Fall Out Boy

As a society we have to ask ourselves: what are we feeding our children? This is not intended to be a discussion about mechanically separated chicken or high-fructose corn syrup. No, another kind of food: music. It is, after all, the singular most powerful expression of the human soul.

Yet, in today’s consumer-based capitalistic society, music has been sterilized, homogenized, desensitized and, worst of all, commoditized into an entity designed not to enrich the listeners but to make rich the purveyors.

If this sounds highfalutin, then you weren’t at the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday night because this concert was the epitome of what is wrong in music today.

Exhibit 1: Cobra Starship, a band whose claim to fame is the song “Bring It (Snakes on a Plane.)” Yes, from the cheesy action-packed flop of a film starring Sam Jackson. Dear reader, the only thing worse than a stupid song is a song that makes you stupid. For this, Cobra Starship is guilty and should be ejected from Starship Earth.

Exhibit 2: The Academy Is …, a band that thankfully had its name emblazoned on a giant banner, otherwise their power pop, bubblegum rock would not have been identifiable from the 237 other bands that have this exact same sound. Generic? Guilty! Driven by gimmicks and cheesy clichés? Guilty! Send the Academy to the gallows!

Exhibit 3: +44, the band former Blink-182 members Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker formed when Blink went on indefinite hiatus. These are not punk preservationists or even revisionists. No, +44 is simply thieves with guitars who would rather count their money than write an original, that is to say fresh, song. This L.A. band romps through power chord after power chord while Hoppus sings sensitive, surefire lines like, “Baby come on.” The best part of this band is the banter, “(guitarist) Shane Gallagher likes to cut his hair like Britney Spears.” (He’s bald. Har-har.)

Now, the exception to the rule and perhaps our hope for the future: Fall Out Boy, the emissaries of emo who wittingly nabbed their moniker from the Simpsons. (Fall Out Boy was Radioactive Man’s sidekick.) This Chicago four-piece added all kinds of lights, flames, streamers and explosions to a show that could have been just as successful without the hoopla. The reason: The songs are well-crafted, interesting and exciting compositions, topped with ample wit, humor and irony. In other words, the music could stand alone.

“This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race” is a perfect example. This infectious concoction is also a stirring anthem; played live or on the radio, it changes the room; it demands fist pumping and shouting; it gets blood flowing.

The same could be said of “One & Only,” a song from “Timbaland Presents Shock Value” that supposedly features Fall Out Boy, but the way FOB plays it, the song its own. To make it even better, bassist Pete Wentz and guitarist Joe Trohman snuck out to the sound stage to play the song while standing on top of a Honda. Of course, the young girls went crazy, sending high-pitched shrieks into the ears of whatever journalist happened to be standing nearby.

It was more than these two hits. FOB played a full set of rip-roaring rock ‘n’ roll (”Sugar We’re Goin’ Down,” “The Carpal Tunnel of Love,” “Thnks fr th Mmrs,” to name some high points) that breathed new life into the genre. They even reconstituted Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” That’s food for the soul.

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Cobra Starship, Bring It (Snakes on a Plane.), Sam Jackson, The Academy Is …, +44, Fall Out Boy, Chicago, This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race, FOB, Pete Wentz, Joe Trohman, Honda, Sugar We’re Goin’ Down, The Carpal Tunnel of Love, Thnks fr th Mmrs, Michael Jackson, Beat It

Pete Wentz is the type of character that feeds the fuel of gossip sites.

He’s the heartthrob bassist of pop-punk band Fall Out Boy. Nude photos of him surfaced on the Internet last year. He’s dating wannabe-punk princess Ashlee Simpson. And he wears loads of black eyeliner.

But as much as it would inevitably get tiresome to be the focus of packs of paparazzi and have your life dissected by celebrity bloggers, Wentz is able to be philosophical about it all.

Speaking over the phone from Milwaukee, where he was gearing up for another show on the band’s summer tour - which brings them to Vancouver tonight - Wentz initially criticized celebrity bloggers such as Perez Hilton, but then changed his tune to admit that he’s not all that different from them.

“I guess there’s something to be said for how much of a life can you really have from just making money off of other people’s misery,” he says in a slightly strained and tired-sounding voice. “But then again, when I read the words that I write, I think that’s probably what I do a lot of the time, too, is make money off of other people’s misery.”

