Spring Break
A Trip To 'Phoenix' Worth Taking
CD Review
Stephen Ortiz
Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: Focus
The boys of Fall Out Boy are best known for their extremely wordy song titles, catchy radio hits, excruciatingly similar sound to Panic At The Disco and their emo tones. But as experience has shown this reviewer, one thing they certainly can do is put on a show.
Last summer, Fall Out Boy toured the nation as the headlining act - of the annual Honda Civic Tour, much to the delight of hundreds of thousands of angst filled tweens. In June, they made a stop down in Phoenix - a stop that would later go on to become this very CD/DVD combo, "**** Live In Phoenix," their first live release.
The biggest issue with "**** Live In Phoenix," which is usually the same problem that most live CD/DVD releases have, is that the entire performance is featured on the DVD but is incomplete on the CD. Here, the CD has 15 songs from the play list of that performance, while the entire set was 22 songs long. Muse did it on their recent release "Haarp," Linkin Park did it on "Live In Texas," etc. The whole audio track would fit, so why not give it to the fans?
Aside from that, there's plenty here to keep true Fall Out Boy fans happy. The set list from that night features a great mix of songs old and new from "Saturday" to "Grand Theft Autumn" and "Sugar We're Goin Down" to "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs." The performances on the DVD are loaded with pyrotechnics, confetti and great energy from the band.
A few highlights to make note of on the DVD are their cover of Akon's "Don't Matter" and a song Fall Out Boy recorded with Timbaland for his "Shock Value" album, "One And Only."
Featured both on the album - as a studio recording, and on the DVD - as the live version - is Fall Out Boy's cover of Michael Jackson classic "Beat It," with John Mayer providing a guest appearance. The studio version is questionable however, as it breaks the pace of the live album and ruins the mood a bit.
The DVD also includes eight music videos from throughout the band's career and some lackluster bonus features. All in all, the DVD disc is what makes this package completely worth it. The audio track for the CD isn't exactly the cleanest live album produced, and there are plenty of moments where the audience - or thousands of teenage girls rather, can be heard screaming for Pete Wentz. If you consider yourself a true Fall Out Boy or Girl, then this trip to Phoenix is definitely worth taking.
Contact Stephen Ortiz at Stephen.Ortiz@UConn.edu.
Last summer, Fall Out Boy toured the nation as the headlining act - of the annual Honda Civic Tour, much to the delight of hundreds of thousands of angst filled tweens. In June, they made a stop down in Phoenix - a stop that would later go on to become this very CD/DVD combo, "**** Live In Phoenix," their first live release.
The biggest issue with "**** Live In Phoenix," which is usually the same problem that most live CD/DVD releases have, is that the entire performance is featured on the DVD but is incomplete on the CD. Here, the CD has 15 songs from the play list of that performance, while the entire set was 22 songs long. Muse did it on their recent release "Haarp," Linkin Park did it on "Live In Texas," etc. The whole audio track would fit, so why not give it to the fans?
Aside from that, there's plenty here to keep true Fall Out Boy fans happy. The set list from that night features a great mix of songs old and new from "Saturday" to "Grand Theft Autumn" and "Sugar We're Goin Down" to "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs." The performances on the DVD are loaded with pyrotechnics, confetti and great energy from the band.
A few highlights to make note of on the DVD are their cover of Akon's "Don't Matter" and a song Fall Out Boy recorded with Timbaland for his "Shock Value" album, "One And Only."
Featured both on the album - as a studio recording, and on the DVD - as the live version - is Fall Out Boy's cover of Michael Jackson classic "Beat It," with John Mayer providing a guest appearance. The studio version is questionable however, as it breaks the pace of the live album and ruins the mood a bit.
The DVD also includes eight music videos from throughout the band's career and some lackluster bonus features. All in all, the DVD disc is what makes this package completely worth it. The audio track for the CD isn't exactly the cleanest live album produced, and there are plenty of moments where the audience - or thousands of teenage girls rather, can be heard screaming for Pete Wentz. If you consider yourself a true Fall Out Boy or Girl, then this trip to Phoenix is definitely worth taking.
Contact Stephen Ortiz at Stephen.Ortiz@UConn.edu.
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