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Fall Out Boy and Paramore’s co-headlining tour, the MONUMENTOUR, made its way to Atlanta on July 30, and I was one of the many people in attendance that night. I bought my tickets one day after pre-sale started, had been anticipating this date pretty much all year, and was especially excited to see Paramore, and to see Fall Out Boy again after seeing them twice on their Save Rock and Roll Tour.
The venue was adamant about not letting fans in before 4 o’clock, but I was allowed in early to work Paramore’s tailgate with the Fueled by Ramen street team, so I witnessed fans running to the gates faster than the Tributes are breaking for the Cornucopia in The Hunger Games. While there were a few snags beforehand, all mostly involving confusion regarding meet and greets, any annoyances or worries I may have had disappeared after New Politics started their set. Finally, the MONUMENTOUR had kicked off in Atlanta!
I’ve seen the European band before, and while their set was high energy, from where I was in the seats, it seemed like either everyone was conserving their energy for Paramore and Fall Out Boy, and the few people who were up and moving in the seats were the seasoned show kids or those who had seen the band before. The energy picked up around “Tonight You’re Perfect”, which segued into a snippet of a cover of DCD2 labelmate Panic! at the Disco’s “Miss Jackson”. DCD2’s newest signee LOLO took the stage, and assisted the band in singing the hook. Watching New Politics’ David Boyd break dance upped the energy significantly more, and the band ended on a high with their hit, “Harlem.” Many fans cheered as they announced that they would be back in Atlanta in October at a smaller venue, and I, myself, am curious to see how the band fares as a headliner after missing them this past spring.
After a short break, the lights dimmed for the first headlining act: Paramore.
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Confession: Prior to MONUMENTOUR, I had never seen Paramore live before. And I’ve been a fan of them almost as long as they’ve been a band. After seeing the band take the stage, I found myself deeply regretting every time I had passed over them. Even frontwoman Hayley Williams joked, “Where’ve you been? We’ve been here the whole time!” (I don’t know, Hayley.)Opening with “Still Into You” and closing with “Ain’t It Fun”, the band’s set was high energy almost from start to finish, only slowing down for the “Oh Father” interlude – incredibly moving if you’ve never seen it – “The Only Exception”, and “Last Hope,” off their most recent self-titled release. Balloons, confetti, and a flashing stage and discoballs completed Paramore’s stage set up. Paramore’s set was a good mix of old and new, playing most of their hits and a couple of fan favorites. “Pressure”, off of the band’s debut album was a pleasant surprise to hear, and a wave of nostalgia hit as the intros to “Decode” and “Misery Business” played.
During Miz Biz, Hayley picked an audience member to come sing with her on-stage, and took a selfie with him before starting. “Just watch my wildest dreams come true,” couldn’t have been more right, as the lucky fan worked the stage and sang the chorus of the band’s breakout single.
Twice, the band did their signature, “We are PARAMORE,” and introduced the crowd to Jeremy Davis, Taylor York, and their touring team. As stated by Hayley in interviews and on her Twitter account, “Paramore is a band.”
After Paramore’s set, many people left, as Fall Out Boy fans geared up to see their faves.
Starting off literally with a bang, the Chicago band’s opening sequence was reminiscent of “everything from cockpit to aerial maneuvers,” as stated in Pete’s blog about “The Phoenix.” However, I found the band’s nerdy superhero poses as they came on stage corny. It’s a wonderful sentiment – Fall Out Boy’s use of Chicago imagery plus the superhero poses meaning something akin to hometown heroes, or from the suburbs to the big leagues – but it was really funny to me in that moment.
Fans went wild anyway as the Chicago band took the stage with “The Phoenix” and “The Take Over, the Break’s Over.” While I was disappointed to see “Thriller” get taken off the setlist, the band played a pretty even mix of songs off their latest album and songs from pre-hiatus albums.
A definite high point during their set was their half-time show, which featured dueling drums between lead singer Patrick Stump and their drummer Andy Hurley. The two captured the attention of their audience as they drummed over samples from popular rap songs, but the attention in my area moved as security moved toward the sound tech booth.
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Yeah. That’s Pete Wentz and Joe Trohman. Right there. Wentz captured the crowd’s attention with a t-shirt cannon, before starting the show back up with “Dance, Dance”. It was interesting to see Trohman and Wentz play off each other up close, an opportunity usually reserved for people on barricade, and was a good way to engage the audience on one half of the band, and then the other.As stated previously, I’ve seen Fall Out Boy every time they’ve come through Atlanta post-hiatus, and silly entrance aside, that was the best they’ve sounded here. Even though some are battling sickness, they sounded great. Joe Trohman, especially, as I was surprised to hear him sing more this time around. (Fans of The Damned Things, rejoice!)
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The band closed out the set with “Save Rock and Roll”, which only seems to get better every time I hear it live, and the two encore songs, “Thnks fr th Mmrs” and, as always, “Saturday.” The band engaged the audience well throughout the set, using balloons, Pete letting a crowdsurfer sing a line during “Saturday”, and Pete and Patrick bantering as they usually do.All in all, Monumentour was probably one of the best shows I’ve been to this summer, and served as a great teaser for DCD2 Records’ upcoming Hydrafest next April, and as a taste for first timers what a Paramore or Fall Out Boy headlining show feels like. DCD2 artists such as Travie McCoy and Panic! at the Disco were featured on the screens between sets, as both artists are also labelmates with Paramore on Fueled by Ramen.
Check to see if Monumentour is heading your way here, and reserve your spot for Hydrafest here. Make sure to follow @falloutboy, @paramore, @newpolitics, @lolomusic, @fueledbyramen, and @DCD2Recordsto get updates about music, tours, and events coming to your area!