Wentz, 28, writes the bulk of the lyrics to Fall Out Boy’s songs and says sometimes the easiest way to generate powerful lyrics is to feed off human despair, much like the bloggers.

“Sometimes it’s easy to gut yourself or gut other people when you’re writing songs and I think that it’s a lot harder to be truly introspective or tell a good story that’s real.”

Wentz is humble and relaxed over the phone. There is little ego or defensive insecurity leaking through. He sounds like a guy who’s had some battles with fame and emerged a little beaten up, but is now able to brush off unwanted attention and mean-spirited criticism.

In early 2005, Wentz took a near-lethal dose of the anti-anxiety drug Ativan while sitting in his sister’s car in a mall parking lot on the outskirts of Chicago, where he grew up. The overdose came a few months before the band released its breakthrough album, From Under the Cork Tree, which landed Fall Out Boy on Billboard’s Top 10.

The band was formed in 2001 when Wentz and his good friend Joe Trohman - lead guitarist - met Patrick Stump, who was still in high school. Stump, 23, initially filled the role of drummer, but soon became lead singer.

Infinity on High was released earlier this year and hit the top spot on Billboard within its first week. The album is a fast-paced, guitar-heavy, angst-filled romp that has elements of punk, metal and pop - a combination that Wentz acknowledges has the ability to both attract and repel listeners.

“We’re one of those bands that’s like a lightning rod for people to love or hate. There’s people who hate to love us and there’s people who love to hate us and I think the new record, if anything, only solidifies that,” he says. “We really have no qualms about wanting to be the biggest rock band on the planet and we have a long way to go.

“There are a lot of bands that are a lot bigger than us right now and have the ability to reach a lot more people and have a greater legacy, or whatever, but at the same time, we wrote this record to be heard in arenas and possibly even one day in stadiums.”

The band is playing at the Pacific Coliseum Thursday night and Wentz says the show will be full of surprises.

“We were trying to put on the biggest rock show that we possibly could and we reached for some things that I think are right at the edge of our grasp but so far they’ve been going pretty well - knock on wood.”

Asked for specifics on those “things,” Wentz suddenly got protective of his show. “I can’t go into too much detail because for the most part we’re trying to keep them as surprises,” he says.

As hints, he says the big idea for the show came after the band watched The Prestige - a film about competitive magicians - and after they saw an old interview with Michael Jackson in which he clarified that the Moonwalk is an illusion rather than a dance move.

While the show might be filled with illusions, Fall Out Boy’s fame and success has little to do with smoke and mirrors. Wentz realizes his public image is something of a caricature of himself, but he wisely says that as long as he can keep a sense of humour it won’t get to him.

“Anyone can become a parody of themselves … I think that it’s better when you can start laughing about that before other people do.”

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This is quite a different interview from the norm. While it is still Pete-based news, I found this satisfying to read. But is he sincere?

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The hottest party of the night Friday, June 22, had to be at Axis/Radius nightclub in Old Town Scottsdale. That’s because Fall Out Boy’s undeclared spokesman and notorious ruckus-causer bassist, Pete Wentz, took care of the ones and twos for a DJ set at the club.

Wentz came to the venue after his band’s concert at Cricket Pavilion, where the pop-punk outfit headlined the Honda Civic Tour.

Wentz ditched his ever-present hoodie for a more hipster look while he DJed, wearing a gray vest over a black T-shirt and sporting a black baseball cap.

His Fall Out Boy set ended at about 10:45 p.m., and he arrived at the club looking spiffy a little after midnight. For an hour and a half, the music was under Wentz’s control, as he played a banging mix of oldies and new hits.

Wentz kept the music pretty pure, opting to play about one-and-a-half minute segments of songs without much alteration to the beats.

His talent lied in the sequence of the songs, as he transitioned between contemporary artists like Gwen Stefani and Nelly Furtado and older hits by Michael Jackson and Bon Jovi. The songs flowed well because beats matched up in unique ways, and Wentz’s selection was very impressive.

Axis/Radius is usually known for having more present-day hip-hop and pop hits, but the packed dance floor and just-as-congested upstairs embraced the older songs by Journey and even Nirvana.

Wentz brought an energy that just made everything work, and people sang along and threw their hands up throughout the set.

While there were a couple of emo-looking girls in the crowd showing off their tattoos and Hot Topic garb, and fans clamoring near the DJ booth snapping pictures, most of the clubgoers looked like typical Axis/Radius fare, dressed up trendily.

