Against The Current as I’d not been a fan of the band, on previous listens, finding frontwoman Chrissy Costnaza’s vocals a bit too screechy for my liking, however, there was a significant improvement in what I heard tonight. Her vocals were a lot tighter and the tracks were catchy.
Death Of A Bachelor makes another appearance in the interval and ensures another sing-a-long from the crowd. Again I was sceptical about seeing Fall Out Boy tonight, having admittedly not been a fan of the quartet’s latest stuff, however I am delighted to admit that I was wrong to doubt them as from the opening bars of The Phoenix to the closing Saturday, the performance is flawless and made me re-think the previous few years of doubting FOB. Personal highlights for me include the emo throwbacks of Sugar, We’re Goin Down, Thnks Fr Th Mmrs and This Ain’t A Scene, It’s A God Damn Arms Race, which see sing-a-longs even bigger than both Death Of A Bachelor‘s in the intervals. The one downside though, was the muffled sound while on the platforms in the middle of the arena for Dance, Dance and Wilson (Expensive Mistakes), not that this mattered much as the crowd did most of the vocals. Andy Hurley’s drum solo that precedes the aforementioned tracks was impeccable and the crowd lap up every second of the show, whether it’s dancing to the likes of Centuries or Uma Thurman or the arm-waving of Young and Menace. It is also a nice treat seeing Pete Wentz getting in the local spirit, wearing a Cardiff rugby shirt for part of the performance.
While I admittedly didn’t know many of the tracks played tonight, I cannot deny just how great Fall Out Boy are live and they really made me think about the fact I never gave their more mainstream records a chance before now. So Fall Out Boy I do sincerely apologise and now I’m off to catch up on the last few years of FOB music.
Photo credit: Vicki Bailey.
Full gallery to come soon!