Set the stage. It’s August 28th. You’re walking into the Minnesota State Fair with Fried Candy Bars and Gator On A Stick on your mind. The weather has just stopped raining and you’re ready for a day of Minnesota Nice and freebies. As you begin to dig into your 3rd batch of Cheese Curds, you hear this amazing voice accompanied by a rock orchestra in the clouds. Could it be an angel? Or your quirky dream girl to fall in love with?
Both.
It’s Hayley Williams.
And she’s coming to rock your socks off.
But Paramore wasn’t the only band rocking the Grandstand last Thursday. The double headliner Monumentour also featured the band brought up from the pop punk world of Chicago, Fall Out Boy. But we’ll get to them in a second.
The band opening up this whole set was actually playing this show on a separate tour. And they couldn’t have gotten luckier with the reception from the crowd. The California natives Bad Suns showed Minnesota that it’s okay to get sexy tonight. They showed us everything from vocal grooves to hip-shaking moves. Playing hits off their debut EP “Cardiac Arrest” and “Salt”, the group took any withdraws you had about them and shoved it in the trash. Yeah, I’ve been jamming this band frequently since last Thursday. And that’s my dirty little secret.
But who really stole the show for me was Paramore. Now, this is a band I got introduced to on a Fueled By Ramen compilation in 2007. I was so impressed with how they sounded (and possibly a little infatuated with their vocalist). Since that moment, every time I’ve seen them live has been an experience. The Grandstand show furthered that statement. Balloons. Streamers. Fireworks. Striped leggings. It was all in good fun. But nothing about this set was cooler than during their song “Misery Business” where one lucky fan got to come on stage in front of thousands of die-hard fans and finish off the song backed by fireworks and exploding streamers. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen something like that. On a side note, it’s so hard not to sing along to “Ain’t It Fun” when it’s live. I hope I’m not featured in any live videos circling the web singing along…
Fall Out Boy definitely solidified the thought that everyone wanted to say about the show, “F**k in’ killer.” I’ve followed this band since the month they came out with ‘Take This To Your Grave’ so I consider myself more of an old school fan. But goddamn, “Save Rock And Roll” couldn’t have been a better pick for the band to play to convince me that even their new stuff kicks ass. The band as a whole has gone through a lot of evolution since the garage punk band they were 10 years ago. Hell, I’ve gone through a whole lot of change in that time too. But ‘Sugar, We’re Goin Down’ still gets me excited just like it did years ago. I think that every popular modern rock band has done a cover that has gotten some light. Fall Out Boy is no different. When they started playing ‘We Are The Champions’ by Queen, I’m pretty sure that everyone in that crowd, 12 or 33, went home and jammed Freddie Mercury (or maybe that was just me?). Even the ‘Raining Blood’ by Slayer partial cover with drum solos by Andy Hurley and Patrick Stump (yeah, he busted out some drums) was super crazy. With two encores featuring ‘Thnks fr th Mmrs’ and ‘Saturday’ complete with a fireworks show behind the stage, they made sure that Minnesota would never forget that their presence was on that stage.
Review by: Tyler Norkunas // Photos by: Tanner Morris
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