It seemed like most clubbers were unaware of who Wentz was - let alone that he was DJing there - possibly because many Fall Out Boy fans are underage.

Wentz didn’t talk to any of the fans; he just focused on his music, staring at his computer, listening in his earphones and singing along to the songs he chose.

His friend Gabe Saporta, lead singer of Fall Out Boy opener Cobra Starship, was another story, though. Saporta danced with and hugged plenty of fans, plus he posed for several pictures. He also hyped up the crowd by wildly throwing his hands up during every song and singing along.

Fall Out Boy drummer Andy Hurley was also spotted sitting down at a VIP table on the floor near the DJ booth. His table was left alone for the most part.

Axis/Radius was probably a great place for Wentz to DJ considering he wasn’t bothered and got to focus on his music, which the crowd seemed to eat up.

Fall Out Boy should be back on the road this fall, so Wentz may be back in a Valley booth soon.

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Rage Against the Machine and the Smashing Pumpkins are among the acts set to headline this year’s Voodoo Music Experience.

Other featured acts include Wilco, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Sinead O’Connor, Fall Out Boy, Mute Math, Plain White T’s and The Black Crowes.

The three-day festival at City Park opens Oct. 26.

Some 90,000 fans attended last fall’s festival, headlined by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Duran Duran. That turnout prompted organizers to expand the event from two days to three. The festival also ran three days in 2003.

Steve Rehage, whose company, Rehage Entertainment Inc., produces the Voodoo Music Experience, said he’s proud of the lineup. It’s one he hopes “demands national attention and makes people think, `Wow, cool things still happen in New Orleans. Let’s go.’”

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Great line-up for Voodoo this year, and Fall Out Boy just makes it better. Anyone going? For some more information, check out Voodoo Music Experience on the web.

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Every dissection of the band Fall Out Boy should probably begin with whether or not you think bassist Pete Wentz is a loser or a genius.

On one side is a deafening chorus of critics who see Wentz as a business-first, pop-punk poseur who takes nude self-portraits, vogues in fashion ads, pals around with online gossipmonger Perez Hilton and has dated Ashlee Simpson and Lindsay Lohan.

On the other is an even more vocal nation of teens and tweens who see Wentz as the handsome, brilliant and charismatic leader of the most influential rock band of the MySpace generation. Fall Out Boy headlines the Honda Civic Tour at the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday.

“You go on Web sites that have what people think of Pete, and it’s not always good,” said Andy Hurley, Fall Out Boy’s drummer and a longtime friend of Wentz’s, in a phone interview from Scotland, where the band was tuning up for its tour. “Obviously he’s got really magnetic looks and a magnetic personality. He’s definitely the most outspoken out of all of us. But I just think he’s an idea man who has so many ideas, constantly, that you just can’t deny someone like that.”

Buoyed by thunderous guitars, Wentz’s witty lyrics and singer Patrick Stump’s frantic but soulful warble, the Chicago foursome has ascended to punk royalty since 2003, when the guys released their first album, “Take This To Your Grave,” on Tampa’s Fueled by Ramen Records.

The band’s breakthrough album, “From Under The Cork Tree,” sold 2.5 million copies, spawned the insatiably catchy hits “Dance, Dance” and “Sugar, We’re Going Down,” earned the band a Best New Artist Grammy nod and helped it snag 1.8 million MySpace friends.

In March, as the band’s new album, “Infinity On High,” debuted at No. 1, the guys landed simultaneous covers of Spin and Rolling Stone.

In his spare time, Wentz has created a clothing line, a glitzy nightclub in New York’s East Village and a film company. And his record label, Decaydence – an imprint of Fueled by Ramen – has spawned a slew of megaselling bands like Panic! At the Disco and Gym Class Heroes.

Because of Wentz’s visibility, Madison Avenue now sees Fall Out Boy as a mainline to the teenage marketplace. The band has high-profile sponsorship deals with Nokia, Verizon, Tag Body Spray and Honda, and Wentz has modeled for the Gap and DKNY.

It is telling that Jay-Z, president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, has become a mentor to Wentz. And Wentz has made no secret of the fact that he wants to become a Def Jam-like corporate entity.

“I want to create a culture people are interested in,” he told Spin in March. “Our singles matter. Our videos matter. The clothes we wear matter. I want it to be this culture, the way Def Jam used to be.”

