Review: Fall Out Boy thrills young crowd at The Mark
The line of idling cars outside The Mark of the Quad-Cities, with mothers or fathers sitting behind the wheel, stretching down to the River House, was telling of the clientele that Chicago’s Fall Out Boy and the rest of the Honda Civic Tour bill drew.
But the headliners — close buddies of hip-hop mogul Jay-Z — put on an electrifying show Tuesday night that belied any unfair youthful characterization.
The darlings of the screaming teensters and idols of boys in tight pants and hoodies never patronized that card, instead they delivered a set of songs from this year’s “Infinity On High,” 2005’s breakout “From Under The Cork Tree” and 2003’s “Take This To Your Grave,” playing everything with an added layer of punch and gumption. They became not just teen anthems, but anthems for
the masses.
Bassist Pete Wentz — who does all the speaking for the group — brought up the Virginia Tech shootings by saying, “When we go to Japan, they have much more violent video games and movies and they don’t have the problems we have here.” He also touched on a cause involving the Lord’s Resistance Army abducting thousands of Ugandan children and placing them in inhumane conditions — first addressed in a short video shown before each of the band members exploded out of the stage like ready Eggos.
A deafening blast helped launch the group into the lead-off track from “Infinity” — “Thriller” — and so began the night of the helicopter moves that Wentz has down to an art form, twirling and twirling with some wicked centrifugal force.
Wentz is the Scott Ian of Fall Out Boy — the face — and he even obliges in some of the same growls that the Anthrax guitarist does on occasion. Two of the most memorable moments of the set came during “Cork Tree” favorites “Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn’t Get Sued” and “Sugar, We’re Goin Down,” validating the popularity of a record that’s brought on a slew of copycat acts in just two short years’ time.
+44 — a foursome that includes two-thirds of the band Blink-182 — played before FOB and much of its set included heavier ballads, with thicker heft, and fewer fart jokes. Lead singer Mark Hoppus did resort to the old antics once after the song “Cliffdiving,” about having fun in the summer. Hoppus said, “Right before you go on stage, don’t drink a bunch of Red Bull and eat a brownie because you’ll get sick and throw up. I threw up during that last song people!”
Sean Moeller can be contacted at
(563) 383-2288 or at smoeller@qctimes.com . Comment on this story at www.qctimes.com.