Fall Out Boy, "So Much for (Tour) Dust" UK tour. OVO Hydro, Glasgow. Saturday 28th October 2023

I've liked Fall Out Boy for years, enjoying their catchy anthems and quirky style of American rock. This was my first time seeing them live, though, so I wasn't sure what to expect. 

Upon arrival at the venue, I couldn't access my ticket, my worst pre-gig nightmare. Despite checking my Ticketmaster app before I left, I got the message 'Something went wrong, try again in a few minutes'. Repeated attempts brought the same response. I restarted my phone with no joy. My signal was poor so I left the queue and wandered closer to the main SEC to draw on their free WiFi and re-downloaded the app. Fortunately, this time it loaded properly and I could sign in. Back into the queue, which, despite its length, moved swiftly, the security frisk little more than a wave of the wand. Ticket scanned, wristband attached, I was inside. A quick glance towards the merch stall didn't fill me with the urge to buy anything so on I went past security into the standing area.  

Before it got busy

As the band have been around since 2001, I wasn't expecting the audience demographic to be so Gen Z (14-26). Their mass presence changed the room's whole dynamic. They were drinking but they weren't drunk. Most were polite, not jostling too closely, despite it being packed. Everyone was on their phone, taking group selfies and messaging mates at lightning speed. They had sticky-out earplugs and designer haircuts, Halloween adding a further element of costume to their makeup, hair colours and clothing. The girls had tattoos aplenty and whenever any of their party left the group to go to the toilet or bar, the tallest one always left their phone torch on, pointing towards the back of the hall as a beacon to draw them safely back. It was annoying getting a torch shone in your face but at least you knew the person pushing past was legitimately getting back to their pals.

The downside to this was that I was the only old man in the room, old enough to be everyone's grandpa. The grey in my beard was not a Halloween affectation. When I was their age, I was scared of young girls and am even more so now. I had to make sure I didn't accidentally touch any of them for fear of being labelled a perv. Plus, I doubted if any of them would have remained away had they contracted Covid (the tickets cost over £70) so this was Ground Zero for me. Every cough and sneeze around me made me wish I'd made the effort to renew my booster shot. 

It got busy fast but I had an okay view except for one tall bloke whose hairstyle looked like a burgeoning soufflé growing from the top of his head. He stood between me and the central microphone stand so catching the lead singer was going to be difficult. 

Fortunately, the first act, "nothing,nowhere", did not spend much time in that position, prowling the stage from side to side, microphone stuck to his face, telling us repeatedly (when not rapping/singing) to make some fucking noise. His music is heavily influenced by Linkin Park. He even paid tribute to their deceased lead singer, Chester Bennington (who reached out to him at the start of his career to set him on this journey), before covering their song, One Step Closer. Despite the heaviness of the bass sound (strong enough to both crush your chest and perform CPR), I liked him. Plenty of attitude and a heavy sound. A big tick from me.

PVRIS (pronounced Paris) was not so appealing. A bit more electronic, I didn't warm to her performance. Her vocals were good but did not particularly stand out. When the band rocked together as one unit, I got into them but that was only on a few tracks. The girls and boys around me seemed to know a lot of her lyrics and gave her a warm response. She just wasn't for me.

Next up: Fall Out Boy. 

Building us up with The Middle by Jimmy Eats World, then teasing us with a play of their cover of the Billy Joel song, We Didn't Start The Fire (with updated lyrics), the lights went down and the spoken word track The Pink Seashell played, raising the anticipation. The band burst onto the stage with album opener, Love from the Other Side, and the party began.

The audience appreciation was louder than anything I'd experienced for a long while, so many young lungs screaming out. They all sang along and, notably, took videos of the action. I'd never seen so many audience cameras in the air at the same time. 

And that was when I knew I was one of them. I take pictures. I take videos. I sing along. This was my kind of gig. Age didn't matter.

The gig was superb. The band threw in everything: pyros, fireworks, bubble machines, streamer and confetti cannons, transparent beach balls and a dynamic stage set that changed during the show. They even had a massive suspended dog head whose mouth moved. The staging element was so clever. Bringing out the red curtain as a backdrop gave those songs a school prom feel while allowing the stagehands time to swap out the physical set behind the band. The circle-shaped screen above them constantly changed. They even lowered the lighting rig at one point to give the gig a club feel.     

I loved this concert so much. I felt rejuvenated afterwards, humming the tunes in my head as I stepped across the sticky floor out of the arena, my knees no longer aching. I even queued at the merch stall to buy a baseball cap (and I haven't bought any band merch, bar the occasional programme, in years).

Thnks fr th Mmrs, Fall Out Boy, I'll cherish them always (until age rips those memories away). 

