By Will Louderback
I couldn’t breathe for thirty seconds.
I couldn’t speak for two minutes.
I was shaking for hours.
Or at least that’s how I remember finding out my parents bought two tickets to So Much for (Tour) Dust ’23.
I usually don’t obsess over going to big events, be they concerts or otherwise. The last concert I had gone to solely out of my own interest was in the Happy Hollow Park and Zoo, featuring Rhino Ray. Back then, I was still young enough to almost believe the foam and felt rhino getup wasn’t just a mascot. But come on. This was Fall Out Boy.
I carefully paced my walking to the Shoreline Amphitheatre so I didn’t speed past my father, for the most part succeeding in my endeavor, and amused myself a little when I pointed with a knowing, “those people are wearing black, follow them.” There wasn’t a second in that long line when I could have possibly felt bored enough to do much as glance at my phone.
The openers were Daisy Grenade, Royal and the Serpent, and Bring Me the Horizon; (you know, the one with that song all over the internet two, three, four months ago), only the latter of which was familiar to any extent with.
Daisy killed it, my personal favorite opener was Royal, (and I WILL say it again One Nation Underdogs is a banger and we can just agree to disagree) and I was amused to see my dad texting “A band called Bring Me the Horizon is playing. I’m underwhelmed.”
Following a twenty minute oh-my-goodness-the-bathroom-line-is-too-long-I’m-scared break, it was time.
…
Somehow, I survived the appearance of Patrick Stump on the megawatt screen, though my heart rate likely hit dangerous levels on-par with my one and only bouldering experience. Love From the Other Side was an expected opener after the Pink Seashell speech, keeping with the eternal Fall Out Boy trend of referencing film classics. Following that, they performed a mix of mainstream hits and fan favorite deep cuts, with a perfect mix of both that spanned all eight main albums. “Centuries” and “Light ’em Up,” (known commonly by the far superior My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark) were played alongside “The Last of the Real Ones” and “Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes,” which was absolutely incredible to hear live (I think I understand more of the words now.) Heaven, Iowa, and Fake Out were also additions from their new So Much (for) Stardust album, and very welcome ones at that. Feel free to play either at my funeral; (would you read my eulogy). Also, the idea of an eight ball (having the whims of an eighties toy “control” the concert for a time) was incredibly cool, and I got to watch a kid in the audience get a pick from Pete Wentz because of it. And we all were treated to Patron Saint of Liars and Fakes, “Patrizzy S” according to Pete on the setlist.
Incredible setlist aside, I got to meet a lot of people. Whether it was in line to buy merch that I was way too hyped to coherently order, or while quickly downing a taco plate so I could rush back to the hilltop. Cool people, who hopefully didn’t mind my screaming along to “Dear Maria” in the opening opening segment before the actual opener bands. Meeting fans of the openers whom I’d never hear of and talking about our shared love for pop-punk and “yes-that-album-was-underrated” was a unique bonding experience like no other, yet vaguely tangential to the experience I had at FC, which will probably, decidedly not get an article.
I realize here one more thing, and I’m leaving this for the end so as to have a lasting impact: Andy Hurley and Joe Trohman were incredible. Unlike previous concerts, they seemed to take a bit more of a center stage here, likely to alleviate former tensions between the band members due to preferred direction divides. Support your local guitarists and drummers, y’all, they’re talented as heck and they deserve some more love.
Post-Tourdust Stress Disorder? Maybe not. I feel fine knowing they’re off touring internationally now. But I’d like to thank the four of “those fallout boys” (painful to type) for a night of screaming and singing my lungs out, that I’ll never forget.
Oh, and thanks to my parents for the opportunity, and to my dad for taking the funniest picture of me… probably ever. Not the weird half-closed eyes one.
