There’s nothing like an action-packed show on a Saturday night in early Spring. Genre bending Rock legends Fall Out Boy brought their So Much for (2our) Dust to Rupp Arena at the Central Bank Center in Lexington, KY this past week. This is the band’s first time performing in the Bluegrass State in six years, and their first trip to Lexington. Jimmy Eat World, Hot Mulligan, and CARR rounded out the lineup.
With the line before doors opening stretching down the block, fans were already eager for the show. A good mix of young and older concert goers were dressed down in their finest alt outfits. Some diehards went the extra step of painting their faces and dressing up in costumes. There was a pair of nuns, a circus ringleader and clown, and a pair of fans dressed as the Folie a Deux Bears. With the exception of a few pockets of seats, the Rupp crowd filled every level of the arena very well, and there was plenty of bracelet swapping.
Alt-Pop Rocker CARR started the night strutting across the stage in a black tutu and combat boots. The New Jersey singer/songwriter asked the crowd for a name of an ex-boyfriend to dedicate her song ‘Loser’ to, and she went with Marcus. Even though the stage lighting had a moody vibe, the music had a danceable punk attitude and even had a few fans out of their seats.
Hot Mulligan from Lansing, Michigan brought their brand of energetic screamo to the stage next. More audience members sang and danced along. Their set heavily featured songs from their latest release, Why Would I Watch from 2023.
Jimmy Eat World gave the crowd its first bit of nostalgia with their hits from the early 2000s including "Bleed American", "Sweetness", and "The Middle". As they closed with "The Middle," the crowd roared and rose to their feet as they sang louder than Vocalist and Guitarist Jim Adkins. Remarkably this band’s line up had remained the same through the span of their 30 year career. “I play in my high school band now,” Adkins told the crowd. The alt-rock journeymen left the stage dripping in sweat after an hour on stage without much banter between songs.
The night had a pretty swift pace as the anticipation was building for the headliner. Fans started singing along to Fall Out Boy’s cover of “We Didn’t Start The Fire” as it played before the set. Theatrics was the theme of the over 90 minute performance by the Illinois quartet. Fire, bubbles, snow, pyrotechnics, costumed characters (a snail and a rabbit), scene changes, and more. This set had everything. And, not to mention, bassist Pete Wentz having a Flamethrower bass guitar for performances of "The Phoenix" and "My Song Know What You Did In The Dark". Lead vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump revealed to the crowd he was getting over being sick recently. Even though he was powering through so well you wouldn’t have known. With a career that has lasted over 20 years and no lineup changes, Fall Out Boy gave fans a healthy dose of old and new songs. From their first record, 2003’s Take this To Your Grave to 2023’s So Much (For) Stardust. As the show progressed, the band was joined by a giant head of a Doberman pinscher and swung along to “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s an Arms Race”, Wentz “magically appeared’ in the middle of the crowd during ‘Dance, Dance’. This was one of the more action packed sets one concert goer could witness. With plenty of crowd participation, while in line fans received pink “sea shells” to place over their phone flashlight during ‘Fake Out’ . The arena glowed pink as if you were inside of a seashell. Wentz layed down the bass and jumped down to the rail to sing the final song ‘Saturday’ with the fans.
“When you have been doing this art project for 20 plus years, to have you guys give shit about the newest thing we’ve done really means a lot. It’s hard to put into words. But we really really appreciate that,” Wentz told the crowd before their “encore” set.
There is no question Fall Out Boy is one of the greatest American Rock acts of the 21st century, and this multiple leg tour run and fanbase proves it. Playing the hits and deep cuts from every era of their career and never losing momentum. Their catalog has pop punk classic and mainstream bangers. Experiencing a concert that lives up to the height of their success is a tall task and yet they did not disappoint.
