On March 8, 2015 Chicago based punk band Fall Out Boy performed their first rodeo at NRG Stadium during the Houston Rodeo. The show sold out and the people traffic jam trying to exit definitely proved it. The nasty weather, complete with low temperatures and heavy rain, didn’t keep back all the teenagers with eyeliner running down their faces from going down swinging. The performance went on without a hitch, the band was excited and stated they have a feeling they’ll be coming back.

After the regular rodeo festivities, the band opened with “The Phoenix”, the starting line “Put on your warpaint” vibrating through the stadium alongside constant screams. They then played one of their newer singles “Irresistible”, the opening track on their most recent album, American Beauty/American Psycho, which debuted Jan 20. Afterwards was an older single “A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More (Touch Me)” a song that premiered in early 2006. The next song went back another year; one of their biggest hits, “Sugar, We’re Goin Down”, which came out in early 2005.

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Photo by: Circe Marez

It was around this time that the band revealed, for those who had not noticed, the guitarist switch out for the night. The band’s regular guitarist, Joe Trohman, was unable to play the show due to back surgery, and his fill in was introduced as their friend Josh. He played well, still landing the riffs in the next song, “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race”, the clean version being performed for the family-friendly rodeo.

Afterwards was “Dance, Dance”, with vocalist and lead guitarist Patrick Stump doing the famous heart outline with his fingers as made famous by the song’s music video during the “love” line in the second pickup to the chorus. There was then a short break, where bassist Pete Wentz gave an introduction to the next song, “Immortals”, discussing its significance as a track in the Disney movie Big Hero Six. Afterwards was the title track on their most recent album. The next song played was the considered “national anthem” for the band, “Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy Tonight?” one of their first big hits. Then was another newer hit, “Uma Thurman”, featuring a sample from the TV show “The Munsters” and named after Pulp Fiction actress Uma Thurman, with her permission. The next song was a hit off their post-hiatus debut “Save Rock And Roll”, “Young Volcanoes”, which received high crowd reaction.

Photo by: Circe Marez
Afterwards was another older hit, “I Don’t Care”, and then the hiatus-ending debut single, “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light ‘Em Up)”. Partway into the song, Wentz took a selfie with Stump, posting it to Instagram and Twitter with the caption “With my best frieeeend” and tagged “#muttonbusting”, the part of the rodeo Wentz constantly credited as his favorite. The next performance was the ever-ESPN-famous “Centuries”, the first single from AB/AP to release back in September of 2014.

They ended the night with “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs”, another older hit. The track is named such due to a request by lawyers to shorten their song titles, as during that time most of their song titles were at least five words long, so the band cut the vowels. Though different from their usual closer “Saturday”, the song was still very well received and in some sections post-concert received a standing ovation and an assurance from Wentz to the crowd this would not be their last rodeo.

The concert sold out, and teens from all over came into town for it, including students from both Cypress Ridge and Jersey Village high school as far as CFISD is concerned.