Panic! At The Disco Kick Off Their Australian Tour In Style
Originally published in Avenoir Magazine, in February 2017.
Panic! At The Disco started their Australian tour with a bang at Metro City on Wednesday the 25th of January, the heat of the evening doing nothing to deter torrents of fans as they lined the streets surrounding Metro City. The energy was palpable even then, with excitement stirring among fans as they got closer to the doors of the club.
The show’s opening act was a Sydney indie band called Tigertown; While I am personally unfamiliar with the band, you could still feel a shift in the room as they took to the stage. Their set was a great mix of songs of varying energy levels, all of which were quite enjoyable. Unfortunately their set only went for about 30 minutes, and I definitely felt like their slot could have been longer, with me being particularly surprised after they announced their final song. The short set was made all the more obvious by the long wait and set up before Panic! At The Disco bounded the stage just after 10 p.m.
The room instantly erupted the moment Brendon Urie bounced onstage, dressed in an incredible silver blazer. They opened with ‘Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time’, which just so happens to be my favourite song from their new album Death of a Bachelor. Needless to say, I was extremely pleased when the song started playing.
The show featured an incredible 18 song set list, with Brendon and the band never once losing energy for even a moment. Absolute highlights of the show would have to be: the incredible backflip Brendon did off the drum riser during ‘Miss Jackson’, which had everyone cheering like mad, and the moment the piano was brought out and the ensuing renditions of not only ‘Nine in the Afternoon’ but also ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, both of which which had everyone belting the lyrics as loudly as possible. In addition, Brendon also sarcastically dedicated ‘Girls/Girls/Boys’ to Donald Trump.
Another high point of the night was Brendon announcing he wouldn’t be leaving the stage for an encore, instead declaring that he wanted “more time to play more songs,” following it up with Panic! At The Disco’s most infamous song, ‘I Write Sins Not Tragedies’, the best moment was seeing Brendon’s face during this song. The joy of listening to the entire crowd singing the words at the top of their lungs, it was such a sweet moment that I will never forget.
“I’ve been part of Panic! for 13-years now, so thank you,” Urie stated as he grinned, “I swear I’m still 19.”
Panic! At The Disco haven’t performed in Perth since Soundwave 2014, and before that they hadn’t toured in Perth since 2008. It was a return enthusiastically welcomed by all fans crammed together in the club, who all relished in the amazing vocal range that Brendon Urie possesses and almost relived their teenage years when he sung the band’s ‘old’ songs. Here’s to hoping they return sooner rather than later, because Brendon sure knows how to put on an incredible show.
