Patrick Stump Gives A Stellar Solo Show At South By Southwest

Becky Bain | March 22, 2010 10:53 am

After watching Patrick Stump’s premiere performance as a solo artist at South By Southwest Friday night, we did a double take—with his newly svelte physique, his cropped hair, his lack of hat (a sight that rarely occurs), and without Pete Wentz yacking on and on into the mic in between songs, we barely recognized the man. Then he opened his mouth, and that velvety voice we love flowed out.

Stump played a short set list of covers and new material from his forthcoming solo album while opening for Hole at the Dirty Dog Bar in Austin, Texas. Did he pull it off alone, or does the man forever belong in a band? Watch videos from Stump’s show after the jump.

Patrick Stump – “Love Selfish Love”

It’s hard to fairly judge Stump’s new tunes by watching the un-great quality of a YouTubed live performance, but we can definitely hear some potential in there: as expected, there’s a bit of funk, some blues and catchy hooks abound. The songs are nowhere near as loud and raucous as most Fall Out Boy tracks, but diehard FOB fans shouldn’t be too disappointed with Stump’s solo material—even alone on stage, Patrick’s still got swagger, and some of his lyrics (ie. “I’m not brokenhearted, I’m just kind of pissed off”) are reminiscent of Take This To Your Grave-era Wentz bon mots.

But let’s hear from someone who was squeezed up in that tiny dive bar experiencing it live. From MTV:

Stump’s big “one-man band” concept (just him, two guitars, a keyboard and organ, a drum kit, and some samplers) stumbled out of the gate, as opener “As Long As I Know I’m Getting Paid” was marred by sound problems and a general lack of rehearsal time, but things got progressively better from there. A pair of new songs (one a slinky electronic track featuring him keening “I’ve got nothing to confess,” the other a shuffling, funky number with looped drums, handclaps and scratchy guitars) got the night headed in the right direction, and Stump knew it too, loosening up and cracking a smile.

Here’s another original piece with Patrick rocking out on his Stump-o-matic:

The biggest change between this gig and what we’ve seen of Patrick before was the fact that he participated in the most stage banter we’ve heard the dude speak ever. He appeared totally at ease talking to the crowd (even if he felt extremely nervous on the inside, we couldn’t tell). We have to wonder why he remained silent for so much of his tenure with FOB, letting Pete take over talking during live shows. (Speaking of Pete, he wasn’t there, but calmed gossip mongers from thinking he skipped his bandmate’s show for bitter reasons by blogging about his whereabouts.)

There’s still no details on when Stump’s solo album will be released—in fact, probably none of his tracks have even been played inside a studio. “I feel a little bit like a Charlie Kaufman script,” said Patrick to the crowd. “I’m karaokeing songs that haven’t been recorded yet. Now I fee like Zach Galifianakis because I’m talking over piano.” It may be awhile before we can expect a full LP, but at least we can revel in these promising SXSW videos til then.

Patrick Stump – “If You Think You’re Lonely Now” by Bobby Womack