I Saw Fall Out Boy Live And All I Got Was This Stupid Song* Written About Me

*A T-Shirt, A Tote Bag, And A Cold

july 30 2023

Okay, yes, I mostly wrote this just because I wanted to use this title. But really, seeing Fall Out Boy live on July 26th after being a fan of their music since middle school was a really amazing experience! The week leading up to the concert was one of the most stressful in my LIFE— mainly because I finally went to the dentist after not going for a LONG time and found out I had EIGHT CAVITIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like oh my God, that is TOO MANY CAVITIES. I brush my teeth twice a day and floss every night, but I also did not take care of my teeth very well in high school (thx depression) and I have a weakness for candies that you suck on for a really long time, like Jolly Ranchers or those strawberry grandma candies (and those are really bad for your teeth). I also just... was not seeing a dentist very regularly, because I was trying to transfer out of my pediatric dentist's office but couldn't decide whether to find a dentist near my school or near home. I ended up seeing my mom's dentist after my old dentist basically refused to take my insurance last time, and they told me I needed to come back as soon as possible to get my cavities taken care of.

And guess when the next time I was coming home was? Yeah, for the Fall Out Boy concert. So I drove home on Monday and got my cavities drilled and filled on Tuesday. It actually was not painful at all, they numbed me up good. I could not feel a damn thing. Afterwards, the only thing that kind of hurt was the place on my gum where they injected the novacaine, lmfao. But I had to go back the day after (the day of the concert) because I was worried I had chipped something and I couldn't floss around one of the fillings. Luckily, they took care of it and everything's good now (although I am flossing very tenderly and carefully). I went straight from the dentist to the city, which is like an hour away (hour twenty with traffic) and I stayed at my friend's apartment.

She lives like ten minutes away from the venue, which is great because with concert traffic it ended up being like a thirty minute drive. Parking was also ridiculously expensive but we were able to park like a five minute walk away from the venue for much less than the "premier parking" the venue was charging. We spent way too much money on fancy drinks (you got to keep the cup, which is why they were so expensive, but I left mine at my friend's place...) and merch. The tour merch was, shockingly, not fugly, unlike most modern FOB merch. I got a t-shirt and then went back on a hero's journey to get a tote bag, because I kept seeing people walking around with them and they actually looked super cute and sturdy. It has a pouch! You can tie it closed!

The concert itself was amazing, they played so many old songs and a couple of my favorites (Bang the Doldrums... Dance Dance... FROM NOW ON WE ARE ENEMIES??!?!?). And I don't really love a lot of their post-hiatus music, but you bet your ass I was shouting the lyrics to every single song. The energy was just crazy, everyone was so hyped and singing along to every song (except the Take This To Your Grave songs... it felt like I was the only one singing along to Calm Before the Storm, lmfao). They made me love Heaven, Iowa, which is my least favorite track off their new album— it just feels like it was meant to be played live! Me and my friend left during the encore, so I didn't get to hear Saturday live (kind of a bummer) but it was worth it to get out of there fairly painlessly. I crashed at my friend's apartment, we got brunch the next morning, and then I drove an hour back to school and took a nap, before going to work the next day.

Then I got sick.

Not covid, don't worry! I kind of knew this was coming, because my entire family was sick and my roommate was sick and then I went to a giant amphitheater concert in which any number of people could also be sick and it was 97 degrees so no one wanted to wear a mask. So really, it's kind of a miracle I stayed healthy for as long as I did. I think I was running off adrenaline and stress in the week leading up to the concert and then I just crashed hard afterwards. It's not that bad and seems to be moving quickly, I just hate colds because I hate having a sore throat. It's unbearable to me. I would rather get STABBED than have a sore throat for longer than a day. I think it's a vocalist thing...

But anyways, the whole experience was worth it. I'm probably never going to see them again, so I'm glad I went and they played enough of my favorites to feel like the whole thing was worth it!