Does it matter to fans that Wentz is so candid about his corporate aspirations?

“It is a weird line to have to balance,” Hurley says. “But I think when you get to a certain point in a band, especially our band, you have to make sacrifices like that in order to reach more kids. I think we’ve been able to do it in a way where we’ve had the right people working with us and letting us do what we want to do, and letting us bring our vision to fruition.”

In other words, as long as the band keeps churning out hits, and as long as the Pete Wentz brand remains white-hot, Fall Out Boy will have free reign over the pop-punk landscape and possibly beyond.

“I want to be the biggest band on the planet,” Wentz told Rolling Stone in March.

Notice he didn’t say “we.”

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Well, I spotted this in Seventeen magazine. These are dating tips from Pete himself. Enjoy.

Read His Body Language

You can definitely tell who’s interested in you and who’s platonic by paying attention to how a guy moves around you. When I was in high school, my thing was to get as close as humanly possible to a girl and just make her have to kiss me! You do the hug that’s too close, where your mouth is close to hers and you kinda feel it out a little bit.

Get Out There

You’re gonna meet tons of different people throughout your life, and it’s totally worth it to stick your neck out a little bit if you like someone. Even when you get shot down, it seems really devastating, but it’s not in the long run. That’s one of the things I really wish I had been able to tell myself in high school: “Man, it’s not really the end of the world that you’re single. It’s your time to figure out what’s right for you.”

Take a Chance

Sometimes the person that is best for you is the person right under your nose. I wanted to have a girlfriend in high school, and I know I would have treated a girl well, but instead I was just friends with a lot of girls. They ended up telling me later on, “We’re so perfect together,” but at the time I wasn’t the cool-enough guy. It’s important to look past superficial stuff, like whether the guy hangs out with popular kids. It’s worth it to go after the black sheep!

Make Out if You Want

To me, it’s not really that big of a deal. I think that it’s cool when people can feel free with that kind of thing. I’m pretty much a prude other than that, so I don’t feel bad about myself. I remember my first kisses with a lot of people, and they’re rad experiences. And you don’t have to really take it to that next level because that’s what keeps it exciting.

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“So to avoid any confusion- we made a new video for our song “the take over…”. it is a low budget video that we made just to tide everyone over until we get the next one done. its pretty much just an internet video. pretty simple. hopefully you like it. the idea behind it is pretty much the perception we all have of ourselves versus the perception the world has of us…. maybe its a bit more dimwitted as it involves a puppy’s perspective too. check out the link over at absolutepunk.net or www.friendsorenemies.com - we’ll be working on the next big video in july.

for what its worth. this video is just supposed to be fun, so dont read too much into it. we came up with it on the spot.”

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Fall Out Boy sure can pump out some videos, there’s no doubt about that. Other bands I’ve followed take long breaks between making music videos. Ahh, another reason to enjoy FOB.

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The first time our paths crossed, Pete Wentz was — as near as I could tell — wearing the same smart white suit he wore while accepting the fan-elected MTV2 Award at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards. He was also standing alone despite being in the middle of a crowded Christmas party. Just over a year later, I ran into him again, this time at the Sunset Strip’s legendary Roxy, where a mutual friend was performing. This time, he was surrounded by an entourage of beautiful people.

“There are the obvious changes everyone would expect, but there are little changes, too,” the bassist and de-facto face man for Fall Out Boy says, laughing at being called out on his transformation from mild-mannered emo punk and Chicago resident to instantly recognizable Hollywood celebrity with all the accompanying accoutrements. “A year ago, I would never let myself to be happy without feeling guilty about it. Now, I know to allow myself that breathing room.”

That still doesn’t account for the change I witnessed. The Pete Wentz I saw over Christmas in 2005 was glum, even unsure of himself. The Pete Wentz I saw at the Roxy had a smile on his face when he arrived and when he left. He seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself and, well, breathing room ain’t enough to give a person that.

“It’s weird and kind of interesting, but, after reading a couple of pieces about myself, it was like looking in the mirror for the first time,” he explains, crediting journalists with part of his enlightenment. “I was like, ‘You know what, maybe you should actually make yourself feel better rather than continue in misery.’ Who you are versus who everyone else thinks you are is a kind of very interesting clash of perspectives.”

