I always remember being introduced to Panic! At The Disco back in 2005 when I was doing my A-levels in high school. I was also introduced to Fall Out Boy around the same time. Since then I have been in love with their music. The day I got an e-mail to tell me that Panic! At The Disco would be in Cardiff I couldn’t believe my eyes. As soon as the tickets went on sale in April, I was poised at the computer and bought one straight away. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think they have ever toured in Cardiff. If they have then I’m not sure how I would have missed this opportunity. Thank God I did because I was absolutely blown away.
It usually takes me about half an hour to get to Cardiff from where I live, but the traffic was insane. It took me almost an hour to get there and then I had to hope and pray I got a parking space. Luckily I did. I made my way over to the venue and got there just after 8pm. I stood by the merch stall for a while before heading in as I wasn’t bothered about seeing the support act. When I heard the support act finish I made my way in and found a spot.
Was it any good?
When I’m stood in a massive crowd like this, I realise how short I am. Of course, there were some really selfish tall people who stood in front of us short people. Can this be banned? Luckily, I found an even shorter person than me and stood behind them. The lights went out and the arena filled with 7000+ screams. The lights came on and THERE THEY WERE. Panic! At The Disco were actually in front of me in the flesh.
Opening the set with ‘Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time’ from their latest album ‘Death Of A Bachelor’, the crowd jumped around singing along, myself included obviously. I have always thought Brendon Urie is HOT, but OMG I couldn’t believe the perfection that was in front of me. Wearing his signature blazer (sexy), tight black jeans and t-shirt, the band continuously played track after track. DTMWAGT was followed by ‘Vegas Lights’ and one of my faves ‘The Ballad Of Mona Lisa’. Panic! At The Disco at their finest.
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Brendon’s falsetto literally gave me goosebumps. His vocal range is ridiculous. Listening to him sing live was like listening to any CD Panic! At The Disco have ever made, only better. And I didn’t think that was even possible. Not only that but this guy can move. I mean seriously, is there anything he can’t do? At one point, someone from the crowd threw a Rainbow flag onto the stage, or at least I thought it was anyway. Quite good timing really. Especially as Panic! then proceeded to play ‘Girls Love Girls And Boys’ from their album ‘Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die’.
There were a few surprises chucked in too, well for me anyway having not seen them before. The guys treated the crowd to an amazing version of Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Any band that can pull off a cover of that and do it justice slay. And slay they did. Panic! At The Disco you owned it, seriously. As I was saying, Brendon’s talents are endless. He even got on the drums and thrashed out an incredible solo, and played a few keys on the piano too. At this point, he was a bath of sweat but still looked and sounded fucking incredible. He even back flipped on the stage for fuck sake!
I was surprised by the varying ages in the crowd. I was stood next to a mother and her son. The son was about 14 and the mother seemed more excited than him! Panic! are a band which appeal to all ages. Or at least I think they do. Whenever Brendon dropped the F-bomb, the mother covered her son’s ears which was quite funny. Let’s be honest, he’s probably heard a lot worse! When he told the crowd ‘I fucking love you, you’re the loudest crowd ever’, the crowd screamed even more. At this point, I was sure I had lost my voice. There’s no doubt about it, Brendon is a showman and an incredible one at that. Panic! At The Disco as a whole are incredible.
Brendon teased the crowd and said they’d be playing a ‘new song’ and then the music started playing the ultimate Panic! classic ‘I Write Sins Not Tragedies’ much to the sheer delight of the Cardiff crowd. The band closed the show with ‘Victorious’, covering the arena with streamers and filling it with smoke. I was exhausted but in a good way. After 18 tracks of dancing and singing along it was all over. It was a shame really that they were only on stage for an hour and a quarter, I wish it went on for a bit longer. Needless to say, I had an amazing time and would really like to see them in concert again. Hopefully, I won’t have to wait another 11 years for the opportunity.
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