REVIEW: Monumentour (New Politics, Paramore, and Fall Out Boy) at Summerfest – 7/5
The Marcus Amphitheater has seen it’s share of mega tours in the past, but on Saturday night, Fall Out Boy and Paramore, along with openers New Politics looked to deliver the biggest of all mega tour spectacles with the Monumentour, bringing gigantic stage shows and big power pop punk along with them. The night did have the feel of big arena rock shows of decades past, but with a slight update for today’s generation. Nevertheless, it was fitting that Fall Out Boy decided to play a bit of Queen’s “We Are The Champions” during their set. This was only part of the sensory overload that was the Momentour.
Openers New Politics were a bit of a surprise to me, mainly for their ability to win over a crowd that was seated at the beginning of their set. Frontman David Boyd put in all of his energy, including breakdancing and rapping during their limited time. Revolving around the single “Harlem” the band managed to get the Marcus Amphitheater standing before Paramore or Fall Out Boy took the stage.
Paramore was arguably the hotter of the two acts coming into Saturday, thanks to the major mainstream success of “Ain’t It Fun” off of their recent self titled album. Though Hayley Williams mentioned that the band has been around for a decade now, they looked and sounded like a completely new outfit altogether. So much so that earlier Paramore hits, which would normally close their set, were pushed down the set list to make room for the new material. Their hour-plus co-headlining set was filled with fanfare including a blinding light board that silhouetted the band most of the night, confetti, and plenty of streamers and balloons. The crowd knew every word, and hung onto everything that Williams talked about through the night. With the exception of mostly acoustic led “The Only Exception”, they kept the energy level high all night. Williams bounced around in boxing shorts, like a cardio workout with pop punk thrown in for good measure. It’s safe to say that Paramore won over the first timers with their set, and I’m sure both the fans and the band will be back for more soon.
Not to be outdone, Fall Out Boy set the stage ablaze, quite literally at times. Opening with recent single “The Phoenix” the band had multiple flames outlining their stage, along with video screens that moved in sequence and occasional fireworks. Needless to say, the band has come a long way from the group of young guys playing at Shorewood Legion Hall. The set included something from almost all of their releases, only excluding debut EP, “An Evening Out With Your Girlfriend”. On hit single “Dance, Dance”, the crowd was treated to a special appearance from Pete Wentz and guitarist Joe Tookmanian, who played the song on a stage near the soundboard, before running back on stage, avoiding a mob of fans. Fall Out Boy made it their mission to win the night, including dueling drum solos from Menomonee Falls native Andy Hurley and frontman Patrick Stump. The night closed with “Saturday”, a single from the band’s second release, and an ode to their loyal fans in the Midwest. All in all, the Momentour led up to its name and all of the hype surrounding it. The only question now will be how can the bands top Saturday night’s concert experience the next time around.
