Fall Out Boy are, of course, the American emo-rock-pop-punk band composed of Patrick Stump (vocals, guitars), Pete Wentz (bass, vocals), Joe Trohman (guitars) and Andy Hurley (drums). They’ve been to Manila twice before, the most recent back in 2009. On both occasions, the Araneta Coliseum was filled almost to capacity, mostly with a combination of prim and proper young ladies who reveal a hidden, angsty persona just for a night, and a smattering of neo-punk types, high school and college-aged students, young professionals who fancy themselves “edgy” and the occasional casual fans who don’t fit into the above archetypes. This time, the cast was pretty much the same. It was clear that while the band attracted a generally young crowd, the appeal cuts across gender and social class.
Concert organizers chose to do away with the chairs on the floor of the Big Dome. Bouncers have been pretty hardcore at the venue, restricting movement and, according to a friend, even forbidding people to stand up during a recent show. Concerts, by nature, should be an interactive experience, but a rock show like this one necessitated an even more freewheeling dynamic between performer and audience. Somehow, people sitting down just wouldn’t do. The downside, however, was that crowds who wanted to get as close as possible to the band jammed themselves as much as they could front and center. This led to the bouncers constantly fishing people, mostly women, out of the tight crowd. By my count no fewer than 20 ladies were “rescued” from the pit that evening.