Photo: Justine Trickett
The Forum is completely packed before Panic at the Disco even come on the stage, with fans crammed onto the stairs and into the aisles. Unlike the audience would’ve been in 2005, there’s a mix of people - from, yes, the stereotypical emo kid to heavy metal guys and, most of all, just average looking fans. The teenage girl of 2005 has moved on - but Panic are, after all, a very different band now.
Having said that - and considering that they’ve only recently brought a new album out; Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! - there were a lot of older songs interspersed in the set. And by ‘old’, we’re talking A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out - so that’d be 2005, although the only nod to Pretty. Odd is the single ‘Nine In The Afternoon’.
It’s an odd setlist, feeling at times more like a similar band doing covers of early Panic! at the Disco - particularly with the lack of drummer Spencer Smith - but the crowd cheer for all the songs equally, from Fever to Vices and Virtues, to ‘Miss Jackson’ (which sees Lolo join the band onstage). Just as Pretty. Odd was radically different to Fever, so is the newer material, which can make it seem like Panic are having a slight identity crisis as they jump from electro-pop to something a little harder and back again. The bursts of static in between songs seem to take the place of stage banter and admittedly help to tie the tracks together.
There’s no denying the energy which is almost palpable in the venue; everyone is on their feet, even those in the seats at the back, and Brendon Urie barely stands still throughout the entire performance. He’s outgrown the hyperactive kid that he sometimes used to come across as onstage and it’s to his credit that he’s grown into an amazing frontman, although the front flip from the drum stand during ‘Miss Jackson’ could be done without.
After insisting that London is definitely the best night of the tour - as bands always seem to do, while playing in London - Panic bound offstage, only to return for the inevitable encore. A cover of Journey’s ‘Any Way You Want It’ mashed up with ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ ensues, followed by ‘Vegas Lights’.
Of course, the night ends with ‘I Write Sins’, which gets the biggest cheer of the night - and that’s definitely saying something. After another album or two, hopefully Panic will have lost the identity crisis, but until then they’re not doing too badly.
Below: Exclusive photos of Panic! At The Disco at The Forum
