Live Review: Fall Out Boy, WAAX

With the twinkling city lights in the distance, Fall Out Boy embarked on the last Australian show of their Mania tour after spending the day in Rottnest trying to capture the perfect quokka selfie.

Brisbane five-piece indie/punk rockersWAAX kicked off the set with I For An Eye from their EP Holy Sick before seamlessly transitioning to This Everything with the crowd bopping along to the music. Lead singer Marie DeVita danced around on stage with her crazy-raw vocals although, at times, it felt like she was losing her voice.

The crowd grew with anticipation, with the moshpit looking like a can of sardines all squashed in for the best view. A countdown on the screen preceded our squeals of delight to see Fall Out Boy grace the stage kicking off with The Phoenix from their Save Rock And Roll album before the band smashed out Irresistible. The crowd sang along to Hum Hallelujah as white and purple streamers filled the air. "What's up, Perth? We are down from Chicago," Pete Wentz said before crowd-favourites Sugar, We're Going Down and Centuries.

Lead singer Patrick Stump gave a flawless performance of Save Rock And Roll on piano, his killer vocals never skipping a beat before a touching piano solo in Young And Menace. Andy Hurley's drum solo was insane; starting with HUMBLE. by Kendrick Lamar and moving through Post Malone's Congratulations and Song 2 by Blur, his skills left the crowd in awe. Dance, Dance was another crowd favourite, but Wentz was missing. The crowd looked around for him in confusion only to find the bassist metres behind us on a smaller stage wearing a hi-vis vest. "Oh, this is what it looks like from back here," he said as everyone rushed over and Fall Out Boy launched into Wilson (Expensive Mistakes). Closing songs Thnks Fr Th Mmrs and Champion turned the mosh into a moving mass of bodies dancing and jumping.

Calls for an encore were heard. Fall Out Boy came back out and smashed through Thriller and Uma Thurman in the blink of an eye. They ended the night with My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) and Saturday, Wentz appearing in a West Coast Eagles jersey as red confetti covered a hungry crowd that sang right up to the last word. Fall Out Boy are still relevant today, appealing to many generations even if their sound has transitioned from punk rock to pop rock.