It was a night of firsts as Fall Out Boy’s So Much for (2our) Dust landed in a muggy Orlando for a sold out show. Joined by Arizona’s finest Jimmy Eat World and The Maine, the packed Kia Center had a crowd on its feet for what turned out to be a very special stop on this tour.
The Maine has been a staple in the Atlas archives for years and watching the band own an arena stage was an incredible moment for us and for all longtime fans that turned up to witness. Backed by their You Are Now Watching a Band Called The Maine banner- just in case you forgot- the Phoenix quintet picked eight of their favorites to pack the most punch for their time onstage. Opening with “blame”, the band never let their energy waver and encouraged the crowd to stand up and dance along with them to “Sticky” and “Dirty, Pretty, Beautiful”. The band kept a longstanding tradition of inviting the most clueless audience member in their eyeline onstage to sing “Girls Do What They Want” and closed out their penultimate show on this run with “Loved You a Little”.
Fall Out Boy has repeatedly mentioned Jimmy Eat World’s influence on the existence of their band so having them as direct support for this tour just felt right. The well-established rockers emerged with huge smiles on their faces to greet the cheering audience and treated the crowd to an hour of consistently stellar performances. From having the fans sing it back on “Sweetness” to swaying as one on “Hear You Me”, the band kept their hits fresh while also providing that perfect shot of nostalgia. As expected, the set closed with “Bleed American” and “The Middle” to get the now full arena hyped up for the evening’s main event.
The curtain came up and Fall Out Boy took the stage as “The Pink Seashell” set the mood for the set. Not much has changed from the previous leg of this tour but the band has clearly settled into a comfortable groove that’s made every show memorable for their fans. Their impressive pyrotechnics were on full display during “The Phoenix” as the Fall Out Boy bathed Kia Center in a wash of flames and fireworks. True to form, the band brought the stage in close to recreate their early practice space and ran through a batch of older songs like “Homesick at Space Camp” and “Calm Before the Storm”. As far as we’re concerned, as long as “Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy” remains a setlist staple, we’ll keep coming back.
The stage went through a litany of set piece changes- from the animatronic dog’s head that sang along to “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s an Arms Race” to the glowing eyes of their own tree of life to the shower of bubbles midset. The band also added “Bang the Doldrums” and “So Much (for) Stardust” into regular rotation to the surprise and delight of longtime fans.
As is tradition, singer Patrick Stump took a seat behind his own grand piano and let his fingers guide the music. Orlando was treated to a medley of “Golden” into “What a Catch, Donnie” and even a partial cover of Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now”. While the piano songs are a surprise each night, the suspense was focused on the Magic 8-ball pick and Florida’s choice was a doozy. For the first time since it was recorded, Fall Out Boy performed “Alpha Dog” in full- a reminder of the final song they’d recorded before their infamous hiatus.
With such a special moment in the rearview, the rest of the set passed in a flurry of hits culminating with a raucous rendition of “Saturday” where- naturally- bassist Pete Wentz threw himself into the crowd along the barricade to scream along with the fans. It was Atlas’ second time with this tour and Fall Out Boy continues to prove night after night that they’re one of the best live bands out there. The shows are a fully immersive experience and, as Wentz said at the very beginning of the night, the energy was fully off the charts- we’re personally looking forward to more nights like these for years to come.
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Story and photos by Olivia Khiel
