Panic! At The Concert
Almost everyone knows someone who went to the Panic! At The Disco concert on March 8th. Held at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, the concert was jam-packed with people of all types; tickets were bought early, pre-ordered or bought the day they were released after ominous and completely intriguing marketing strategies simply urging fans of the band to “join” a secretive mailing list.
The arena was filled with an atmosphere of unity and mutual excitement as the opening bands (fellow pop punk groups called Saint Motel and MisterWives) each provided amazing performances and worked to build up love and enthusiasm in the crowd. The air was charged- almost electric- in the minutes before Panic! stepped on stage, everyone watching, waiting with bated breath for the performance most had been looking forward to for months.
Finally, action. The band opened with a song well-suited to the mood of the night- “Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time” had almost everyone in attendance dancing, laughing, and screaming in unison. This happy feeling continued throughout the concert, and throughout the band’s other songs.
Panic! introduced a new mood throughout the concert befitting of the cryptic marketing strategies; the inclusion of glitchy but interesting visuals on screen and electric (and eclectic) interludes made for an atmosphere unlike that at any other concert I’ve been to.
No popular song- old or new- was left out of the performance. A highlight of the show included older hit “This is Gospel”, during which lead singer Brendon Urie moved into the crowd to play a gorgeous solo on a piano below sparkling lights. After this song, he walked through the entire floor greeting and hugging fans, singing and smiling through the tour’s title song “Death of a Bachelor”.
Plenty of songs were revamped and recreated, some given completely new meaning and mood due to the beauty and energy with which they were shared with the audience. It was lovely witnessing the performance of many old favorites and other new songs from the tour’s title album, all woven together into a well-designed and wonderful show.
Another famous but old anthem, “Girls/Girls/Boys”, nearly made many people in the stands cry because of the sheer amount of love that was projected throughout the arena. During this song, all fans were urged to hold up paper hearts of many different colors, shining their flashlights through them to create a dazzling display of color- and of solidarity.
Senior Madi Smith, another attendee of the concert who was able to sit much nearer to the stage than I could, agreed that this was an incredible experience: “It was an indescribable feeling to be In the presence of someone you care so much about and to know that they care just as much about you,” she said of Urie, Panic!, and the rest of the bands gracing the stage throughout the night. “Being able to truly see them perform live was amazing… The amount of love and tolerance in the room was beautiful and it is so nice to see people being so accepting when the world is so harsh.”
Another audience member, fellow Senior Brooke Kozar, was also blown away by the quality of the show. “I really enjoyed the concert! They are amazing live,” she said. Kozar described that she specifically loved the way that “every time Brendon hit a falsetto note, the whole crowd erupted into cheers ... I loved every second of it. MisterWives was a great opener, and I loved how both bands gave shout outs to inclusion and togetherness.”
Overall, the concert was amazing- even more so than I or many other attendees expected. It brought about a feeling like no other: unity, connection, and love that transcended gender, age, race, or any other arbitrary boundaries. I would highly recommend viewing Panic! At The Disco on any future tour and at any opportunity; this experience has truly been one of the best days of my life and has easily changed me for the better.
(photo credits: Brooke Kozar, Madi Smith)