Ticket Price: £71.25 (inc fees, from Ticketmaster - face value £59.50) 

nothing,nowhere setlist

THIRST4VIOLENCE

PSYCHO_PSYCHIATRY

nightmare

fake friend

ANX13TY

Ornament

Pieces of You

One Step Closer (Linkin Park cover)

Hammer

PVRIS setlist

I DON'T WANNA DO THIS ANYMORE

ANIMAL

Dead Weight

Fire

HYPE ZOMBIES

SENTI‐MENTAL

Monster

GOOD ENEMY

ANYWHERE BUT HERE

Mirrors

Hallucinations

My House

GODDESS

 

Fall Out Boy setlist

(From tape) The Middle (Jimmy Eat World song)

(From tape) We Didn't Start the Fire (Billy Joel song - Fall Out Boy version)

(from tape) The Pink Seashell 

Love From the Other Side

The Phoenix

Sugar, We're Goin Down

Uma Thurman

A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More "Touch Me"

Chicago Is So Two Years Ago

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

Bang the Doldrums

Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet

Fake Out

What a Catch, Donnie (Partial, Piano Medley)

Golden (Partial, Piano Medley)

Don't Stop Believin' (Journey cover) (Partial, Piano Medley)

Save Rock and Roll

Baby Annihilation

Enter Sandman (Metallica cover) (Partial- first verse and chorus only)

Dance, Dance

Hold Me Like a Grudge

Young Volcanoes (First performance since May 7th, 2018; Magic 8 Ball Song)

My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)

Thnks fr th Mmrs

Centuries

Saturday

   

nothing,nowhere

PVRIS

The Dust Coda. "Loco Paradise" UK Tour. King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow. Saturday 21st October 2023

I was excited to see The Dust Coda. Their recent album, Loco Paradise, is fantastic with a great variety of tunes and some amazing vocals. Plus, the gig was being staged at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, the legendary (tiny) Glasgow venue so it was a brilliant chance to get up close and personal. 

I hadn't paid attention to who the support act was - Doomsday Outlaw. Turns out they were really good. Great lead singer, with most of the band on backing vocals, they produced a loud sound that totally rocked. They had fun tonight on their short set and impressed me. Bob liked them too, so much so he bought a vinyl copy of their album (he also purchased The Dust Coda's Loco Paradise album and got each band member to sign the inner sleeve). 

Doomsday Outlaw Setlist:

In Too Deep

Turn Me Loose

This is the End

Phantom

Drink

Runaway

Pain

   

My ears were beginning to hurt so to preempt further pain, Bob procured me a pair of earplugs from the bar (who knew?). As such, The Dust Coda was the first band I've listened to with foam in my ears. 

Their performance was a bit anti-climactic. The singer's voice was not as nuanced as he sounded on the album, as if he was giving us a downgraded version of his vocals (I don't think this was entirely due to my earplugs). There was a degree of guitar feedback early on which detracted from their sound too. I suppose, with the earlier Open Mic not finishing till 6pm, the band wouldn't have had a lot of time to soundcheck but, even so, it should have been better. 

The drummer wore a Scotland football strip, except it wasn't. It was the AC/DC Scotland football strip, with the number 78 and High Voltage on the back. I was later disappointed to discover he was English when I overheard him chatting to a fan after the gig. I thought he was one of us. 

Although I wasn't that impressed by them, I'll admit they totally smashed the encore, finishing strong with Road to Hell. I'd give them another chance. Both bands were happy to mingle and sign merch after the gig which was cool. I would have purchased the Loco Paradise T-shirt if they'd had any but it wasn't to be. 

Overall, though, I'd say this was another night where the support act took away the accolades. 

The Dust Coda Setlist:

Rock 'n' Roll Paradise

Limbo Man

Call Out The Dogs

Come the Night

Let Me Go

Love Sick

The Streets

Free All The Dancers

Since You've Been Gone

The More It Fades

Down in the Valley

Encore:

On Fire

Edge of the knife

Road to Hell

Ticket Price £14 plus £1.40 fees.

ARTIST BIO

The Dust Coda are a band who continue to achieve the seemingly impossible against all odds. From landing a UK Top 30 spot with their sophomore album 'Mojo Skyline', when the doors to the 'real world' were fully locked in defence against a pandemic, to producing a unique, head-turning sound amidst the muddle of cheap rock imitations (to the point of Classic Rock Magazine selecting the band's brass-infused track “Jimmy 2 Times” as part of their 300th landmark issue's 'The Soundtrack Of Our Lifetime' list, alongside legends such as Slash, AC/DC and Deep Purple). Since then, these London-based trailblazers have continued to blazon their rich rock'n'roll soul across the UK and Europe, making their live European television debut on WDR's legendary Rockpalast in Germany, roaring through festivals such as Kendal Calling and Paaspop Festival, and supporting Smith & Kotzen (of Iron Maiden and Poison fame, respectively) across the UK. All the while, the band have been cooking up an album that underlines their beloved signature sound whilst also transcending the songwriting prowess that 'Mojo Skyline' so successfully chiselled into the band's legend.