Live Review

Patrick Stump – Monto Water Rats, London

• 4th May 2011

In the small, dark back room of the Monto Water Rats the tension and excitement is palpable. The crowd is primarily populated by skinny jean wearing, oversized checked shirt sporting, excessively eyelinered, emo and pop punk scene stealers, a nod to Patrick Stump’s days as the front man of Fall Out Boy.

Surprisingly, the reaction for support band, The Proxies, that Patrick later revealed he found on Twitter, is subdued. The band has some well written songs with brilliantly scripted melodies (although these are disguised by the ridiculously high bass level, but that’s not their fault!) Surely this is the kind of music these kids thrive off, locked in their rooms with the curtains drawn, away from the outside world? They’re a young band both in age and career judging by their crowd interaction. Their best reaction from the audience is getting them to join in with a rendition of Happy Birthday to their singer, Joe. It’s unfair as they are clearly a talented bunch but the crowd was only interested in seeing the main act.

It is heart warming to see that Patrick Stump’s audience tonight is filled with Fall Out Boy fans and they haven’t turned their back on him since the band’s demise and his new musical direction. It is fantastic to see a refreshed Stump, really playing to the crowd, chatting about his bow tie preferences, giving it his all and genuinely having a great time on stage instead of the somewhat introverted, shy performer he was previously. As Stump performs a medley of songs to start with, the crowd go wild and they sing along with every word of Porcelain. This has got to be both comforting and exhilarating for the singer. Although it must be off putting to have every camera in the first few rows shoved right in his face, obscuring him from view of the rest of the crowd he doesn’t show it and carries on regardless.

After briefly calming down, the audience erupt again with a rendition of a Cobra Starship song and it feels like it could be a sweetener for those fans that want to hear the pop punk tunes of Patrick’s past. As if to prove he is no longer bound by the confines of expectation a freeform jazz session is thrown into the mix halfway through Cute Girls and a spectacular frozen moment when all music and band members stopped in their tracks briefly, shows Stump’s humour and the fun he is having with this project.

The pace changed halfway through the set when Patrick sat at the piano and the rest of the band members left him to perform Sinead O’Connor classic Nothing Compares 2 U. When he messes up the song halfway through he announces his slip up to the crowd and states “I’m just going to keep going to my favourite bit!” Yet he doesn’t miss a beat. This was defiantly one of the most memorable moments of the show and the entire night proves to be an incredible showcase of his voice, which is completely underrated! He has certainly shed the emo kid stereotype and come into his own and clearly having the time of his life! You wouldn’t think the “front man” Patrick Stump and the “solo artist” Patrick Stump could be so different in terms of performance, but this project sees him coming into his own as a writer, musician and performer. He looks as though he was born to be on that stage.

Sadly, the tone is brought down by some audience members shouting out for Dance Dance and Patrick and his band disappear. When they return for their encore, Spotlight (Oh Nostalgia) makes everyone forget about the idiots in the crowd. However, he follows this up with an announcement that he sings on his final song but didn’t write it. The muttering crowd can’t believe it, he’s going to bow to the pressure and play Pete Wentz’s most famous track. Instead, he breaks into Gym Class Heroes’ Cupid’s Chokehold/Kanye West’s Turn Off The Lights mash up before rounding the night off with Explode.

Mid-set Stump implored you not to believe the hype, however in this case it is very much deserved!