Fall Out Boy closed out the So Much For (2our) Dust Tour with a fiery sold-out performance that captured my emo heart at Target Center on Saturday. 

The performances were solid from beginning to end and the crowd maintained high energy the whole show. Fall Out Boy may have been the main event, but the bands before them and their audience could not go unnoticed. 

The concert opened with Carr, whose lead singer Carly McClellan is set to be the next pop punk princess. She recently signed with DCD2 Records, founded by Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz.

Carr was in a tutu and platform boots with a seductive yet fierce voice and confidently commanded the audience with her “best friend-like” energy. This was seen when she dedicated her performance of the song “Loser” to an audience member’s ex. 

While they had the energy, the spaced-out stage setup held Carr back. The chemistry normally seen with bandmates wasn’t there, and it seemed as if they had just met. Carr mostly walked around the stage, which didn’t hinder the performance but didn’t add to it. 

Hot Mulligan performed after Carr and proved that lyrics are simply an added bonus to music. I couldn’t understand what the band was singing but I could identify the classic emo screams throughout the set, which was more than enough for me. 

The lead singer, Nathan “Tades” Sanville, captured my attention by moshing to the band’s songs by himself. The rest of the band came out with a contagious energy that quickly spread across the venue. 

Hot Mulligan was the most Midwest emo performance of the night, which is probably explained by the band’s Lansing, Michigan roots. 

Both Carr and Hot Mulligan’s lead vocalists managed to give the audience a sense of who they were as a person, while also maximizing their short time on stage. 

Jimmy Eat World, who has been playing with Fall Out Boy the entirety of the tour, had a jaw-dropping entrance as gradients of reds, blues and yellows slowly lit up the stage as they walked on. 

The band didn’t move around as much as Hot Mulligan, but their vocals and drumming were all I needed to stay engaged with the performance. 

The fourth song the band performed, “Something Loud,” was indeed loud and its background vocals, a simple harmonious “ahh,” scratched a part of my brain. 

The crowd pulled out their phone flashlights during the song “Hear You Me,” which is always a beautiful moment to see live. It was one of the many times I felt connected to the audience that night. 

Jimmy Eat World ended their set with “The Middle,” my personal favorite. The crowd seemed to be waiting for this moment; they all screamed as the first few notes of the song played. When the crowd sang the chorus together, I was almost brought to tears.

As the time for Fall Out Boy to perform got closer, I could feel the excitement increase across the venue. 

Fall Out Boy’s performance was fiery, literally. As soon as they were on stage, pyrotechnics effects were going off. During “The Phoenix,” fire shot out of the head of Pete Wentz’s. 

The band knew what their audience wanted and expected as they kept performing hit song after hit song before moving into some lesser-known tracks. 

While the audience got to enjoy Patrick Stump’s vocals, Wentz took over in between some songs to talk to the audience.

“Thank you guys for trusting us to spend your evening with us,” Wentz said. 

The best Fall Out Boy performance was of the song “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race.” Part of it was because it is my favorite song from the band, but also watching the audience pump their fists during the chorus was fun to see. 

The audience, much like the performers, varied in age. Wentz pointed out a young kid who had been singing along to every song.

The sense of community at this concert was strong, which is what makes concerts such beautiful events. 

In between different bands, I watched people across the venue wave to each other with their flashlights. Right before Fall Out Boy took the stage, the songs “Cupid’s Chokehold” and “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” played and the audience all sang along together. 

The night felt unreal because not only did I get to watch the band perform some of my favorite songs live and feel a sense of community but I also became a fan of two new artists. 

Needless to say, I have been launched back into my emo phase.