Thousands of adolescent girls screamed their lungs out as Fall Out Boy, the headliner of the Honda Civic Tour, took the stage Wednesday, May 30, at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. From the first chords of their set, it was clear that creating a spectacle was the band’s priority.

Bassist/lyricist/teen heart-throb Pete Wentz and guitarist Joe Trohman twirled with their instruments and jumped around as flames shot up from the stage and fireworks exploded into confetti. FOB’s multimedia backdrop served as an ever-changing music video for the band’s antics which overshadowed their music.

The group needed to overload the senses of anyone in attendance over the age of 18. Aside from pop gems like “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race,” and “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” most of the songs were indistinguishable, clichéd drivel. FOB did do a decent cover of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” except for the tepid solo.

Formed in 2001, the Chicago-based pop-punk quartet rocketed to fame and fortune after releasing “From Under the Cork Tree” in 2005. The album spawned two top 10 hits and went double platinum. Fall Out Boy’s latest offering, “Infinity on High” debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and went platinum within a month of its release.

If half of FOB’s songs were as clever, catchy and easy to sing along to as “This Ain’t a Scene…,” the group would have a winning formula. Unfortunately, the band seems more interested in their image and coming up with pop culture referencing titles such as “A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me.”

The real stars of the show were +44, whose subdued, introspective set seemed to both startle and please the crowd.

People expecting bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker, both formerly of Blink-182, to launch into carefree pop-punk probably didn’t know what to make of the mostly slow, sad songs. Guitarists Shane Gallagher and Craig Fairbaugh helped to provide the group with a dark, full rock sound.

Hoppus lightened the mood between songs by bragging about his dancing skills, proclaiming his love for a security guard and smashing one of FOB’s instruments. 

The band only played one Blink-182 song, “The Rock Show,” which seemed flimsy next to more noteworthy material like “Cliffdiving,” “Make You Smile” and “No, It Isn’t.” +44 could have used a few more upbeat songs in the vein of the title track to their debut album “When Your Heart Stops Beating” to get people on their feet and moving.

The Academy Is…, another Chicago band, has great potential to outlive many of their peers. Songs including “LAX to O’Hare,” “Checkmarks,” and especially “We’ve Got a Big Mess on Our Hands” are infectious and will likely cause foot tapping.

The band’s music draws as much inspiration from modern hit makers such as Weezer and Panic! at the Disco as it does from classic rock icons like The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. It doesn’t hurt that vocalist William Beckett knows how to work an audience and has the charisma of a young Steven Tyler.

Rapper Paul Wall is mainly worth mentioning because of how out of place he seemed on the bill. None of his material was particularly memorable, but even if it had been, the majority of the audience wouldn’t have been interested.

The opening band, Cobra Starship, attempted to stir up the crowd, but there wasn’t much to get excited about. Best known for their song “Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)” from the movie “Snakes on a Plane,” Cobra Starship is destined to be a one-hit wonder and a minor one at that.