One could easily imagine Wentz’s parents attributing their son’s new outlook to growing up, which can be recognized on Fall Out Boy’s follow-up to From Under the Cork Tree. Wentz, after all, is the band’s lyricist and largely responsible for shaping its tone, which is why Infinity On High is such a musically mature — and adventurous — release. It’s even got the critics baffled, since it’s hard to call a band you now like “emo,” since the label has become pretty damn demeaning.

Thus, it’s ironic to think that Wentz had to leave the Midwest for Los Angeles to get his head straight, since LA is about the least mentally healthy environment in the world. “My friends and I just think it’s all kind of funny,” he says. “We don’t bother trying to become other people. We laugh at whatever and usually get kicked out of wherever, and usually just find it kind of funny to ourselves.

“I think that’s something that can keep you in check, because it’s a kind of dangerous position to be in, that I was in last year,” he continues. “You know, everyone whispering different things into your ear: ‘You’re the best thing since sliced bread.’ You can get caught up and believe the hype, and kind of diverge from the path you intended to be on.”

Maybe that’s what happened while promoting From Under the Cork Tree, since the way the press portrayed Wentz before Infinity On High dropped played a large part in the album Infinity became.

“Over the last year, there were a lot of things I was quoted as saying,” he says. “Either it didn’t come out of my mouth right or I was paraphrased or I said things this way when I should’ve said them that way. This record, on a lot of songs, allowed me to respond to that.”

So yeah, go ahead and call it chest beating. But at least Wentz and Fall Out Boy can back it up, which most self-indulgent egomaniacs in this biz can’t do on their best day.

“I think a part of it is you always need to be doing that in a tongue-in-cheek way, because we have a lot of disappointment in how things happened,” he says. “You can’t take a giant shot and say, ‘F*ck you,’ like that and not know, ‘Well, everyone knows what your own involvement in doing that was.’ I try to have the words carry that weight.”

Wentz, you see, is more than willing to take responsibility for his own mistakes. He brings that self-awareness to the lyrics Patrick Stump sings on Infinity — like on “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race,” a song that draws foot-stomping attention to the ridiculously competitive nature of popular music. “In the last year, we got caught up in it,” he admits. “Like me and Brandon Flowers [of the Killers]. At some point, I just think it’s stupid. We’re just talking to talk. And we both have a much more similar perspective than we’re admitting to each other.”

Ultimately, though, Infinity On High was an effort by Fall Out Boy to reinvigorate the pop-punk genre, Wentz says, like what My Chemical Romance accomplished with The Black Parade or Panic! At the Disco with A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out.

“I wanted it to be more than about eyeliner or our haircuts,” he adds, which, of course, makes me think about the fact that, as happy as he looked at the Roxy, he was still wearing eyeliner and still had the stereotypical emo haircut. I don’t mention that, though, because Wentz is right. Infinity On High is about more than that.

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And just for the record guys, sorry about more Pete-based news. I know it gets old, but then again, you know it’s all over the place right now. If you want to know what’s new with FOB, Mr. Wentz will surely be in the answer. Peace.

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Pete Wentz, MTV2, emo, punk, Chicago, Fall Out Boy, From Under the Cork Tree, Infinity On High, Patrick Stump, This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race, My Chemical Romance, The Black Parade, Panic! At the Disco, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out

Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz is the pinup, the eyeliner-sporting, pouty-lipped wounded one who writes the confessional lyrics. But singer-guitarist Patrick Stump, who writes most of the music, might be the more intriguing half of the Chicago pop-punk band’s creative machinery. Often bespectacled and/or hiding behind the brim of a hat, he’s the shy guy who sound checks with Nat “King” Cole and name checks guys like Tom Waits and Randy Newman.

Stump took some time prior to launch of the chart-topping band’s tour to talk about its latest album, Infinity on High; the future of the album and the pros and cons of that pop-punk tag.

Q: With a bit of hindsight, do you think the album’s leak on the Internet was a good or bad thing?

A: I just don’t know. It’s a blessing and curse. It means people wanted to hear it, which is cool. It’s always good news that anybody cares. What wasn’t so great is when it leaked, we weren’t really done with it. It’s one of those things we just had to accept. It forced us to find an end point for making the record.

Q: The tarot card packaging with the new album was fairly lavish. Will you miss actual albums if they go away?

