Fall Out Boy, Pvris and Nothing Nowhere in Glasgow: Review and Setlist

"Shit, my seat doesn't seem to exist". For a moment I thought I had been scammed, because Section 217 in the Hydro only goes up to Row E, and my ticket clearly read Row F. A very nice attendant informed me that my row was actually made up of folding chairs, and that she'd get mine set up for me. Heart rate back to normal, drink in hand, and tour shirt acquired, it was time for the night to start.

First up was Nothing,Nowhere. Emo Rap has become a dominant movement in alternative scenes, and despite the majority of the genre not doing it for me, Nothing,Nowhere's marriage of the sound with heavier influences translated very well to the arena stage. These influences were shown in full force with a cover of Linkin Park's "One Step Closer". Though not an unmissable band, they put on a good warmup set and fulfilled their purpose of hyping up the ever-growing crowd for the rest of the night.

I cannot be unbiased about Pvris. But even if I could be, I'd say they put on a killer set. The majority of their setlist came from their newest album "EVERGREEN", their heaviest, and arguable best work yet. They played the o2 in January, and were unbelievable then, but on the Hydro stage they seemed more confident and emboldened than ever. Once a reluctant frontwoman,  Lynn Gunn commanded her stage quite like no other, and extended instrumental breaks between songs let the whole band, especially drummer Brian MacDonald, show off in a way earlier incarnations of Pvris would never have. Even the mellow "ANYWHERE BUT HERE" hit hard in the cavernous room, and I can't wait until it's their turn to headline that stage.

When FOB's cover of "We Didn't Start The Fire" started over the speakers, I knew it was time to strap in for the ride to come. Lead single from "So Much (For) Stardust": "Love From The Other Side" opened the show, and was just the first of the many singalongs of the night. "The Phoenix" was the first song I ever saw them do live, back in Manchester for the MANIA tour, so that as the second song was a nice full-circle moment. I sought out zero setlist spoilers, so "Sugar, We're Goin Down" third in the set was unexpected, but definitely not unwelcomed by the elated crowd.

The band sounded utterly incredible, and were giving it their all - and were rewarded with the crowd following suit. No song went without a choral accompaniment, even deeper cuts like "Calm Before The Storm". Unlike similarly high-profile events like My Chemical Romance's and Paramore's shows here, the show only had to be stopped once for crowd emergencies - seconds into "Heaven, Iowa". After a brief pause, things resumed as normal, so kudos to both the band and event staff for reacting quickly and effectively, and prioritizing crowd safety.

Even before it was cool, "Folie a Deux" was my favourite album, and I had no idea what was on the setlist, so my reaction to "Disloyal Order Of Water Buffaloes" was very calm and collected, my demeanor totally unaffected (I cried a lot). This cool facade was only strengthened when "Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet" was played, and when "What A Catch Donnie" made it into the piano medley. Watching "Glee" actually had a positive effect on my life for a change, without it I don't think I'd have known every word of "Don't Stop Believing".

It wasn't just the music that was on another level, the whole production design of the show looked like a fairytale-meets-rock-show daydream thrown up all over the Hydro. My favourite piece of stage design wasn't the giant dog head, or the buckets-worth of confetti, or the dizzying light show, but when the part of the light rig descended to barely above the band's heads, mimicking the look and feel of the small clubs they got their start in - going perfectly with "Chicago Is So Two Years Ago", "Grand Theft Autumn" and "Calm Before The Storm".

Metallica's "Enter Sandman" into "Dance Dance" sounds more like something out of a Guitar Hero career mode challenge than a real-life setlist, but the crowd loved it. And then it was time for the Magic 8 Ball. Anyone whose talked to me about FOB knows the unexplainable level of distaste I have for "Young Volcanoes", so naturally that's what it was. I think that's hilarious though, and even if I had been a bit miffed, I still heard "Disloyal Order", so they could have made fart noises into the mike for five minutes and I'd have had the best time.

They forgoed an encore, opting to play straight through their allotted set time. with "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark", "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs", "Centuries" and as always, "Saturday" (on a Saturday night!! Awesome!!). Overall, It was a pretty much perfect night, and if the rumors are true, I cannot wait to see them at Download Festival next year!

Setlist:

1. Love From the Other Side
2. The Phoenix
3. Sugar, We're Goin Down
4. Uma Thurman
5. A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More "Touch Me"
6. Chicago Is So Two Years Ago
7. Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy
8. Calm Before the Storm
9. This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race
10. Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes
11. Heaven, Iowa
12. Bang the Doldrums
13. Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet
14. Fake Out
15. What a Catch, Donnie
16. Golden 
17. Don't Stop Believin' (Journey cover)
18. Save Rock and Roll
19. Baby Annihilation
20. Enter Sandman (Metallica cover)
21. Dance, Dance
22. Hold Me Like a Grudge
23. Young Volcanoes (Magic 8 Ball Song)
24. My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)
25. Thnks fr th Mmrs
26. Centuries
27. Saturday