Picture This
Picture this: a crowded amphitheater in Noblesville, Indiana on a Sunday night, 85 degree heat with a decent chance of rain, and a man wearing a black t-shirt that says, in simple white letting, “RETIRED EMO KID.”
This was the vibe of the July 16th Fall Out Boy “So Much For (Tour) Dust” show.
While the age range of the show’s attendees was definitely vast, I found myself a bit surprised by the sheer number of people who seemed to be exactly like me — retired emo kids making one more sojourn to see a band that many may not have expected to make it as far as they have.
I first saw Fall Out Boy in concert when I was 14 and they were just coming off of hiatus a decade ago now. While I will never forget that show, and how much it meant to me to see a band I loved perform after years of being in limbo, I do not think my 14 year old “emo kid” self would have been prepared for the show that I saw on July 16th, 2023.
Enjoy My Carr… It’s The Real Thing
The first opener was CARR, a spunky young woman who it was impossible to look away from, even when onstage with her two shirtless male bandmates. She danced and ran around in her bright red tutu and, to the absolute delight of the three women in front of me who appeared to have come specifically to see her, had wonderful stage prescence and was engaging with the crowd. When introducing her song ‘Loser,’ CARR asked those in the audience to yell out the names of losers they had dated before. When she chose to dedicate the song to someone’s loser ex named Ben, the crowd soaked it up. While the lyrics in CARR’s songs did not seem to have the deepest meanings, it was still a lovely performance with several epic guitar solos.
Rain Rain Go Away
The night took a turn after CARR, while waiting for the second opener, Royal and the Serpent, to come onstage. Personally, I knew nothing about this band, but found myself excited just at seeing the pink drumkit labeled “RATS” that was wheeled onstage — and later, disappointed to watch it wheeled off, unused, because the earlier chance of rain became a certainty of rain. The venue asked those in the lawn to shelter in place as we prepared for an hour of bad weather, and I found it interesting to see just how many steadfast fans simply hunkered down on the lawn, wrapped tightly in their rain ponchos.
Open Up That Fucking Pit
And while it was sad to not get to see Royal and the Serpent perform, their set cut for time, the entire energy of the venue shifted when the stage was set up for Bring Me the Horizon. The band took the stage at 8:15 and immediately, everybody was on their feet. From the beginning of their set, frontman Oliver Sykes was encouraging people to stay on up their feet, to jump, to reach towards the sky, and, in a phrase that this retired emo kid hasn’t heard in years: “open up that fucking pit.”
Sykes, with his “HARD CORE FOR LIFE” shirt and his one pink boot, had stage presence that I hadn’t seen from a band in years. He seeped energy as he ran around the stage, as he fell dramatically to his knees and ran his hands through his hair. At one point during the show, Sykes entered the crowd while he sang. When almost back to the stage, the audience heard him say, “Of course you can have a hug, love,” as the large displays zoomed in on him hugging a woman at the barrier, and then a few more, and then passing out high-fives as he rejoined his bandmates.
While all of Bring Me the Horizon’s set was incredible, bringing high energy to a stadium full of people who’d been so dejected by the weather just an hour before, by far the most enthusiasm the crowd gave came during the songs ‘Shadow Moses’ (the lead single from the band’s 2013 album Sempiternal) and ‘Can You Feel My Heart?’ (from the same album). Throughout their entire set, the pit was going wild and even those in seats were jumping around and screaming.
Bring Me The Horizon finished with the song ‘Throne,’ with Sykes prompting the audience for participation by asking them to imagine that this is the last song they will ever hear.
Light ’em Up
Fall Out Boy came out at 9:35, only delayed 15 minutes from their original start time. As a retired emo kid, I felt my heart pounding as the venue went dark and a recording of ‘Pink Seashell,’ a quick story by Ethan Hawke immortalized on the band’s latest album release, began to play over the speakers. As the audio faded out, there was only a moment of silence before the audience heard the opening notes to the newest album So Much For Stardust‘s opening track, ‘Love From the Other Side.’
Immediately, I was amazed by the pyrotechnics as fireworks went off, lighting up the stage and illuminating the band members. And while the fireworks only lasted for the first song, the show never ceased to dazzle — from the fire coming out of Pete Wentz’s bass during ‘The Phoenix’ to the bubbles during ‘A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me’ to the literal giant ‘floating’ dog head that first made its appearance in ‘This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race’… this was perhaps the most visually appealing show I’ve ever seen.
