(Photo courtesy of Insight Management)It wasn't a scene, it was a god damn arm's race for Fall Out Boy, which brought its full arsenal of songs to the Pot of Gold music festival at Tempe Beach Park on Sunday night.
The punk rockers brought the house down, but which performances stood out most from the band's high-energy performance?
5. "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)"
"This isn't the song you dream of, but it's the song that will be the bodyguard of your dreams," Pete Wentz said. "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)" did just that, as it lit a fire under the crowd that never seemed to cool down from that point forward. Smartly placed near the middle of their set list, the crowd raised their lit cell phones in unison as they proceeded to "Light Em Up," literally. FOB takes out its darkest side with a vengeful track that brought out the crowd's inner teenage angst.
4. "Centuries"
The lead single on FOB's latest release, "American Beauty/American Psycho," "Centuries" became a different animal on its own during the live performance. From Patrick Stump bringing in the crowd, to the chorus and to Wentz's guitar riffs, the song took on a new life and consumed those in attendance. The track demonstrates an interesting blend of the old and new Fall Out Boy: angry and punk rock while still incorporating new creative elements to avoid sounding bland. After listening to it live, we will be remembering it for centuries.
3. "Young Volcanoes"
This "Save Rock and Roll" track was a favorite among fans after FOB made its long-awaited return in 2013 after a four-year hiatus, and the crowd showed that Sunday night. After Stump elected to have the crowd sing out the opening melody to the song, the fans continued to sing along in what was arguably the most interactive moment of the night. Pair that along with some of the stunning visual effects onstage, and it was all over now before it has begun. Fall Out Boy had already won. In addition, the punk group did its best to make boys next door out of the a--holes in all of us.
2. Thnks fr th mmrs
One of the songs that got FOB on the map from the "Infinity on High" album, this classic has been and will always be a memorable song from the group. With the crowd following each and every word, it was almost a throwback to the band's 2007 initial rise to fame. That, along with great onstage performances from Stump and Wentz that included leaping onto tables stationed at the front of the stage, pushed the performance to another level. One night and one more time, thanks for the memories, Fall Out Boy.
1. "Sugar We're Going Down"
We're going down, down in an earlier round and Sugar, we're going down swinging. This track swung for the fences, and boy did it ever connect with the live audience. It's the typical FOB song: loud, vibrant, angry and incredibly catchy. The song is almost synonymous with its artist, and is a group-defining track that even the band's non-fans can't help but sing along to. Everything about the performance hit perfectly: the sound, the visuals and the onstage act each worked together in harmony that is both beautiful and perfectly anti-FOB. They love going against the grain, but in doing so they did just that. It's the band's number one with a bullet, a loaded god complex, cock it and pull it.
Honorable Mentions: The Phoenix; This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race; Dance, Dance; Uma Thurman
Fall Out Boy appears to be at its highest level: established enough to go with the classics but still willing and able to do new things with its music and performance styles. In performing "Immortals" from the band's latest album, the visual effects played scenes from the movie for which the song was made, "Big Hero 6". They make songs based on social issues instead of fulfilling typical misogynistic stereotypes, introducing "Uma Thurman" by calling it an anthem for all the "bad a** women out there". It's an interesting blend that will only continue to develop as the group gets set for its "American Beauty/American Psycho tour.
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