Fall Out Boy rocks Barclays Center

You can’t name your album (and your tour) “Save Rock and Roll” and not have a plan.

“Rock and roll,” Wentz said, “should be a transformative experience.”

That’s a tall order, but over the course of its 105-minute set, Fall Out Boy certainly delivered. Though the band has been supporting “Save Rock and Roll” on the road since its release in April, the American arena tour began this past week, and Fall Out Boy has built a show to match the album’s huge, anthemic songs.

“My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark,” the album’s lead single and one of only a handful of rock songs to muscle its way onto pop radio stations and into the Top 15 this year, is meant to be heard in big spaces, preferably while flame pots belch fire. Wentz does karate kicks, guitarist Joe Trohman does flying leaps, Andy Hurley bashes the drums like there’s no tomorrow, and thousands of people sing along with Patrick Stump.

That kind of teamwork makes new songs like “The Phoenix” and “Alone Together” sound stronger in an arena setting, but it also gives older songs like “Saturday” or even their breakthrough “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down” more power, especially as Stump's voice continues to grow more expressive and soulful.

In case that wasn’t enough inspiration, the band brought out some special guests, including Travie McCoy, who joined them for “Billionaire,” and the great Marky Ramone, who drummed with them for revved-up versions of The Ramones’ classics “I Wanna Be Sedated” and “Blitzkrieg Bop.”

SEE PHOTOSNotable music collaborations

The band also makes it very clear, in the encore for “Save Rock and Roll,” that its definition of rock and roll is as broad as possible, posting photos of everyone from Bob Marley to Johnny Cash, from Flavor Flav to Billy Joel, on the big screen, as well as Nirvana and Guns N' Roses.

The “Save Rock and Roll Tour” may be about inspiring the next generation, however, it also proves that Fall Out Boy, like its own heroes Green Day, may not have hit its creative peak yet.