Panic! at the Disco
With the Colourist and Junior Prom
Fillmore Miami Beach
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Over the weekend, Panic! at the Disco returned to South Florida with its Too Weird tour. And triumphantly, the Vegas outfit played for a sold-out crowd at the Fillmore Miami Beach.
Let's just start off with the fact that I hadn't been to a Panic! at the Disco show since I saw Brendon Urie and company perform at Revolution Live with OK GO and The Hush Sound in 2006. As a 16 year-old who had only been to Warped Tour before, it was my first official concert experience, complete with front row handshakes, mosh pits, ticket signings, and even my first-ever crowd surf.
See also: Brendon Urie on Ten Years of Panic! at the Disco: "Nothing Makes Me Want to Stop"
Witnessing this band perform again, I found myself surrounded by countless teenagers, who could easily have been almost ten years younger than me, and I enjoyed one of the most pleasantly nostalgic concert experiences I've had in years.
While the atmosphere at last night's show wasn't the same as when I was younger -- for some reason, crowd surfing is no longer the thing to do at these kinds of shows -- there was no reason to deny the fact that everyone there was a dedicated fan.
Appropriately, when the lights dimmed at 9:30 p.m., screams erupted from the crowd as Urie and his band made their way onto the dimly lit stage.
The Panic! at the Disco dudes opened the set with "Vegas Lights," the third track off their fourth and most recent studio album, last year's Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die! The crowd immediately responded by singing along and shouting every word. And at various times throughout the night, the fans' singing even proved louder than lead singer Urie.
As the show went on, Urie and his bandmates alternated back and forth between newer tracks and older throwback favorites from previous albums Pretty. Odd, Vices & Virtues, and A Fever You Can't Sweat Out.
Their performance was an impressive combination of captivating visuals, aesthetically pleasing lighting production, a flawlessly orchestrated instrumental delivery, and amusing stage antics including Urie's casual microphone tosses, head banging, and even a backflip during "I Write Sins Not Tragedies."
Sporting a bronze jacket and black leather pants (before eventually going shirtless), Urie danced his way across the stage during each song as he mirrored the crowd's fervent energy, which was at full throttle the entire night.
One of the most notable aspects of Urie's stage presence is his ability to continuously capture the audience's attention. He isn't afraid to hit those high falsetto notes to demonstrate his brilliant vocal range, show off some dance moves, or run around bare-chested performing acrobatics off the stage equipment.
Of course, though, Urie didn't just handle the vocals. He also showed off his many talents as a musician, playing piano for tracks such as "The End of All Things" and "Camisado," drums on "Let's Kill Tonight," guitar on "This Is Gospel," as well as synthesizers on numerous tracks throughout the night.
While Urie was the only original member of the group performing at the Fillmore last night, his current bandmates delivered solid arena-style guitar riffs, formidable drum parts, and dynamic bass drives.
After finishing its last officially scheduled song, the band came back to the stage following the crowd's typical "one more song" chant, performing "Girls/Girls/Boys," "I Write Sins Not Tragedies," and an extremely short-lived screamo tribute to Urie's online "Positive Hardcore Thursday" YouTube compilations. There were a few mosh pits, but those died off quickly.
In one of Urie's final notes to the crowd, just prior to the encore, he mentioned that last night's Miami performance was the best show in all of his years playing with Panic! at the Disco. Considering most bands say something along these lines at every show, that statement should probably be taken with a grain of salt. But the fans were certainly flattered.
And as the band exited the Fillmore, drummer Dan Pawlovich tossed his drumsticks into the crowd. One final token of appreciation for Panic! at the Disco's devotees.
Critic's Notebook
Personal Bias: Mosh pits are overrated.
Overheard in the Crowd: "I wonder where the band is going to go tonight to get wasted in Miami."
By the Way: Parents get down to Panic! at the Disco too. But their kids hate it when they "stalk" them throughout the show.
Panic! at the Disco's Setlist
-"Vegas Lights"
-"Time To Dance"
-"The Ballad Of Mona Lisa"
-"The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage "
-"Let's Kill Tonight"
-"This Is Gospel"
-"Camisado"
-"Hurricane"
-"New Perspective"
-"Casual Affair"
-"Ready To Go (Get Me Out Of My Mind)"
-"Miss Jackson"
-"Nine In the Afternoon"
-"The End Of All Things"
-"Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off"
-"Nicotine"
-"But It's Better If You Do"
-"Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met...)"
Encore
-"Girls/Girls/Boys"
-Short tribute to Urie's "Positive Hardcore Thursday" Compilation on YouTube
-"I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
Follow Alex Silva on Twitter @Silvasgoldd.
