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Fall Out Boy
Midtown
The Academy Is...
Gym Class Heroes
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In The Venue
Salt Lake City, UT
4/01/2005
By: Caz* Bevan
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You may assume all catchy, good-looking bands come from
California, but not these boys. Although they may watch
The OC, Fall Out Boy sounds like home to the
people of Wilmette, IL. On tour now for most of a month, Fall
Out Boy headlines with other Fueled By Ramen bands such
as Gym Class Heroes, The Academy Is... and
Midtown.
The evening flowed from the very beginning when Gym
Class Heroes took the stage, a Hip-Hop band (yes, band)
from New York, but as the last of the crowd filed in, the
stage was truly lit up by the hip-swooning rock from The
Academy Is..., another band representing the "heart-rock"
of Illinois. If hot boys in chick-pants is your thing, these guys
will surely rock your world. Their set is guaranteed to get
you moving. "Be part of the dance party revolution," as
requested by front-man, William Beckett, who may just
qualify as this tour's diva.
Introduced by Napoleon Dynamite himself (or at least a very
close look-alike), Midtown opened with their hit single "Give
It Up." I was immediately let down and all anticipation was
lost. The lead singer came across as bored and didn't always
sing directly into the microphone. Their overall performance
seemed as though they should "Get It Together" (pun-
intended). Towards the end of their set the band finally
stepped up and performed their best. In "Empty Like An
Ocean" they were nearly screaming the lyrics, "I don't care".
A mosh pit was born! The song ended just in time for their
lead guitarist to lean over his amp and throw up - an
exclamation to how hard he rocked - making up for what the
rest of the band lacked.
Playing their newest songs off their upcoming CD (to be
released this May), Fall Out Boy took the stage strong and
rocked a solid set straight through. The tone quality was as if
I were at home listening to the CD, and the performance
made the show more than worth it. The crowd cheered and
sang along, "Where is your boy tonight/I hope he is a
gentleman..."
Cell phones and lighters lit the swaying crowd. Despite being
known for "anti-girl" lyrics, bass player, Peter Wentz won
over the ladies when giving "a shout out to all the girls that
came to the show for the music and not for the boys." Full of
gunslingers, jumping and some form of moon-walking, the
band's energy seeped off the stage reaching out to the
crowd.
Fall Out Boy's last songs were introduced by Pete making a
heartfelt point. "When someone tells you it's going to be
o.k., fuck that. If you're not a little depressed, than you're
not paying attention to what's going on in this world." During
the brief monologue, lead singers from both Gym Class
Heroes and The Academy Is... took the stage and sang with
vocal perfectionist, Patrick Stumph. It was a surreal moment
to be remembered by all that were in attendance.
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