When writing this review... it would be convenient to say that genre-defining pop-punker’s Fall Out Boy, delivered an arena worthy, memorable display of style and finesse.
But... they summed up the night themselves in the chorus of their opening track 'Thnks Fr Th Mmrs', translated from text language as, Thanks For The Memories - “Even though they weren’t so great”.
Blame it on end of tour blues, the embarrassingly small crowd; blame it on the bloody recession for all I care – whatever it was that struck Vector Arena on Monday night, was remarkably mediocre.
Opening act Hey Monday, hit the stage with genuine passion and energy. With an average age of just twenty, their live show met somewhere between youthful excitement and inexperience. Their songs were catchy, the band was tight and lead singer Casadee Pope belted her melodies with a confidence reminiscent of Paramore’s Hayley Williams. 
Sadly, it was a guest appearance by Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz that was the highlight for the crowd. Sad, because Hey Monday gave a worthy opening slot performance and sad, because Mr. Wentz did nothing but yell a few out of key chorus lines into the microphone.
Hey Monday’s set was also plagued by tour pranks. During their last song, ‘Homecoming’, the one song that I, and 80 percent of the punters actually know... the stage was hi-jacked by Fall Out Boy and their road crew. With mops and brooms in hand, they assaulted the stage and removed the drum-kit piece by piece. The crowd went crazy, but it ruined the song and left me feeling a little ripped off by what was otherwise an entertaining performance.
The All-American Rejects hit the stage with what seemed like only one thought in mind – to dazzle.
Busting out two of their strongest hits right from the start opening with 'Swing, Swing', directly followed by 'Dirty Little Secret'. By this point, the crowd was eating out of the palm of their hand. The group, led by the at times humorous and always talkative singer/bassist Tyson Ritter, only offered up a few new songs off their latest record... but delivered their singles with pretty much note-for-note perfection before an ecstatic crowd. The band gave the audience a chance to catch their breath with a intimate delivery of 'Mona Lisa (When the World Comes Down)', before getting everyone tapping their toes and moving straight to the dance floor for the anthemic 'Move Along', followed by a smash hit encore from their new album 'When the World Comes Down'. 'Gives You Hell' had every person singing with conviction and sent the band off stage with the crowd begging for more.
I was quite impressed with the 'Rejects live, even though they were only on stage for under an hour, encore included. They seemed to know their audience and played a good range of songs for the old, new, and super-fan. I think it’s safe to say that if The All-American Rejects were to ever be orphaned back home, the New Zealand public would adopt and become proud mothers and fathers without hesitation.
Fall Out Boy… Fall Out Boy… Fall Out Boy.
If there’s one thought I came away with after the show... it was that lead singer Patrick Stump, IS Fall Out Boy. Stump commanded the stage with his flawless vocal delivery, flaunting trills like a Mariah-Carey-record-on-acid. The sound was lacking, compared with the preceding band... but the breakdown intro to ‘Thriller’, shook me into a rhythmic head-bang and an urge to dance that persisted throughout the show. Their set was swarming with hits such as the foot-tapping ‘Take Over, The Breaks Over’ and pop smash ‘This Aint a Scene, It’s an Arms Race’. Guitarist Joe Trohman, showed some flare with a tasty guitar solo on ‘I Don’t Care’.
Lead vocalist Patrick Stump, for all of his shyness and barely speaking a word... let his soaring vocal delivery do the talking throughout Fall Out Boy’s set. While an abundance of stage banter was provided by headline-grabbing blogger and bassist Pete Wentz. Although he may be a smooth looking man and marketing guru, it needs to be said – someone needs to teach Pete Wentz how to play the bass guitar. One would assume within the eight years FOB have been a band, Pete would have realized he needs to learn to play his instrument.
Compared with the bands previous two visits, they came across as a little jaded and unenthused... but still seemed to hit more than miss, with fans. Despite the lack of visual aesthetics such as flames, fireworks and Jackass antics that are usually associated with a Fall Out Boy show, the band still seemed to own something worthy of the $80 ticket price.. and if it’s any consolation, I left the show wishing I had indulged in my urge to dance.
Fall Out Boy's 'Folie A Deux', The All-American Reject's 'When The World Comes Down' & Hey Monday's 'Hold On Tight', are all in-stores now.