Panic! at the Disco’s San Diego show was “Victorious”

Panic! at the Discos San Diego show was Victorious

Hanna Rauls, Staff Writer

Panic at the Disco performed at San Diego State University on March 26th. A line seeming to be almost a mile long was a sore sign that it was about to be an energetic night. The VIP line took nothing short of two minutes to get through and end up on the other side with a canvas tote with Panic at the Disco written on it, filled with a bag of Panic guitar picks, a t-shirt, and a small record with a total of two songs on it. With an opening act of Saint Motel, who did a fantastic job at making the crowd excited and pumping them up for the main act, the night was kicked off. After Saint Motel finished, there was a count-down which built the excitement to almost be visible in the air; starting at ten minutes until the band took the stage to own the night.

Lead singer Brendon Urie was sick with laryngitis, but the concert in full was nowhere near the death of a bachelor. With a set list of all their biggest hits from the very beginning, Brendon sings through the sickness and sounded genuine in comparison to his albums. Of course, he couldn’t have gone without many additions of his infamous high pitched moments that made the crowd go wild, and even took his turn playing the drums and the piano on two occasions. A smile and such passion seemed to be on his face throughout the entire night and through all his performances, naturally making the audience feel closer to him than ever. He stopped between songs a few times only to speak to the crowd and thank them for supporting him, and to remind them of what they are capable of. He seemed to choke up when the second that the audience realized that “Girls/Girls/Boys” was about to play, everyone instantly had their phone flashlights on with a colored paper heart held up to it illuminating a rainbow throughout the crowd. This occurrence was all due to a myriad of fans who started the fad from the beginning of his “Death of a Bachelor” tour, and he was sure to point out that the idea was incredible and made him proud to see. Thousands of people at that moment seemed to each share and individual heart-warming moment with Brendon himself.

The environment was at a constant roar and full of energy throughout the entire performance, from the kick-off with “Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time”, to the instant he stopped singing his last song “Victorious”. The instant any song came to a close the crowd seemed to shake the stadium with their yells of encouragement and thrill. Everyone seemed to know the words to at least one song and nobody shied away from screaming the words with all their glory the entire night. Everyone in the crowd seemed to take their common love for Panic at the Disco in a grand stride and for that night became connected.  

At one point in time towards the middle of the concert, Urie took a break as the stadium went darker than before and a video featuring a member of Fall Out Boy which then captured everyone attention which gave the lead singer time to at the next instant be in the spotlight towards the back of the stadium and, for the second time that night, mounted at a piano, and begin to play a slower, but no less invigorating song “This is Gospel”.

As the night came to a close, the energy was still at large. The attendance of Panic at the Disco’s San Diego stop of the “Death of a Bachelor” tour, danced around in the confetti and streamers that showered from above as his last song “Victorious” came to a close and even as Urie was long gone from the stage. He may not have been in the same room any longer, but everyone seemed to personally relate to the last song and indeed that night felt victorious, filing out of the stadium with ringing ears and all.