Light ‘Em Up: Fall Out Boy Sets Minneapolis Ablaze on Last Tour Stop

Last updated on May 5th, 2024 at 12:16 pm

Without the storms that plagued their Wisconsin performance last summer, Fall Out Boy reigned over a sold-out Target Center on the final stop of their So Much For (2our) Dust Tour, playing a dynamic two-hour set to borderline perfection.

After a recording of “The Pink Seashell” played, the lights dropped, and the stardust flew, along with a lot of sparks and fire. The fireworks were especially fitting for the second song, “The Phoenix”, with Pete Wentz’s flamethrowing bass guitar on full display.

It did not take long for them to play some iconic favorites, hitting “Sugar, We’re Going Down” on the third song and “A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More Touch Me” fifth. With their lengthy catalog, they have the privilege to spread hits throughout the show.

While the opening songs relied on pyrotechnics, the bulk of the show leaned on the fantastical imagery and setting. This included a snail and an old submarine on a cactus-strewn desert, a giant Doberman head mouthing lyrics, and a dark forest with a tree gazing at the crowd.

The forest, while fun at times, seemed too playful for a sit-down piano portion led by Patrick Stump. Being the tour’s last show, Stump commented on wanting to play or “try stuff” the audience might not know.

And it seemed to work, playing “Bleed” by the esoteric Minneapolis ska punk band Animal Chin. While the crowd did not seem to know the song, they of course recognized and sang along with an excerpt of Prince’s “Purple Rain”.

The songs continued to vary, from excerpts of  “What a Catch, Donnie” to Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now”. This gave way to an impassioned performance of “So Much (for) Stardust” as the band rejoined Stump on stage.

Then it got weird. A figure that seemed to be Pete Wentz on top of a piano reciting “Baby Annihilation” raised a blanket over himself before disappearing completely. The bass-less band then played Blur’s “Song 2” which led into “Dance, Dance”. And suddenly, Wentz appeared at the soundboard, playing his signature bass opening on top of a pillar that rose towards the rafters.

As the spokesperson for the band, Wentz had another moment that was unique but a bit of a miss. Above the stage was a circular monitor that displayed animations. It turned into a Magic 8 Ball which he conversed with. As he asked general questions about the tour and songs, it felt like it would be a random song generator.

It was not. Instead, he asked if the band should play certain old songs, like “The Carpal Tunnel of Love” or “Rat a Tat”, on which Carly McClellan joined. The crowd was delighted, but it felt like it was a missed opportunity to have a random deep cuts selected on the spot.

Moving on from the lesser played numbers, the band closed with a four-pack of hits while returning to a simpler stage setup. Wentz took a moment to thank all the openers, including calling out Jimmy Eat World for having a song that is a part of “our cultural DNA”.

This signaled the return of heavy lights and pyrotechnics while the band blazed through “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)”, “Thnks fr th Mmrs”, and “Centuries”. As iconic as their early hits are, the sequence proved their continued staying power.

They closed with the fitting “Saturday” and an eruption of confetti and streamers.

Opening the evening was CARR, the female-fronted trio from Jersey/LA. Their brief indie pop/pseudo punk set featured songs like the newly released “Hot Dad” as well as “Loser”, which lead singer Carly McClellan prompted the crowd to repeat with expletives towards her ex.

Following them was Hot Mulligan, the self-proclaimed “#1 hot new band” from Michigan. After their opening of the hard-rocking “Drink Milk and Run”, lead singer Nathan Sanville ironically mocked the corporate sponsorship of stadiums. He then knelt, bowed, and offered cynical praise to Target…before encouraging the crowd to shoplift from them.

He also wore a Jimmy Eat World shirt in recognition of the night’s undercard, who took the stage to a noticeably more filled-in arena and increasingly vocal audience. They played their hit “Sweetness” third in the set, using its irresistible singalong chorus to escalate the crowd even more.

But this band hits heavier than their studio tracks sound, especially evident on “My Best Theory”. They were naturals in the larger venue and seemed to rock out even harder than their recent First Avenue concert. And of course, closing with the iconic “In The Middle” had everyone at peak rocking.

So much for the Fall Out Boy Tour, and a band that continues to produce enough hits while never losing their decades-old grip of classics that define a generation of rock music, making them a must-see show whenever in town.