A line stretching from the doors of Heiges Field House to the commuter parking lot had formed by the time the doors opened for Panic! At the Disco, on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m.
An audience of college students, young fans and parents flooded in, trying to get the best possible spot to see the acts that would be performing. While the show did not start until 8 p.m., many of the audience members packed in, trying to get as close to the stage as they could.
While waiting, the bleachers began filling up, soon to be filled with more than 2,000 anticipating audience members. A buzz could be felt and screams could be heard in the room as crew members walked across the stage to finalize set placement, tape down any wires that could potentially get in the performers’ way and strategically set up water bottles so the performers would have easy access to them.
The banner against the back of the stage read, “Panic! At the Disco” in the band’s signature logo, which prompted cell phone photos before the concert began.
Once the lights started to go down, people in the crowd began to shout, awaiting the beginning of the concert. The first act to take the stage was Allistair, a band from Northumberland, Pennsylvania, that calls its sound a “hyperactive fusion of pop rock and electronic dance music.”
Allistair got the crowd going, interacting with the audience as soon as it hit the stage. The band jumped into its first song “Boomerang!” and then played other singles, such as “Just A Little Bit” and “Spark (Take Two).” The band jumped up to the barricade a few times and even threw water out onto the crowd.
Next up was 3 Shades of Blue, a band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band was recently on “America’s Got Talent” but did not make it to the end of the current season. The band consists of brothers Jeffery, Austin and Jesse Allem and their friend Dane Duncan. 3 Shades of Blue played some original songs as well as covers. The covers it played were “Sail” by AWOLNATION and “Hold On, We’re Going Home” by Drake. The crowd could be heard singing along to these songs; happy to hear songs it was familiar with.
The band’s original songs, which seemed to get similar feedback from the crowd, included, “Watching You Go,” “Two Left Feet,” and “Falling Asleep.” During the more high-energy songs, Jeffery Allem got on top of his piano, and at one point, did a back flip to get back down to the stage.
Once the members of 3 Shades of Blue left the stage, the crowd buzzed as the tech crew hurried on and off stage, getting the stage and instruments ready for the headliner.
The lights shut off and the crowd erupted in cheers and tears as Panic! At The Disco members ran and danced onto stage with what sounded like an old radio recording. Brendon Urie, the lead singer, could be seen walking up last to his microphone, which managed to make the crowd scream louder.
As soon as the lights came on, Urie could be seen dressed in leather pants, a silver glittering jacket and black Converse shoes.
The first song Panic! At The Disco played was “Vegas Lights” from the band’s newest album “Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die!”
The crowd was quick to keep up as it shouted the lyrics. Urie had a big smile as the band went into the next song “Time To Dance” from the album, “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out.”
“Time To Dance” was followed by “The Ballad of Mona Lisa” from the album “Vices and Virtues.” The band would hit all of its albums throughout the night, playing “Nine In The Afternoon” from “Pretty. Odd.” later in the night.
Dallon Weekes and Kenneth Harris, both guitarists and vocalists for the group, jumped on platforms at the front of the stage, showing they knew how to play, and interact with Urie several times during the night.
Early in the evening, Urie ran to the back of the stage, switching out with the percussionist, Daniel Pawlovich, to play the drums for a song. No matter what Urie did he could always find a stunt or joke to get an even bigger reaction out of the crowd than the previous one.
Although, Urie did mention that he was “full of mucus” due to a cold and even joked he felt like he was in a fever dream, that did not stop him from delivering vocals that sounded almost like the recorded songs and dancing that was fluid and hard not to watch.
Other songs they played included: “Girls/Girls/Boys,” “New Perspective,” “This Is Gospel,” and “Lying Is The Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off.”
The two songs that stood out were “Bohemian Rhapsody” originally by Queen and, arguably, Panic! At The Disco’s most recognizable song, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies.”
Urie joked that the band wrote “Bohemian Rhapsody” backstage before the show, but as soon as the song began, audience members watched and sang along as Urie took to the keyboard and sang.
Panic! At The Disco finally ended with “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” which had what sounded like almost everyone in the room singing along.
After the show ended, the general consensus was that the show was wonderful.
“[Panic! At The Disco] was one of the best concerts APB has put on since I’ve been here,” Bryanna Beamer, a junior at Shippensburg University, said. She also said that while she only knew one or two songs before the concert, she now knew 10.
“Every time [I see them] they amaze me. This is the fourth time we’ve seen them,” said Madeline King, 24, and Megan Davis, 22, who drove up from Fredrick, Maryland to see Panic! At The Disco. They also said they had listened to the band since they were freshmen and thought Urie was a fantastic person.
Bria Stevenson, a sophomore who works for the Activities Program Board and helped set up the event, agreed with the others, saying it was the best concert she had been to.
“It was lots of work to set up, but was worth it,” Stevenson said, “Everybody had fun [setting up]. I know I did.” She also added that while she knew of the band, she was definitely a fan now.
All that was left at the end of the show was Urie’s glittering black microphone stand and gold microphone as everyone packed up and headed back home.
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