Death of a Bachelor Tour
by: Nicole Juliette Hetlyn
03.02.17 - Madison Square Garden - New York City
The moment that this tour was announced, I knew that I had to go. I splurged, and my best friend and I got third row side stage at the most famous arena in the United States, Madison Square Garden. Being that I’ve seen Panic! several times, I knew I was in for a good time, but I wasn’t prepared for what would have been hands down one of their best shows to date.
Electric pop favorites, Saint Motel, opened the show with quite a bang. I had never seen them live, but I have been listening to their music for quite a while. “My Type” landed in my “top 50 played tracks of 2016,” so I danced my ass off when they played that live. The amount of energy that this band has is incredible, they definitely had the crowd pumped. I love the chemistry in Saint Motel, their energy is infectious and their music was fantastic.
Up next, another favorite of mine; Misterwives. I had the honor of interviewing them when I was in college (they were just starting out) and can tell you that they are literally the funniest, most genuine people ever. Their music? Phenomenal. I was singing and dancing along to every song and having the time of my life. The whole band is so energetic, dancing is inevitable. Mandy’s voice is unreal, she is such a powerhouse. In a moment of awe, Mandy sang “Started from the bottom, now we’re here. Started from the bottom PIANOS, Webster Hall, …. Now we’re at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN!” Seeing fellow New Yorkers work so hard and earn their way to an arena tour literally made me so proud, they deserve it.
A timer goes on the screen to count down 10 minutes, I can’t contain my excitement. Panic! at the Disco is just moments away. The show kicks off with “Don’t Threaten Me With a Good Time,” and we already know that this will indeed be a damn good time. Second song in, “LA Devote” is another song that everyone is singing along to.. and suddenly towards the end of the song, Noah Schnapp (Will from Stranger Things) runs onto the stage to finish singing the song with Brendon. Will was in the LA Devotee music video, and is just as big a fan as us all, so this was such a cool surprise! Being a band for 13 years, Panic is focussing on playing more of their newer music, although they do play songs from all of their albums. That being said, they blessed us with an incredible medley of songs from A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. It was a solid four minutes of me screaming every lyric at the top of my lung, going back to when I was 13 and this album was LIFE (won’t lie, it still is).
Now time to highlight some of the emotional parts of the show. A video plays as a distraction, we know something is going on and the suspense is killing us.. All of a sudden, a piano is lowered from the back of the arena, there’s this silver/blue glitter falling around it, and the spotlight is solely on the piano. Brendon gives the most breathtaking performance of “This Is Gospel,” just him and the piano. HIs voice gives me goosebumps, “if you love me let me go.” I’m not ashamed to say I cried like a baby, everything about this performance was so beautiful. Another stand out performance; “Girls/Girls/Boys.” Panic fans Eva and Briar started a chain reaction of handing out different colored hearts that say “love is not a choice” to hold up behind your phone's flashlight during this song. It creates a beautiful light up rainbow while Brendon sings this touching song. After the performance, Brendon gives a speech about how much he loves us and how the world is fucked up, but he truly believes that our generation is going to change the world, and he will stand with us during this revolution. Que more tears during this beautiful moment of love and unity.
Again, more favorites are played, but then we get some amazing covers. Everyone’s favorite Panic cover, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Is Brendon even real? His vocal range is insane, woah. Brendon also wanted to pay a tribute to someone who has played MSG, so they did a cover of “Movin’ Out” by Billy Joel. Urie played piano for both songs while slaying vocals. As if we weren’t convinced that he was talented enough, Brendon did a drum mash-up cover of “24K Magic / Bitch Better Have My Money.” Twenty-two songs all together. I think it’s safe to say that the crowd was thoroughly entertained the entire time. It’s safe to say that I will be seeing them for a second date on this tour, it was that damn good.
Check out The Death of a Bachelor tour in a city near you! Dates/TIckets: