The crush of bodies, the pounding bass, lights flashing and confetti showering over the crowd. On August 28th, fans of the bands Fall Out Boy and Paramore were lucky enough to experience these thrills as the bands made their third to last stop on their nationwide MonumenTour at this year’s State Fair in the Grandstand. Both groups have been around for a little over ten years (thirteen in Fall Out Boy’s case) and finally decided to tour together for the first time, making for an energetic show that had fans cheering, singing, professing their undying love for the band members, and inevitably losing their voice the next day from overuse.

The concert’s opening band, Bad Suns, have been slowly rising stars, and made their debut on this tour. Their fast-paced songs such as “Cardiac Arrest” set the stage- and energy level- for the rest of the concert, doing an excellent job of electrifying the crowd.

Paramore started their set list second, after some minor set-changes and a game of “pong” being played on the light board in the background, continuing with Bad Suns’ example of fast-paced, high-energy songs like “That’s What You Get”, paired with a dazzling lights show and explosions of confetti over the fans on the floor. Lead singer Hayley Williams brought the intensity with her expressive voice and dancing, even when they switched things up and performed one of their slower songs, “The Only Exception.” Their  set ended with a bang, after bringing a fan on stage to sing, and egging on the crowd to sing along louder as they sang their last song of the night “Ain’t It Fun.”

The final act of the night began with flames, yes flames, and a dramatic rise from the stage floor by Fall Out Boy as they belted out “The Phoenix”. The crowd went crazy as a few songs in, lead singer Patrick Stump and drummer Andy Hurley competed in an epic drumming contest, then performing their cover of Queen’s song “We Are the Champions”, which included their well-known dramatic flare. In between songs bass guitarist Pete Wentz urged fans to continue doing what they loved, and to continue making their music, giving an inspirational feeling to everyone hearing his words. Even with the heart-felt advice, the night remained spirited as fan-favorites such as “Sugar We’re Goin’ Down”, “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs”, were played, as well as “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light ‘Em Up)” at the end of the night.

MonumenTour’s stop at the State Fair was a wild success, and the night was full of fun, confetti, love confessions, and, of course, music. All three bands present were energizing and full of life, feeding off of the crowd’s excitement and giving it right back again. Although Paramore and Fall Out Boy may not tour together again, fans of both groups would not complain if they did, and many Minnesota-based admirers would most likely cross their fingers, hoping that Minnesota would be visited once again.