Boston has a ball when Panic! At the Disco stops by

Magic Man and Walk The Moon sparkle as opening acts

Raider Times photo / Melissa Rose
Brendon Urie of Panic! At the Disco, at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion on Aug. 3, 2014. Panic! At the Disco was making a stop on The Gospel Tour with opening acts Magic Man and Walk The Moon.

Panic! At the Disco is a Las Vegas-based alternative rock band which made its debut in 2005 upon releasing its first single, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” from its first album, “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out.” Panic! originally started out as a horrid Blink-182 cover band, but have since made its own name in the music industry. Band members Brendon Urie (lead singer/guitarist/pianist), Spencer Smith (drummer), and Dallon Weekes (bassist) released their fourth studio album, “Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!” and began “The Gospel Tour” in July. [Dan Pawlovich is subbing for Smith on this tour.]

Brendon Urie, lead singer of Panic! At the Disco, at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion on Aug. 3, 2014. Panic! At the Disco was making a stop on The Gospel Tour with opening acts Magic Man and Walk The Moon.
Melissa Rose
Brendon Urie, lead singer of Panic! At the Disco, at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion on Aug. 3, 2014. Panic! At the Disco was making a stop on The Gospel Tour with opening acts Magic Man and Walk The Moon.

On Aug. 3, Panic! came to Boston and performed at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion. Opening were two very talented indie rock bands: Magic Man, a Massachusetts band, and Walk The Moon, originating from Ohio.

Magic Man’s family and friends were at the show, dancing and singing along to its songs. While Magic Man is still relatively new to the music scene, Walk The Moon has gotten quite popular lately and performed its massive hits, “Tightrope” and “Anna Sun.”

Walk The Moon was particularly excited to get the crowd involved. It had the entire venue doing “vibe exercises” where everyone imagined pushing their stress out of them. This included choreographed dance moves for the crowd to do during the performance of “I Can Lift a Car.” Walk The Moon also taught lyrics to some unreleased songs so that everyone could sing along.

Both acts captivated the crowd and got the entire audience pumped up, and by the time they were finished, everyone was eager to see Panic!

The crowd was extremely diverse with people of both genders and all different races. The diversity of the crowd was most noticeable in the age range, which varied from about 14 to 40. Due to the variety of people, everyone got along and respected one another (which sometimes seems to be a problem at most concerts).

Panic! At the Disco at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion on Aug. 3, 2014. Panic! At the Disco was making a stop on The Gospel Tour with opening acts Magic Man and Walk The Moon.
Melissa Rose
Panic! At the Disco at Blue Hills Bank Pavilion on Aug. 3, 2014. Panic! At the Disco was making a stop on The Gospel Tour with opening acts Magic Man and Walk The Moon.

Panic! opened the show with “Vegas Lights,” the first song off its latest album. The setlist included a variety of popular songs from each of their albums. Urie pleased the whole crowd with his energetic attitude while dancing around the stage and doing backflips. Although he started the show in leather pants and a gold suit jacket, the crowd was even more pleased when Urie took his shirt off during the performance of “Girls/Girls/Boys” (much like the music video). The other members wore traditional black suits.

All of the band members were very involved in the performance. Urie played various instruments throughout the show while the other members had instrumental solos. The band was able to do much more with its solos live than on played the album. The solos were significantly longer and more intricate. Pawlovich’s drum solo during “Miss Jackson” was especially electrifying; you could feel the music in your body.

The fans were most thrilled for Panic!’s well-known songs, including “Girls/Girls/Boys,” “Miss Jackson,” “Nine in the Afternoon,” and a cover of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” They also sang songs such as “Time to Dance” and “Let’s Kill Tonight,” which were much more exhilarating to hear live rather than on the CD.

Once the band left the stage, the audience immediately demanded an encore by banging on chairs and screaming. Panic! returned and performed “This is Gospel,” which Urie dedicated to a fan he met prior to the show.

Panic! closed the show with its very first single “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” which everyone sang along to. Everything about the performance of “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”was magical. Urie encouraged the audience to sing along and everyone just rocked out and really came together.

Overall, Panic! put on a phenomenal show and its energy was through the roof.

–Aug. 13, 2014–