A flame-flanked, high-octane version of Thanks For The Memories heralded Fall Out Boy on to the stage – and after a two-hour wait it sure felt good to be in the hands of professionals.
This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race featured guitar duets plucked from mid-air and bolted together by Andy Hurley’s potent and precise beat.
A winning combination for the mob in the mosh pit.
Throughout the set a typically testy, red-booted Pete Wentz whirled his bass across the stage, a worthy foil to bearded guitarist Joe Trohman’s intricate melodies, while vocalist Patrick Stump let rip streams of incomprehensible yet melodic lyrics.
High-octane this may have been, but for me the band took their foot off the accelerator on two counts. Beats me, for instance, why a band that thinks of itself as alternative failed to offer a fresh take on Michael Jackson’s Beat It.
And, halfway through, the Boy(s) suddenly seemed to run out of steam for a few numbers. Luckily they soon regained their punch, delivering a rousing final few songs, among them the bang-along-a-classic Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes.
Their exit was cause for comment, too, as they fled the stage without a farewell word to the wired crowd. Then, once the cries of grief had built up to a decent level, they were back for an encore – whirling, twirling and twanging their way into a generation’s youthful memories with that bound-to-be classic Saturday.
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