The bitter cold and rain may have kept many Columbus residents indoors on Sunday night, but it was not enough to deter the dedicated fans of Fall Out Boy from sleeping on the sidewalk in order to be first in line for an up close and personal concert with their idols. Out side of The Basement several fans waited, huddled beneath mounds of blankets and with plenty of coffee, for 12:00 pm the next day when tickets would go on sale.
Mario Ashkar, a 20-year-old Ohio State student, waited 13 hours with three of his close friends for tickets with the hopes of being as close to the stage as possible. For him, there was no doubt that the wait was worth it.
“Fallout Boy is such a huge part of our lives. Their lyrics really say something,” Mario said when asked about why he toughed the cold.
Throughout the night Mario and his friends took turns sleeping and getting warm in their van which was parked nearby. “I felt like I was going into survival mode last night,” he added.
The concert, which took place December 1, 2008 at Columbus’s The Basement, provided a rare opportunity for less than 200 fans to get an intimate show with these multi-platinum artists.
Inside the small and dimly lit venue fans flocked the small stage to be only inches from Fall Out Boy. Those who didn’t arrive the night before did not have to worry; there were no lawn seats in this venue. The small size made it so that there was no place that the band couldn’t be heard; in the back or even in the restrooms a beat was not missed.
The size also allowed for the band to interact with the crowd on a personal level. Fans were able to shout out questions or the typical “I love you” and to actually get a response – something that would never happen at a sold out arena. Fall Out Boy even asked the audience’s opinion about what songs they would play for their encore.
The band played some of their older mega hits such as “Dance, Dance,” and "Sugar, We're Going Down" which got the crowd excited and singing along. They also threw in some songs from their new album giving the fans a sneak peak of what is to come.
This included “I Don’t Care” a recently released song from the new album. Libby Brigner, 14, says she already really enjoys this song right along with her favorites.
Sticking with the theme of an intimate experience Fall Out Boy hosts a contest in each city to pick a local band as their opening act. In Columbus it was This Is My Suitcase, a band with an Indie feel, who won the opportunity. The band was a bit surprised but definitely not ungrateful for the opportunity to set the stage for these headliners. They played a quick six song set to get the crowd warmed up but were sure not to take too much of the Fall Out Boy fan’s time, knowing how excited they were for the concert.
Fall Out Boy’s next tour stop is December 6, 2008 in Denver, Colorado.
As for now there are no more scheduled tour stops in Ohio. Their CD “Folie
à Deux” will be available December 15 of this year.
Review by Sandi Hensel
Photos by David Heasley