Paramore and Fall Out Boy began their careers in the same music scene. Both came up as pop-punk bands on a smaller record label, Fueled By Ramen around a decade ago. Both have also scored top singles on the radio in their 10 years on the scene. Yet despite all of this, the labelmates have never toured together. Until now.
The Monumentour rolled into Maryland at Merriweather Post Pavilion for a night that I can only describe as magic. The show kicked off with up and coming band, New Politics. Although most of the crowd didn’t know the words to their songs, NP was able to get them off their feet with upbeat songs including, “Harlem” and “Yeah Yeah Yeah”. Of course vocalist, David Boyd, showed off his break dancing skills during their set which really impressed the audience. NP were a great opening act for this tour and they definitely left with new fans.
Paramore (Hayley Williams, Taylor York and Jeremy Davis) were up next and exploded right into their set, with one of the band’s most successful singles to date, “Still Into You,” Unfortunately, Davis just had surgery a couple days prior to the show and had to sit in a chair for the entirety of their set, but that didn’t stop him from still rocking out.
After a string of crowd pleasing hits, Williams took a moment to thank the audience for all of their support throughout the years and told them that this tour was “years in the making”. “You know, we’ve been a band for 10 years now,” she said. “And we’ve toured for nine of those years. And in all those years, our fans have been asking — demanding, rather — that we tour with our good friends and fellow Fueled By Ramen brothers, Fall Out Boy. So this tour is all for you guys”. She then dedicated the next song “The Only Exception” to all the fans in the crowd.
Paramore continued to buzz through a show filled to the brim with streamers, confetti, smoke machines and an elaborate light board display. During fan favorite, “Misery Business”, a lucky fan got to come on stage and sing the last chorus with Williams. Paramore continued their set by infusing anthems “Let the Flames Begin” with “Part II”. The whole band displayed incredible emotion during these songs and the light display behind them added to the enchantment. They closed off their night with their monster hit, “Ain’t It Fun”. Giant beach balls were thrown into the crowd along with a heavy amount of confetti. It was an excellent ending to an incredible performance by the entire band.
Fall Out Boy arrived in style, rising onstage as a fireworks display went off, the band immediately began raging with “Phoenix.” A majority of the songs on their set list are from their recent album, “Save Rock and Roll”. Those who only knew their hits may have been disappointed, but the die-hard fans lost it as they watched Patrick Stump belt out the newer, soulful numbers.
The crowd was very energetic throughout their set, but it was old hits like “Sugar We’re Going Down” and “Grand Theft Autumn” that turned the entire crowd into a sea of hands and fists raised in time to the beat. One of my favorite moments of the night was the drum battle between Andy Hurley and Stump. They each rolled out on their own kits, mashing up Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” and “Yeah” by Lil Jon.
While Stump and Hurley battled, Joe Trohman and Pete Wentz snuck into the crowd to begin playing “Dance, Dance” on a platform near the soundboard. Once the entire band returned to the stage, Wentz asked the audience to hold up their lighters and phones while they played “Just One Yesterday”. It was shortly followed by a cover of Queen’s “We Are the Champions” which was dedicated to the parents who brought their kids to the show.
FOB finished the show with a bang, playing “Thnks fr the Mmrs” and “Saturday” for their encore. During “Saturday” Wentz came into the crowd and sang along with them. It was nice seeing a band as big as FOB still connecting with their fans on that level.
The truth is, both headliners on this tour completely stole the show, just in different ways. There’s not a clear standout between Paramore and Fall Out Boy, but only because both of them rock so hard in the first place and connect with their fans on such a level that live shows are explosive to be around.
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