Fall Out Boy, Leeds Met Uni
It's fair to say the refectory, which is basically a canteen at the university, is a rubbish venue. The sound is echo-y, the venue very narrow and very, very long and it doesn't create the greatest atmosphere in the world for any kind of show, let alone a pop-punk gig. FOB are a hot ticket nowadays, with every single venue on this tour selling out in days and many, like Leeds, upgraded only to sell out again. There are a lot of kids in the audience too, which, with a possible number one hit single in the bag, is not a surprise.
NIGHTMARE OF YOU were up first, but I was too busy with a few pre-gig bevvies to make the venue on time. Sorry.
GYM CLASS HEROES are ex-labelmates of Fall Out Boy and here are Pete Wentz's request. Their brand of poppy hip-hop is given an 'emo' makeover and Travis and company are actually quite fun. 'Papercuts' and 'Taxi Driver' are well received, although the sound is horrific and I couldn't hear a word that was being said in between songs. That and the fact most people really didn't seem to care suggests GCH would probably be better served on a smaller headline tour to appreciate them most. (6)
FALL OUT BOY are the band of the moment. I don't need to list their achievements (2-million+ album sales anyone?) because I've done that too many times before. Any regular reader of PT knows I seriously like this band and have for ages. And no matter how sloppy they are live (and how shit the sound is, just incase I've not mentioned that already), FOB are fun. FUN. Yes, in capitals. I don't think I've had this much fun during a set for ages. There's frantic singalongs, pogo-ing aplenty and, well, lots of young girls screaming. Which was odd. But yeah, they played all the 'classics' and everyone lapped it up. The thing is with Fall Out Boy that if you go there expecting a note perfect sound-like-they-do-on-CD show you won't get it. But with Joe spinning and Pete Wentz everywhere on stage, they back up Patrick's vocals superbly. Simply put, FOB have honed their performance to mask any live deficiences. 'Saturday' is an enormous set closer, and while the band could have played for long than 50-minutes, it was 50-minutes of pure, sweaty fun. Just how I like it. (9)
Paul
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