A: I remember as a kid, my dad had Sgt. Pepper’s and it had those cutouts. I thought it was the coolest and strangest idea, something you didn’t see very much. My generation will be the last that had cassette tapes and records and CDs. There’s something really cool about opening shrink wrap and looking at the record before you hear it. But then there’s something very new and exciting about the fact that people are listening to whatever they want, not what’s being forced on them by radio. It’s a cool time to be making music.

I watched this fairly obscure rock musical Phantom of the Paradise. It’s built on this Faustian idea of a guy selling his soul to be a recording artist. It’s funny because none of that applies anymore. It’s a bizarre and awesome time to be doing this. We always like to try new things in general. Maybe a record where you download it in installments.

Q: That sounds sort of like the ’80s and ‘90 underground. Were you tuned into the 7-inch record subscriptions?

A: I missed most of that. But I definitely was inspired by 7-inch club stuff. It’s definitely frustrating and limiting the way the record industry came to be run. We just couldn’t really make one record every five years and then milk every single that it’s worth. That’s frustrating for me as writer. I write more than one album every five years. We got criticized a little for putting this record out as fast as we did.

Q: Much is made about how Pete does the lyrics, you do the music. Is it all that big a deal?

A: It comes down to the fact that ego would be the only reason not to do it. Pete’s writing better lyrics than I am. There are better songs all around if there are two of us working together rather than working against each other. It took some getting used to, but it was a long time ago. Now I wouldn’t want to work any other way.

Q: Can you write on the road?

A: I can write anytime, anywhere, on any instrument. One of my problems is I can’t be around art without trying to participate in it. I can’t read because it makes me want to write. By chapter five of something, I’ve written more than I’ve read. Music is the same way. Walking down the street, if something’s blasting out of somebody’s car, I have to write something immediately. There’s something natural about attempting something and missing the mark tremendously and coming up with something different. It’s a huge part of music and art. Sometimes I’ll grab at Earth, Wind and Fire, and it ends up sounding like the Talking Heads or Tom Waits.

Q: So the whole pop-punk thing is a more organic process than critics would have you believe?

A: True. … there’s you. What is naturally you. And then there’s what you’re trying for. What’s ‘you’ is always going to overpower what you’re trying for. Really early on, when we were first starting, I figured I was above the whole pop-punk thing. Pete told me nine of the 10 people in pop-punk bands think they’re above it. There’s nothing special about thinking that. He said be content with the music you’re making. There’s no sense in trying to sound like your heroes, no sense trying to be what you aren’t. The influence of Tom Waits or Randy Newman isn’t necessarily heavy in my music, you’ll hear elements if you peek in closely.

Q: Is this the best job you’ve ever had?

A: Um, yes. (Laughs.) For sure.

Q: Is there a worst job?

A: Yeah, I used to work in the frozen-foods department of a grocery store in Chicago.

Q: Frozen foods in Chicago sounds unthinkably cold.

A: Yes, it was pretty miserable. I can’t really say anything good about it.

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So there you have it, in case you didn’t already know. Pete may be the frontman, but he is also the beloved camera whore. There really wasn’t any doubt, Pat is certainly the mastermind here.

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FOB has just released its video for the actually-pretty-snappy “The Take Over, The Break’s Over“, and it reveals one thing: We’ve reached the point in the band’s career where it’s getting its music-video ideas from old Phil Collins clips. (Well, maybe not the “don’t make fun of us for being sellouts” part–Collins seemed pretty comfortable with that.) Can a “Billy Don’t Lose My Number” making-of-the-making-of-the-making-of navelgaze be far behind? Source.

It’s an interesting video, though it is completely random and nonsensical. Also, they are once again pushing the “controversial” bit about selling out and whatnot; frankly, I think they’ve done that so many times now that it isn’t even a statement. A statement would be to shut up and drive, but then it would just be music; we want the band. It’s a catchy song set to entertaining footage, so who can complain. Delicious; enjoy, fans.

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FOB, The Take Over, The Break’s Over, Phil Collins

Fall Out Boy singer Peter Wentz has explained away a fight that he had with a fan at a recent aftershow party.

The musician denied claims that he had started the fight with a heckler, saying that the man grabbed his arm first.

He said that he had no regrets over how he had acted, saying that it would always be his instinct to defend himself in that situation.

Wentz told MTV: “The story on the internet is absolutely false. Yes, we were playing an acoustic afterparty. It was a good time for the most part. Yes, the guy was heckling me and the band, so were other people, most in good fun. But we get heckled onstage all the time, and while I’m a jerk, I’m not the kind of person who would ever lash out at someone simply over this.

