Panic! At The Disco made their fourth stop on the ‘Pray For The Wicked Tour’ at the Times Union Center Tuesday night. Shortly after openers Betty Who and Two Feet performed, all the lights in the arena went dark and a giant 10-minute timer was displayed; the sold out crowd eagerly waited as the clocked ticked down. During this time Weezer’s cover of “Africa” (Toto) was played over the speakers and the 12,000 in attendance shouted every word. The clock hit 0:00 and the band rose from beneath the stage, followed by Brendon Urie himself, who was shot several feet into the air. Before landing he started the show with their single, “(F*** a) Silver Lining” from their 2018 record Pray For The Wicked.
Brendon Urie is the only original member of Panic! At The Disco, who are entering their 15th year. With people coming and going, Urie has been able to keep his band unique and their sound ever changing: from the Pop Punk album A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out (2005) to the Sinatra-esque sound of Death of a Bachelor (2016) and experimenting with electronic sounds in Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! (2013). The one thing that has remained consistent has been the energy and powerful vocals that Urie has always brought.
As the set rolled on, Urie continually amazed the awe-struck crowd from his smooth dance moves to his impressive falsetto. Around the midpoint of the show Urie made his way through the crowd interacting with fans, thanking them, giving handshakes and hugs as he sang “Death of a Bachelor.” Eventually he ended up at the far side of the arena, where a piano had been placed. He played a cover of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” a song Urie said his mother used to play for him when he was a kid. The piano began to raise up off the ground. When the platform reached its peak, probably 50 feet above the crowd, it began to move back across the arena towards the stage. Urie then performed the soulful “Dying in LA,” from Pray For The Wicked, as he and his piano flew along the rafters of Times Union Center.
Shortly after the piano arrived back at the stage, Urie picked up the pace moving right into “The Greatest Show,” a cover form the 2017 film, The Greatest Showman. The group continued with their very theatrical performance and more upbeat songs, eventually moving into “Miss Jackson” from Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! During this piece a drum-set rose in the middle of the stage. Urie then played a 2 minute drum solo, finishing it with a backflip off the riser, then immediately moved into the outro of the song.
A couple songs later a piano reemerged, this time on stage, and Panic! played their cover of the Queen mega-hit “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The crowd sang along with it as loud as the band was playing. Panic! At The Disco closed the night with a three-song encore that consisted of “Say Amen (Saturday Night),” “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” and lastly “Victorious”. Brendon Urie was determined to impress the crowd at every turn and he never disappointed. It was a night full of theatrical, energetic and powerful music leaving the sold-out crowd begging for more.
