Patrick Stump @ Metro

Patrick Stump
Where: Metro
When: November 11th, 2011
Grade: 2 out of 5 meatballs
Reviewed by: Gina Provenzano

I'll admit my musical tastes have changed quite a bit since high school when I liked listening to Fall Out Boy, but for nostalgia's sake I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see former front man Patrick Stump headline a show at Metro this past Friday night. I had listened to his new album Soul Punk and found a few tracks to be poppy, catchy and somewhat reminiscent of his FOB days. Friday's show proved that the singer/songwriter has much matured from his days as an unassuming front man in jeans and baseball cap, to a slick, suit-wearing bleach-blond star of the show.

He emerged to David Bowie's "Let's Dance," which may have been lost on the very young crowd but did justice to his pitch-perfect live voice. He then launched into a few tracks off of Soul Punk including "Oh Nostalgia," "Explode" and "Everybody Wants Somebody." These tracks showed off his vocal range and were the most enjoyable of the night. Where Stump faltered were tracks where he strayed from his normal range into Prince-falsetto territory. It's clear from his album and the show that he's a big fan of Prince and Morris Day and The Time, but many songs came off sounding like covers and made the show seem uneven. Also, while you could tell he was humbled at headlining his own show at the historic Metro, it seemed like his nervous energy got the best of him and he couldn't contain his giddiness, making some moves and poses look staged and over stylized. But then again, over-styled is probably the best way to describe this show. I would have enjoyed it more without the lights, the long guitar solos, posing and keytars, but that is clearly the new direction Stump wishes to take, possibly to make up for years of being a lead singer who was never truly the front man of Fall Out Boy. And while I didn't love the show, the crowd certainly did, singing along with each song and dancing and cheering each move he made. There were moments in the night where Stump's voice won me over, and the pure catchiness showed promise that he could still mature into the front man he's trying to be. But overall I see that our tastes and styles have matured in opposite directions, and next time I might just be better off digging up my old copy of Take This to Your Grave.