Concert Reviews

Review & setlist: Fall Out Boy light up Fenway Park

In a career-spanning set, Fall Out Boy showcased their unique ability to turn dark themes into soaring anthems.

By Ross Cristantiello

August 3, 2023

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Email
• Email
• 1

Fall Out Boy at Fenway Park, Aug. 2, 2023

As Fall Out Boy took the stage Wednesday night at Fenway Park, a curious image flashed on a screen above their heads: half of a frowning face, half of a smiley face, merged together into something resembling a yin and yang. 

More than two decades into their career, the Chicago rockers clearly think that symbol represents something essential. It was emblazoned on singer and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump’s hat and drummer Andy Hurley’s drumset during their Fenway show, and appears on much of the band’s current merchandise. 

The band’s new de facto logo does get at the heart of their appeal. It represents a marriage between soaring, theatrical, upbeat musicianship and metaphor-laden lyrics that are sometimes crass, frequently beautiful, and more often than not concerned with death. It’s love, beamed straight to you from the other side of the apocalypse. 

That dichotomic love was on full display Wednesday inside a raucous Fenway. Fall Out Boy played a career-spanning setlist that balanced major hits with true deep cuts. After a spoken-word intro from actor Ethan Hawke, the band kickstarted the evening with “Love From The Other Side,” the lead single from their eighth album “So Much (for) Stardust.” 

Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and Hurley came out with real energy, which ticked up another notch when they launched into “The Phoenix,” from 2013’s “Save Rock and Roll.” Appropriately, fire spewed from the stage and the Green Monster, bathing those in the front sections in momentary heat. Pyrotechnics were even attached to the end of Wentz’s bass, and he appeared to be having a blast playing in an oversized poncho with his long, bleached hair swaying back and forth. 

At one point during the show, Wentz explained to the audience that “So Much (for) Stardust” was about protecting and preserving one’s imagination and childlike sense of creativity. That whimsical spirit permeated the show’s production. When Fall Out Boy transitioned into “Uma Thurman,” the stage morphed into an underwater seascape, complete with giant shells and images of a holographic seahorse. It complemented the song’s main surf rock-inspired riff, and gave Trohman a moment in the spotlight. 

Although the band’s current tour is promoting “So Much (for) Stardust,” they made time to reconnect with their earlier hits. As “Dead On Arrival” began, a lighting rig descended on the band, only stopping a few feet above their heads. It bathed them in a turquoise glow, evoking the cover of their 2003 debut “Take This to Your Grave,” and the small venues where their earliest shows took place. 

As “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race” arrived, the production’s fanciful nature returned. A massive dog head appeared on stage, nodding along to the music and occasionally opening its mouth. It appeared to be an impressive act of puppetry, and a person could briefly be seen behind the head guiding its movements. Clouds of bubbles surrounded it, mimicking the cover art of “So Much (for) Stardust.”

Fall Out Boy was originally scheduled to play Fenway in 2021 with Green Day and Weezer, but pulled out at the last minute when a member of their team tested positive for COVID-19. At multiple points on Wednesday, Wentz and Stump said they “owed” this show to the Boston fans. They played the intro to Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” and a bit of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.” Stump, playing the piano for the latter, appeared a bit shaky and had to restart the song once. The second time, he knocked it out of the park. 

In one more nod to the Fenway faithful, Wentz disappeared suddenly during “Dance, Dance,” only to reappear on top of the Green Monster, where he played a large portion of the song. The magician-like flourish delighted the crowd. 

Soon after, Wentz performed an extended bit where he consulted a magic eight-ball to decide which song to play next. It resulted in two of the more obscure tracks of the evening, “XO” off of “From Under the Cork Tree,” and “G.I.N.A.S.F.S.” from “Infinity On High.” This is believed to be their first time playing “XO” live in over a decade. 

After ripping through a few more big hits, Fall Out Boy closed their set with “Saturday,” a fan-favorite from “Take This to Your Grave.” Those in the crowd that recognized it responded with elation. They poured the last of their energy into belting the chorus along with Stump, whose pristine vocals remain a marvel. Wentz responded in kind, dropping his bass and hopping into the crowd to scream the backing vocals on the song’s bridge. 

“And I read about the afterlife, but I never really lived,” Stump and Wentz sang. 

Fall Out Boy may have death and decay on their minds, but that won’t stop them from living, from bottling the hopelessness and transforming it into triumph and joy. 

Fall Out Boy’s setlist at Fenway Park:

• Love From the Other Side
• The Phoenix
• Sugar, We’re Goin Down
• Uma Thurman
• A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More “Touch Me”
• Dead on Arrival
• Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy
• Calm Before the Storm
• This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race
• Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes
• Heaven, Iowa
• I’m Shipping Up to Boston (Dropkick Murphys cover, partial)
• Bang the Doldrums
• Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet
• Fake Out
• W.a.m.s. (partial, piano medley)
• Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond cover, partial) 
• Save Rock and Roll
• Baby Annihilation
• Enter Sandman (Metallica cover)
• Dance, Dance
• Hold Me Like a Grudge
• XO
• G.I.N.A.S.F.S.
• My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)
• Thnks fr th Mmrs
• Centuries
• Saturday