“The truth is on the way out the door I had to pass directly next to the guy and I knew it, so I kept my head down and walked out. As I did, the guy reached out and grabbed me and said something I couldn’t really hear — it was a glorious use of the English language, though.

“As he grabbed me, I punched him. Yell all you want at me, say whatever, but in a situation like that I will defend myself. After that, of course, it got chaotic, [but] we have several independent witnesses that gave statements saying he grabbed me first … I am not worried over the outcome, as I was clearly in the right. Anything anyone else is saying or writing is simply not true.”

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Fall Out Boy’s show at Chicago’s Schubas reportedly turned bloody when bassist Pete Wentz and a member of Fall Out Boy’s security detail were involved in a fracas with a heckling fan. According to audience members at the show, the band made it through four songs, including their single “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race” before the band left the stage and a scuffle broke out. An audience member who prefers to remain anonymous was standing right in front of Wentz during the show and described the main heckler as a “250 lb. meathead-looking guy.” According to the source, Wentz got into a fight with the heckler after the band left the stage. “When the crowd parted, you could see [Wentz] on the floor face down,” she recalls. “Then his body guard grabbed him and hustled him out the door.”

Another witness said she saw Wentz bodyguard punch the heckler. “I could see the band’s bodyguard because he’s huge,” said the anonymous source. “We saw him punch [the heckler] – it was like a movie.” After the crowd cleared, audience members saw the heckler lying on the ground with his shirt ripped open and his head gushing blood.

The show, an acoustic performance at the 200-capacity Schubas, followed a FOB show earlier in the evening at the Charter One Pavilion, a Chicago-area ampitheater. After the venue made an announcement indicating the show was officially over, the cops showed up to interview witnesses and control the crowd. View the video.

And on that note, there’s a little something more I found from Chicagoist. They also provided the lovely bloody photo you see above.

“From what we could see, Pete decided to have a “word” with a heckler who teased him about his relationship with Ashlee Simpson on his way out, and the sh*t (and a well-aimed beer bottle) then promptly hit the ‘fan.’ It wasn’t immediately clear what Wentz down, but we caught a glimpse of Pete on the floor with the other dude on top of him. To the venue’s credit, they hustled us out of there and were ready and waiting when the cops arrived.”

So there you have it. This isn’t the first time Pete has lost his temper, and it very well may not be the last. We only hope that he’ll gain some control and become a little less sensitive about his love life. Perhaps one day this blog’s news can be less about the beloved dramatic bassist and more about the band.

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The crowd might have been bigger and the energy level just a little higher if Fall Out Boy had opened their tour in Charlotte almost two months ago as originally planned. But the Chicago-based rockers didn’t disappoint the fans who held out for the postponed concert at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Wednesday night.

The whole thing was more of a mini-music festival than just a concert. At least four bands opened, including Cobra Starship, Paul Wall, The Academy Is…, and +44. The crowd, though, was there for Fall Out Boy.

‘We apologize for our lateness but we’re glad we’re here,’ bassist/lyricist Pete Wentz said, peeking out from his hoodie.

That out of the way, the band dove into an hour and 20 minutes of music. Most of the songs came from their two latest albums, but they sprinkled in a few older hits, plus a cover of Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It‘ and a brief sample of Akon’s ‘Don’t Matter.’

Call them sell outs or entrepreneurs, there’s a simple reason this foursome has quickly risen from underground to mainstream: they know how to put together a catchy pop-punk melody. They’re not so bad at performing either.

Nearly everything about the show was strategically choreographed, starting with the band members blasting out of trapdoors up onto stage for a grand entrance. Images and lyrics projected on huge video screens were synchronized with the songs, and pyrotechnics punctuated dramatic crescendos.

Guitarist Joe Trohman and bassist Wentz were the personality of the group, with Wentz emceeing and both throwing themselves into spinning turns across the stage.

Drummer Andrew Hurley and lead singer/guitarist Patrick Stump stuck to the music. Hurley was steady and solid.

And while bassist Wentz might have earned the most heartthrob screams, Patrick was clearly the musical star. It’s incredible to hear how much his vocal tone and range has expanded since the group’s first of four albums, and watch him get into the music. If only he’d give the audience a hint of who he is between singing, instead of leaving that all to Wentz.

