Nostalgia filled the air as hometown heroes Fall Out Boy closed out Friday night at Riot Fest with an homage to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
Dubbed the Days Of Fall Out Past, the band’s 105-minute set was a tightly curated affair, pulling several selections from each of their eight studio albums, with some special surprises thrown in as the night played on. It’s a concept the band rolled out at Download Festival in the U.K. earlier in the summer, and will be bringing with them for the emo-heavy When We Were Young event in Las Vegas in October. It’s somewhat hard to believe the band has enough material (not to mention a solid 20 years behind them) to make the archive/greatest hits idea work.
While the concept was great in theory, the quick bits from each album and rapid progression into the next act was a head spin, especially when coupled with a barrage of iconography and props to set each new scene. A VHS reel motif for debut album “Take This To Your Grave” turned into a virtual fireball for “Save Rock and Roll,” before a cheerleading squad joined in for “American Beauty/American Psycho.” There was also a bizarre finale that involved a giant magic 8 ball video screen that helped choose the final songs, followed by bassist Pete Wentz dangling mid-air on a tightrope swing while holding a large bouquet of balloons. And finally, more fireworks than the 4th of July to send it all off.
Then again, what good is a hometown show if you don’t go big?
Beyond even the arena-level production, the band, with lead singer-guitarist Patrick Stump, drummer Andy Hurley and guitarist Joe Trohman, added in plenty of Chicago morsels to make the whole thing feel homemade.
Rise Against singer Tim McIlrath was a special guest on uber hit “Sugar, We’re Goin Down,” and Stump even pulled off a cover of blues staple “Sweet Home Chicago” — though to a lukewarm reception.
“No one’s old enough to know that one? Jesus!,” he exclaimed as the number fell on deaf ears, even with the giant hometown crowd who came with the intent to sing-along to every song in the band’s songbook arsenal.
That connection between audience and band was palpable from the beginning. After a rousing version of “Chicago Is So Two Years Ago” kicked off the set, during which the masses were spitting back every work, Stump admitted he was caught up in the moment.
“I got a little emotional just now, that was incredible,” he said, “it’s great to be home.”
The feeling stayed in the air to the end when a gracious Wentz offered a heartfelt salutation to everyone in Douglass Park, sharing, “Thank you for believing in us. It feels so good to be from here.”
Set List:
Take This to Your Grave
Chicago Is So Two Years Ago
Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy
From Under the Cork Tree
Sugar, We’re Goin Down
Dance, Dance
A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More “Touch Me”
Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying (Do Your Part to Save the Scene and Stop Going to Shows)
Infinity on High
This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race
Thriller
Bang the Doldrums
Thnks fr th Mmrs
Folie à Deux
Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes
I Don’t Care
Save Rock and Roll
The Phoenix
My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)
American Beauty/American Psycho
Uma Thurman
The Kids Aren’t Alright
M A N I A
The Last of the Real Ones
Interlude
Sweet Home Chicago (Robert Johnson cover)
What a Catch, Donnie
So Much (for) Stardust
So Much (for) Stardust
Love From the Other Side
Fake Out
Finale
Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet
I Slept With Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me
Centuries
Saturday