As a longtime fan of the band, I’d done my research before the show and came prepared with the setlist (posted many times on the r/FallOutBoy subreddit by fans who’d attended previous tour dates), frequently and eagerly checking it in anticipation of the next song. So I was surprised and a little thrilled when ‘Chicago is So Two Years Ago’ was replaced with ‘Homesick at Space Camp,’ and ‘The Take Over, the Break’s Over’ was replaced with the Infinity on High album’s ‘Bang the Doldrums.’ I would have been happy with any of their songs, but these two particular substitutions are old favorites of mine.
This show was spectacular. It felt incredible to be a part of the band celebrating twenty years since their first album. It felt great to feel the energy of the crowd around me during ‘Grand Theft Autumn,’ a longtime fan favorite song. And it made me feel so, so good to know that I wasn’t the only person to burst into tears as singer Patrick Stump, solo on the piano, transitioned from “What a Time to Be Alive” into the melodic “Golden.”
In fact, I realized about 10 minutes into the show that I would be far from the only person to cry during this performance. Tears streamed down the faces of men and women alike, because, after all… we’re all just retired emo kids.
The Good
At one point, I looked back towards the lawn to see thousands of pink lights shining from people’s phones. Confused, I searched for an answer and quickly found a Reddit post explaining: “There’s something going on called the Stardust Project where people are handing out pink paper seashells at every show. When you hold the paper up to your phone flashlight, it makes it look like it’s glowing pink!” [credit to u/TrickyCatCharm] It was such an amazing phenomenon to witness.
The stage design wowed me. With themes ranging from beaches (likely a reference to the ‘Pink Seashell’ track) to time to the contrast of the sun and moon, everything was beautifully constructed and made the show visually stunning.
For this tour, Fall Out Boy has been doing a bit towards the end of the show where they consult a giant Magic 8-Ball, jokingly asking it (and the crowd) if they should end the show early. They then play a song that hasn’t been played yet on this tour. For the Noblesville show, Pete Wentz announced that they wouldn’t be playing anything super old or super new for us, but rather something right in the middle of their discography. They played the song ‘Where Did the Party Go?’ from their post-hiatus album ‘Save Rock and Roll,’ and nobody seemed disappointed with the choice.
The Not-as-Good
While the weather delay was out of anyone’s hands and the venue did the safe thing by delaying the show and instructing crowd members to take shelter, it was still disheartening to hear the collective sigh and sounds of disappointment that came from everyone in the amphitheater when the announcement was made. It was also sad to not get to hear Royal and the Serpent, but it was sweet to hear both Bring Me The Horizon and Fall Out Boy make shoutouts to the band, encouraging fans to buy merch to support them.
As much as I enjoyed the fireworks during the opening song, they were unannounced, unexpected, and extremely loud from where I was seated in Section C, fairly close to the stage. While it was likely a better sensory experience for those on the lawn, I couldn’t help but notice the expressions of discomfort on the faces of many people around and in front of me.
The Setlist:
- Pink Seashell (Recording)
- Love From the Other Side
- The Phoenix
- Sugar, We’re Going Down
- Uma Thurman
- A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More Touch Me
- Homesick at Space Camp
- Grand Theft Autumn / Where is Your Boy
- Calm Before the Storm
- This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race
- Disloyal Order of Water Buffalos
- Heaven, Iowa
- Bang the Doldrums
- Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet
- Fake Out
- What a Time to Be Alive
- Golden
- Don’t Stop Believin’
- The Last of the Real Ones
- Save Rock and Roll
- Crazy Train
- Baby Annihilation
- Dance, Dance
- Hold Me Like a Grudge
- Where Did the Party Go
- My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark
- Thnks Fr th Mmrs
- Centuries
- Saturday
The Lineup:
Fall Out Boy – Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz, Andy Hurley, Joe Trohman
Bring Me The Horizon – Oliver Sykes, Matt Kean, Lee Malia, Matt Nicholls, Jordan Fish
Carr – Carly McClellan, Michael Edwards, Dylan Buzz