By Samantha Storms
In front of a sold-out Barclays Center, Fall Out Boy returned to Brooklyn for their “Mania” tour on Saturday, Oct. 28.
The sixth-month tour supports the band’s seventh studio album, “Mania,” set to be released Jan. 18 of next year. With powerful EDM-influenced singles such as “Young and Menace,” “Champion” and “The Last of the Real Ones,” the highly-anticipated record has garnered much attention since its announcement this year.
Blackbear and special guest Jaden Smith opened for Fall Out Boy and set the stage for a night bathed in purple lights, a color that has come to symbolize Fall Out Boy’s upcoming record. The two acts energized the eager crowd and provided tastes of hip-hop, rap and R&B – Fall Out Boy has always dabbled in and been influenced by hip-hop in their own musical style – before Fall Out Boy exploded onto the stage with their opening songs.
The band’s hour-and-a-half long set was composed of 21 songs from their various albums, including three encore songs. Quintessential songs such as “Thnks fr th Mmrs,” “Sugar, We’re Going Down,” “Centuries” and “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark” had the entirety of the arena on its feet, making for a live show of a caliber few others would be capable of creating.
Fall Out Boy opened the night with “The Phoenix” and “Irresistible,” introducing the audience to a widescreen monitor that played music videos and supporting visuals in the background, an incredible component of their live show that offered an energy and excitement that kept the crowd on their feet.
To accompany songs that tell stories of power, determination and hope, the screen displayed topical footage of a kneeling Colin Kaepernick next to Muhammad Ali during training, as the band played “Centuries.” The screen displayed the phrase, “Make America Psycho Again” to support their sixth studio album “American Beauty/American Psycho.”
The band also utilized the arena’s wide open floor space to lift band members into the air on suspended platforms. Attached to harnesses, the band played a portion of their set over 30 feet in the air as purple confetti showered down from the rafters.
After the closing song “Champion” from their upcoming album, Fall Out Boy ended their set with three encores including “Uma Thurman,” “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark” and “Saturday.” Before a final blast of shimmering confetti, the band posed for a picture of the crowd as the monitor cut to a multicolored screen that read “The End.”
The Mania tour will continue for the remainder of the year and conclude its United States portion in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday, Nov. 18. The tour will also continue next year throughout Europe and Australia.