Fall Out Boy at The Olympia Theatre | Review

Fall Out Boy at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, 18th March 2014

Forerunners of the emo phenomenon that briefly gripped music during the mid-’00s, Fall Out Boy returned to Dublin on Tuesday night for their first Irish date in six years. Playing to a sold out Olympia Theatre, the Chicago based four piece showed why they are still carving out a living while their former emo contemporaries have long since faded into obscurity.

Arriving on stage clad in balaclavas to the sound of soaring strings, it’s apparent from the offset that Fall Out Boy will be adopting a less than subtle approach to the night’s proceedings. In fact their set is as about as overblown as it gets. This is rock ‘n’ roll cabaret and while it may be gaudy, it makes for some spectacle. Most of the showmanship comes from lead singer Patrick Stump. Whatever has happened, the once notoriously shy frontman has gotten over the stage fright he previously suffered from. Tonight his energy is infectious as he constantly bounds from one side of the stage to the other.

Amidst all the theatrics it would be easy to forget there’s a concert taking place. Thankfully, the songs stand up to their ostentatious performance. The band possess a solid back catalogue, with the set split between material drawn from their latest full length album ‘Save Rock And Roll’ and older cuts from their mid-late ’00s pomp. The new material – in particular Light Em Up and Young Volcano’s – is brazenly commercial. The band have clearly made a conscious decision to discard the punk aspect of their pop-punk dynamic, a move that has probably saved their career.

While the new stuff is well received and has the young crowd in fine voice it’s still their earlier work that stands out. A Little Less Sixteen Candles… and I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy… both serve as a reminder that before going fully mainstream this band were a very fine pop-punk outfit. Sugar We’re Going Down only furthers the point; a song that finds the perfect mix of their pop and punk influences.

It isn’t all plain sailing however. An ill-advised acoustic segment which includes stripped down versions of Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy and Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year kill the energy and exposes the band’s lack of versatility. To their credit, they quickly regain composure before finishing with a flourish, closing out with the brilliant Thnks Fr Th Mmrs and Saturday. With the night over, two things are apparent: Fall Out Boy are not the saviours of rock and roll as their album title suggests, but as a live act they can certainly deliver.