Show Review

I heard rumblings during the summer of a major concert event coming this fall. The bill included new TRL pin-up stars Fall Out Boy along with some other special guests. When I heard the bill would be rounded out by the Starting Line, Motion City Soundtrack and Boys Night Out, I began salivating. All of the four bands I mentioned above are definitely in the running for top album of the year.

Unfortunately, I had to suffer through about five songs by Panic! at the Disco before I could enjoy the rest of the show. They weren’t bad, don’t get me wrong. But for some reason I wasn’t impressed. Their stage presence was pretty good, and they were great musicians, but it just didn’t sit well with me. It might be true that they were no better than the Starting Line or just about any other band on the bill, but it just didn’t get me excited.

Boys Night Out took the stage with the reckless abandon for which we have come to know them. The guys and girl blasted right into the former closer, “I got punched in the nose for sticking my face in other peoples business” and the crowd was simply eating out their hands. Playing and impressive seven song set with two tracks from the last full length (the aforementioned song and the energetic “Just once, let’s do something different.”) and the rest from their latest effort, “Trainwreck.” Vocalist Conner Lovat-Fraser was the epitome of stage presence, prancing around and orchestrating the crowd to sing every word with him. Once the final chord of “Composing” was struck, the crowd, who seemed to be a very young and for the most part not used to the aggressive BNO style, seemed to really enjoy these Canadians.

Next up was the always exciting Motion City Soundtrack. From the first note of “Attractive Today,” the crowd blew up. Aside from a few small technical problems, (Justin’s guitar kept cutting out) it was a very solid set. Playing a nine song set, with five from their most recent effort “Commit this to Memory,” and the rest from 2003’s “I am the Movie,” these Minnesota natives seemed to take everyone by surprise. Right after the end of “Attractive Today,” drummer Tony Thaxton went straight into the Fuse/Mtv2 hit, “Everything Is Alright,” which elicited the biggest crowd response. Even Patrick from FOB came out to help during the final chorus. Finally ending with my personal favorite “My Favorite Accident,” MCS seemed to steal the show. It was as if everyone in the crowd had just been let in on the secret that the rest of us have known for a while.

Kenny Vasoli and his band the Starting Line took the stage next and reminded me why I love them so much yet I was perplexed. Flying right into “Surprise, Surprise,” from the new CD “Based on a True Story,” the guys were all over the stage and were full of energy. Just like the band before them, the guys played a good mix of old stuff and new stuff, with some more emphasis on the new stuff. It appeared as though the crowd enjoyed their new songs just as much as their old, but there was just a little more energy flowing through the venue during songs like “Best of Me” and “Goodnight’s Sleep.” Overall, it was a great set with one obvious flaw. In the past, drummer Tom Gryskiewicz has always seemed to have real tempo problems with songs. It had been better the last few times I saw them, but this night was horrible. Songs started out fast by the end it was dragging. It was most obvious during the closer “Leaving.” But I don’t think many people noticed. It made it harder for me to enjoy the set. But just about every other facet of the show was stellar. If you haven’t had the chance to watch Ken Vasoli play “Ready” live, you really need to lock that down.

Finally everyone’s prayers were answered when Fall Out Boy took the stage. “Our Lawyers…” was the first song that was played and it could have been the last and I would have been happy. In the past, the guys have gained notoriety as putting on an amazing live show, but their instrument playing during their set had always been a little sub-par in my opinion. It was all different that night. They jumped, kicked, screamed and shook with just as much, if not more, energy as the past but they played almost flawlessly. That really let me enjoy the show more. Old staples like, “Tell that Mick…” “Grand Theft Autumn” and “Chicago is so two years ago” flowed well with new tracks like, “Dance Dance,” “Sugar, we’re going down” and “XO.” They even broke out my favorite song from their older, and, frankly, more embarrassing days, “Moving Pictures.” Pete did most of the talking between songs and tended to be a little over dramatic, (“In 2004 it was all about lust. But in 2005, it’s all about love” and even reciting the monologue at the end of “Get busy living or get busy dying”) but that is sort of his thing.

Once “Saturday” ended, I felt as though it was the best I had ever seen them play and I was very enthused for them. They have come such a long way from playing little dive bars in Columbus. I hope everyone gets over themselves and continues to support these guys because no one deserves it more then them.

review by Alex Drumm