Young Wild Things Tour

This All Hallow’s Eve, the Young Wild Things tour presented itself at the Fillmore Theater for nearly five hours of rock-and-rolling ghastly fun.

Cute Is What We Aim For opened with five songs. Their enigmatic singer, Shaant Hackiyan, jerked and hobbled all over the stage. All members (save the ever-shy Hackiyan) were stripped down to their undies for the special occasion, prompting loud cries from the audience.

Following Cute were the Plain White T’s. Singer Tom Higgenson especially impressed with an acoustic version of their hit single, “Hey There Delilah.” Not one person in attendance failed to sing along, and the Fillmore Theater swelled with the sound of hundreds of voices. Guitarist Tim Lopez was especially reactive to the crowd (from our point of view) as he winked and wooed those closest to the stage.

The third act was Gym Class Heroes. Immediately before their performance, lead singer Travis McCoy’s cousin, Tiga, roused the crowd with a rendition of “Soulja Boy.” The group itself charged onstage dressed as samurai ninjas and with their mascot, Eugene Montross, waving a banner.

The audience screamed in delight as the first strains of Panic! At The Disco’s “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” filtered through the speakers. To our surprise, Patrick Stump, the normally mild-mannered Fall Out Boy frontman, charged onstage wearing a top hat and slathered in makeup. For Halloween, Fall Out Boy had transformed themselves into Panic! At The Disco!

The band finished with a relish and immediately soared into their own hits, accompanied by massive spurts of energy from Stump and Joe Trohman. Pete Wentz, who is usually their most energetic performer, had injured his foot recently jumping from an amp. Wentz still managed to rile up the crowd with his between-song chats and a costume change into a red Teletubby outfit. As he gleefully showed off his “rocker” cast that allowed him to move around with minimal pain, girls swooned over his magnetic stage presence (or possibly it was drummer Andy Hurley removing his shirt halfway through the set). Stump performed an acoustic solo version of “Golden,” a soft, slow melody that drew collective applause.

Fall Out Boy ended their set with tremendous cannons that fired confetti into the air, accompanying their traditional closer, “Saturday.” The artists threw their drumsticks and picks into the roaring crowd before disappearing backstage.

As the doors opened to let out the concertgoers, witches, fake twins, and blood-covered vampires all came to the same conclusion: what a rocking Halloween they’d just had!