Pray for the Wicked Tour
PANIC! AT THE DISCO
PRAY FOR THE WICKED TOUR | US BANK ARENA | CINCINNATI, OHIO
A Collaborative Expansion;
Photos: Nicole Juliette Hetlyn - @nicolejuliette1
Article: Bailey Moser, Olivia Kremer, and Nicole Juliette Hetlyn
MOSER: High hopes are taken even higher following the explosive energy Panic! at the Disco brings to the second leg of their Pray for the Wicked 2019 tour. It’s hard not to panic when confetti, fireworks, and ACTUAL fire are just the start of the exciting stunts Brendon Urie pulls in this stretch for Panic!’s fans. Newcomers, Mike Naran and Nicole Row, are comfortable in front of the crowds and have a commanding presence as the backbone of the band. With talented solos, rifts, and expressions, Naran and Row’s presence harmonizes Urie’s liveliness through their instruments and vocals. Members wore all black alongside the band’s show-stealing lead, who also sported all black with a recognizable peacock piece: his shiny black & gold velvet blazer. We don’t care how many shows the blazer has seen… we wouldn’t mind doing that dry cleaning.
Aside from Panic!’s members being exceptionally fashionable & good looking, the Pray for the Wicked show is literally heart pounding; with music so loud that if you’re close enough, you feel your organs rattle inside your rib cage. Talk about Urie’s vocals giving your stomach butterflies! Special shout out to other apparatuses shaking things up, such as the synchronized swaying of trombones and trumpets alike. Trios of strings and brass both dawn upper stages left and right, giving accents of eloquence and class to parallel the brash quirk Panic! listeners have come to love so much.
Counting 12 video panel screens lining the stage background, tour goers are offered plenty of close ups for the flirty facials, playful winks, and pearly whites no matter where they in the arena. Speaking of counting… a 10 minute, leading to 20 second countdown launches at the top of the show because - as Savvage Media manager & longtime Panic! fan, Nicole Hetlyn, puts it - “Brendon goes on at 8:50 p.m. every night, sharp!” As if the anticipation in Cincinnati wasn’t already thick enough to cut! The stadium stairs were so steep going down the floor, you might as well have tried crowd surfing to your seat.
FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE…
Patient Panic! fans are rewarded with an instant confetti drop because well, with everything falling down around us, we’d like to believe in all the possibilities the 28-song show has in store!
With openers like “(Fuck a) Silver Lining” and “Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time”, audiences are welcomed to the Pray for the Wicked tour with anthems for the ages. It’s just cherries on top while Brendon rises from the floor and dances his way downstage. Women are crying and throwing their babies…just kidding, that was just Savvage Media and by babies, we mean our money because how can one human be so immensely talented?
No fan girling here either, Brendon has genuinely become a more impressive artist since the beginning of Panic! at the Disco in 2004. After all, it’s been an exciting few years for Panic! and fans alike, with highlights like Urie’s Broadway debut on May 26, 2017 and two number one albums, Death of a Bachelor and Pray for the Wicked (which peaked July 7th, 2018 according to the Billboard Hot 100. At one point between songs, Urie shared the sentiment of how he realized 2019 marks 15 years that he’s been playing Panic! He thanked the audience for giving him the best 15 years of his life, and how it has been so fun, he can hardly believe how long it’s been.
The band looked as though they were truly enjoying themselves and their time being with their fans. Oftentimes you would see Urie remove his in-ear devices so he could listen to the audience members singing along. He would gaze into the crowds with what looked like watery-eyed wonder, smiling without showing his teeth, arms loose to his sides except for the grip of his mic. “I love it when that syncs up,” Urie said through a huge smile, referring to one of their popular singles and closers “Say Amen (Saturday Night)” appropriately being performed on Saturday, January 26th, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
KREMER: If Crazy=Genius, then Brendon Urie is a mastermind. With an updated setlist and even more confetti than leg one of the Pray For The Wicked Tour, Panic! at the Disco brought fans a night they'll never forget in Cincinnati. Urie commanded the attention of the entire arena, putting all of his energy into a show that begs to be seen again and again. Fans became a part of the show as well, creating a sea of rainbow lights during "Girls/Girls/Boys." The crowd was louder than ever during the encore, helping Brendon out during crowd favorites "Say Amen" (on a Saturday night, nonetheless), "I Write Sins Not Tragedies," and "Victorious." Walking out of US Bank Arena, fans were full of smiles, feeling like kings and queens of the clouds after Panic!'s incredible set.
HETLYN: As Bailey and Olivia both mentioned, this is an impeccable show. There are very few artists I can see live that every single song gives me goosebumps. I’ve been seeing Panic! for several years, and every tour kicks it up a notch. Brendon is hands down my favorite performer. He pours his heart, soul, and sass into every song. I truly am blown away by how much he has grown as an artist. Also, adding Nicole Row and Mike Naran to the band has helped take Panic! to an even higher level. Watching the band interact playfully with synchronized jumps and smiles had me hooked. This is a perfect pairing up on the stage; they are all so genuinely happy to be there. One of my favorite things about a Panic! show is how interactive they are. During “Death of a Bachelor,” Brendon does the “death walk.” Brendon goes through the crowd saying hi to fans, taking selfies, and thanking people. He even let a fan sing a line into his mic, and told a girl she looked gorgeous (followed by a necessary shriek from the girl). Another favorite moment was Brendon “flying over the crowd” with his piano during “Dying in LA.” This left chills all over my body, as Urie gave us chilling vocals. Cell phone flashlights lit up the arena, and Urie hung off the side of the piano to greet fans. I could go on for hours, but I highly recommend seeing the show and experiencing this work of art for yourself. As Brendon accurately sings in his Hugh Jackman cover; this is “the Greatest Show.”
RELATED ARTICLES:
Kinky Boots feat Brendon Urie - Show Review/Photos
Death of a Bachelor Tour - Show Review
“Say Amen (Saturday Night” + “(Fuck a) Silver Lining” - Song/Music Video Review
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