The audience went wild for hits ‘Sugar We’re Goin Down’ (2005’s ‘From Under the Cork Tree’), and ‘Hum Hallelujah,’ ‘This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race,’ and ‘Thnks fr th mmrs,’ (Thanks for the memories) from this year’s ‘Infinity on High.’

Fans were too busy ogling Wentz and Trohman, who had sneakily slipped onto a platform in the middle of the audience during ‘Dance, Dance’ to follow that command. But they did try to sing along to most of the radio hits, despite the difficulty of following the cryptic lyrics and Stump’s sometimes unusual pronunciation. They also obliged earlier when Wentz encouraged them to start moshing.

‘We designed this song specifically for mosh pits,’ he said, grinning. ‘So if you’re in row 47, seat D, start your mosh pit right now.’

A few gags were a little over the top or juvenile — like the time Wentz made a show of changing into — surprise, a different colored hoodie — in a silhouetted chamber to the side of the tiered stage. (In the end, drummer Hurley was shirtless the longest, without the fuss.) Or having a crew member do push-ups throughout the duration of song. Or having an emcee take fastballs to the chest.

Aside from these things, the band showed off just how much they’ve matured and diversified musically in their last album. They left the crowd wanting more, in a blaze of sparks and confetti.

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First of all, Fall Out Boy should be on the VSpot Countdown.

Fall Out Boy will be one of the featured artists this weekend on VH1’s Vspot countdown!
It premieres Saturday June 16th at 9am and will replay on Sunday June 17th at 8am and Tuesday June 19th at 9am!

Next, they are also going to appear on the Today Show. They are to be performing a live set in New York City on Friday July 6th. Fans should go to Rockefeller Plaza for the performance, please get there before 7:00 am as space is extremely limited and viewing is on the first come, first-served basis outside of The Today Show’s NBC studio.

The studio is located at 49th Street and Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. If you can’t make it to the performance, tune into The Today Show on NBC at 8:30 am.

Finally, there is a new tour video. It’s set to Thriller and it’s (obviously) promoting the Honda Civic Tour. You can find it here.

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The role of the modern-day bassist is now redefined, thanks in no small part to Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz.

Wentz has long been the face of Fall Out Boy, but judging by Saturday’s show at the Dodge Music Center, he’s its onstage frontman as well.

During downtime speeches to the crowd, it was Wentz, not lead singer and guitarist Patrick Stump, who took control of the microphone. Most of his comments were good-natured (the crowd was largely tweens, parents and teenagers) but ill-served because of Wentz’s poor elocution.

“To all moms and dads, be glad your kid is here and not in and out of rehab [mumble, mumble] Britney Spears,” offered Wentz, right before the band broke into its first major hit, “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” off 2005’s “From Under The Cork Tree.”

Somewhat surprisingly, this was the third in an 18-song (but only 80-minute) set. Less surprising was the accompanying pyrotechnics and confetti. With each belting of “Down, Down,” there was another fireworks pop or flaming geyser. And the kids loved it.

From the moment Fall Out Boy (literally) jumped on stage from under the drum platform, the audience screeched to nearly inaudible levels.

Likely, the median age of the crowd was about 15 - funny, considering the tour, with pop-punk opening acts +44 and The Academy Is… and rapper Paul Wall is sponsored by Honda Civic. Fall Out Boy’s cover of “Beat It” by Michael Jackson might have been a bit over the crowd’s heads.

As the show sped on, crowd participation pushed past the usual sing-a-longs. In between stomping versions of the infectious “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race” and “Thanks For the Memories,” the band was replaced onstage by one of its traveling, big-radio-voiced cronies.

In an utterly nonsensical waste of time, he brought a girl up from the standing-room-only lower level to operate a pitching machine. As the crowd cheered, she shot baseballs at a sufficiently protected crewmember. One would have to travel to a Jersey Shore boardwalk to find entertainment that invigorating.

The show ended with “Dance, Dance,” followed by the lesser-known “Saturday,” a song off 2003’s “Take This To Your Grave.” Anticlimactic as it finished, at least it subdued the crowd as it departed.

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Fall Out Boy, Pete Wentz, Wentz, Patrick Stump, Britney Spears, Sugar, We’re Goin Down, From Under The Cork Tree, The Academy Is…, Paul Wall, Honda Civic, Beat It, Michael Jackson, This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race, Thanks For the Memories, Dance, Dance, Saturday, Take This To Your Grave