Fourth of July fireworks weren’t the only fireworks I got to see on this holiday weekend; a truly stacked lineup of Fall Out Boy, Bring Me the Horizon, New Found Glory, plus Royal & the Serpent, descended upon BMO Stadium in the city of Angels for FOB’s So Much For (Tour) Dust.
With many having skipped town for the holiday weekend, traffic wasn’t as horrendous as usual, and I cruised right past the vendors of bootleg merch lined up along the freeway exit to BMO. Once I parked and headed into the stadium, I was met with the unmistakable smell of bacon-wrapped hot dogs being sold by an army of carts around the entire perimeter. I could feel the excitement in the air from the crowds of people dressed in Fall Out Boy and Bring Me the Horizon shirts.
Most of the concertgoers I spoke with had been fans of both bands since middle school and had come from a variety of states around the country for this special concert experience. The tour graphic was a mix of the Nirvana dead smiley face and the yin yang I used to draw on my notebooks in middle school. A face both happy and sad in black and white.
Royal & the Serpent – also known as Ryan Santiago – opened the evening up and she commanded the stage immediately. All of the members of her band were very animated, and she has incredible stage presence.
Despite the early time slot, new fans were won over and seemed to enjoy “i can’t get high,” “SLUG,” “BETTER,” and “overwhelmed.” Royal & the Serpent have previously opened for Demi Lovato and Lovato joined them onstage to do her song “Eat Me.” Their partial version of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was also pretty cool.
Warped Tour favorites New Found Glory were up next. Guitarist Chad Gilbert addressed his ongoing battle with cancer by telling the crowd he just had chemo 12-days ago and he was really happy to be there with them. Bassist Ian Grushka entertained us by making his funny faces, making for great photos.
I truly loved seeing Animal from The Muppets on Cyrus Bolooki’s drum kit; the perfect mascot for an explosive drummer. Singer Jordan Pundik made good use of the catwalk and played all the classic songs that fans love to sing along to: “All Downhill From Here,” “Understatement,” “Hit or Miss,” “Head On Collision,” and “My Friends Over You” were included.
Bring Me the Horizon came all the way from the UK and it seemed like there were just as many fans in attendance for them as there were for Fall Out Boy. The crowd was rocking out and singing along, every word to every song.
Singer Oli Sykes was interacting with the fans; I saw him giving the middle finger, sticking his tongue out, and even hopping off the stage to give people hugs. At one point he ran out in the crowd and all the way up to the third tier of seating to say hello to the fans in the back. By then the crowd had figured out where he was and where he was headed, and a whole mass of people were chasing him.
Once safely back onstage, their hits continued with “Happy Song,” “The Best Is Yet to Come,” “Shadow Moses,” “Drown,” “Can You Feel My Heart,” and “Throne” going over extremely well.
After a short intermission, it was now time for the headliner. Fall Out Boy was poised to played an extended set with a great mix of both older and newer music. They started with a bang as there was pyro in all of the first three songs, and Pete Wentz had a flame-throwing bass shooting fire for most of those songs. On top of it all, there was a huge dog head swinging to and fro, from the back of the stage to the band.
They played their new hit single, “Love From the Other Side,” first, followed by “The Phoenix,” and then my favorite song, “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down,” so I had to dance and sing for a bit.
At one point, a swarm of bubbles came out over the crowd, plus clear beach balls that looked like bubbles were bounced around. I was reminded that lead singer Patrick Stump is an amazing musician with an unmistakable voice. He played the piano and did a cover of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train,” both were incredible.
Fall Out Boys hit them all: “Uma Thurman,” “Chicago Is So Two Years Ago,” “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race,” “Fake Out,” “Golden,” “The Last of the Real Ones,” “Save Rock and Roll,” “Dance, Dance,” “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up),” “Thnks fr th Mmrs,” “Centuries,” and “Saturday” being some of the most popular ones of the night. It was definitely a show worthy of a night in the city of Angels as all fans left with a smile on their faces.
Fall Out Boy’s So Much For (Tour) Dust continues across the US through August 6th, then heads to Japan and Europe. All of the bands put on a phenomenal show, so make plans to catch it while you can!
