Fall Out BoyIt’s doors and thousands are already waiting patiently to squeeze on through for prime mosh placement. Homemade Fall Out Boy shirts dot the line, the word “Mania” scrawled with purple fabric paint on the backs of denim jackets and the fronts of black T-shirts. Other committed fans have dyed their locks the exact shade of purple the quartet’s new album Mania is doused in.
It takes 45 minutes to get in the doors and another 15 to navigate the bar and toilet lines. The lights are just dimming for WAAX as we walk in and we’re astounded by singer Maz De Vita’s banshee screeches. Her voice sounds like the love child of Debbie Harry and Camp Cope’s Georgia Maq, packed with devastating power, while the rest of the band barrel forward with bass-heavy, riff-heavy punk jams.
The floor’s not packed to the brim yet but the solid throng here seem to be pretty impressed by the Brisbane band’s caustic sound. They even cover one of Courtney Barnett’s songs, Pedestrian At Best. Their stage presence is undeniable and hopefully they’ll come away from this tour with a few new fans.
A huge LCD takes us floating to the middle of some serene waves for Fall Out Boy, and suddenly we’re counting down from 20 seconds. The crowd are so hyped they’re counting a second early (how are you getting this wrong? You can see the counter on the screen, guys) and when it hits, it’s straight into pyrotechnics and a dozen white spotlights for The Phoenix.
Patrick Stump’s back in his little cap, almost like a safety net he hides behind, Pete Wentz is in a denim jacket with the Mania album cover stitched into the back, drummer Andy Hurley’s shirtless so he just looks like he’s wearing a tattooed bodysuit and guitarist Joe Trohman is in just a plain black shirt, forever stoic and focused.
It doesn’t take long to realise they’re pulling out all stops tonight - there’s confetti! Streamers! Fireworks in Sugar, We’re Going Down perfectly timed to the beat! This is the beauty of a band that’s had the same line-up since inception - we’re treated to classic bangers like I Don’t Care, This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race, Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy and Thnks Fr Th Mmrs, and they’ve played it so many times by now they’re primed to bloody perfection.
In an interview with The Music, Stump expressed nervous anxiety about how “scary” it is to hit his high notes live, but the guy’s flawless - always has been. For Dance, Dance, Wentz comes out dressed as concert security, hi-vis vest, huge traffic controller headset and all, on a small raised platform in the middle of the floor. The band’s video crew are absolutely killing it on the live LCD feed, too. There’s a low angle on Hurley’s kit, close-ups of everyone’s guitars and general pizzazz.
Newer songs like Immortals (backed with visuals from Big Hero 6, which it was featured on), Centuries, Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea and Wilson are given moments too. Wentz speaks before each new song: Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea arrives with an anecdote about trying new things to stay “dangerous” and not regretting taking a risk. Their biggest musical risk recently, Young And Menace, is delivered with just Stump on his grand piano, barely recognisable without its jilted samples, so fans who felt the song’s EDM-on-crack sound left more to be desired can rest easy.
Taking in tonight’s stadium rock spectacle, we’re reminded of the super exclusive, intimate show at The Metro we caught them at in 2013 upon the dissolution of their hiatus. This show is SO FAR from that night. Everything’s extra, as they say, this is the Taylor Swift 1989 tour of rock.
They’re super liberal with pyrotechnics and confetti and they’ve even brought the two furry llama mascots used in their music videos (one of which is Brendon Urie from Panic! At The Disco) to come out to say hello. Wentz even handpicks two girls from the nosebleeds to watch side of stage. There’s a four-part a capella harmony moment that sends shivers down your spine, especially when you take in the thousands of iPhone lights. It’s all a very well-oiled machine.
Our encore consists of Thriller, groovy Pulp Fiction homage Uma Thurman, My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) (which turns the stage into a fiery hellscape of fire) and of course the song where it all started, Saturday. Head to this show if you wanna spend the night singing and dancing and feeling warm and fuzzy about how far these Illinois boys have come - they’re a bloody stadium rock band now.
