Fall Out Boy Rocks Houston Livestock Show, Rodeo

Photo courtesy / Chloe Chaplin 

Fall Out Boy is a band of nostalgia for many, bringing back memories of middle school days and poor style choices. The band’s recent concert at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo brought a nearly packed audience of fans both new and old, with no disappointments in performance or sound.

The performance was a mix of all the band’s most popular songs, from old classics like “Sugar, We’re Going Down” to favorites from their newest albums including “The Phoenix” and “Centuries." 

Though Fall Out Boy has fallen out of the media spotlight for the most part, their talent is still as great as it ever was, and they have definitely not lost the qualities fans adore.  Pete may have been bleach blonde (update: now hot pink) and Patrick surprisingly transformed from a chubby goofball to a much thinner and more attractive goofball, but the band’s sound is still the same as ever.

 The crowd was roaring and singing along throughout the show, especially during old favorites like “Dance, Dance.” Memorable moments included Pete’s cheesy joke about this “literally” being the band’s first rodeo, the explosion of double stomps for the line “Heavy metal broke my (thump thump) HEART” in “Centuries,” and when Pete took a mid-performance selfie onstage. (Cue more excitement for the later posting of said selfie on Instagram.)

The concert fell on March 8, which just so happened to be International Women’s Day. In honor of this, the band took a moment to appreciate women and to show their support of equal rights, dedicating the song “Uma Therman” to talented and strong women in the audience.

Just before the end of the performance, Patrick paused to give a bit of inspiration to everyone in the audience, mentioning the band’s success despite hardships and tough beginnings. This led into “Immortals,” a song featured on Big Hero 6 but written with the band’s history in mind.  

For the most part, middle school punk bands should remain in middle school, but Fall Out Boy is one of the few to have put out consistently great albums year after year since their 2009-2012 hiatus. From “Save Rock and Roll” in 2013 to this year’s “American Beauty/American Psycho,” it’s safe to say that Fall Out Boy is still a great source of upbeat music with clever lyrics. Even better, none of their talent is lost through live performance.