The only things higher than our hopes for Wednesday night’s sold out Panic! At The Disco show were the out of this world notes lead singer Brendon Urie nailed repeatedly throughout the electrifying show. Suffice to say, the final show of the North American leg of the Pray for the Wicked Tour fulfilled our hopes and exceeded our expectations.
20-year-old Youtuber-turned-musician Conan Gray and alternative duo Two Feet Music got fans on their feet, and warmed them up for the anticipated main act to come.
As the number of seconds left on the countdown clock shrunk, the excitement in the room grew immensely. The audience chanted along for the last 10 seconds and the room went dark as the cheers became even louder. Finally, Urie sprung up from underneath the stage and began singing “F*ck A Silver Lining.” Appropriately, silver tinsel rained down from the ceiling.
Packed with pyrotechnics, confetti, crowd moments, and a flying stage, there was never a dull moment from start to finish. Urie was bursting with life, excitement, energy, and love for the entirety of the almost two-hour performance (during which he took very few breaks.) The thrilling start to the show was followed by high-energy hits such as, “Ready to Go” and “Hey Look Ma, I Made It.” Following “Mona Lisa,” Urie left the stage only to rise up again a minute later to show off his impressive piano skills with oldie and fan-favorite, “Nine in the Afternoon.”
During “Death of a Bachelor,” Urie walked through the crowd and personally thanked fans for coming to the show as he made his way to a platform across the arena. It would lift him up as the first slow song of the night, “Dying In LA,” began. The arena looked breathtakingly beautiful lit up entirely by flashlights as the performer gracefully flew over thousands of entranced Panic! fans while playing piano once again.
The fans were made to feel like a massive part of the show; Urie wanted to make them feel included in every way possible. During “Girls/Girls/Boys,” they picked up multi-colored heart-shaped pieces of paper off of their seats and held them in front of their phone’s flashlights as they waved them back and forth. The song’s message is made clear in its lyrics; “love is not a choice.” Much like the confetti falling from the ceiling towards the end of the song, our hearts fluttered as a rainbow of color filled the room. Urie, who had wrapped himself in a rainbow flag, gave a special message to his fans.
“Thank you for holding those hearts up.…if you’re feeling downtrodded, if you’re feeling bullied, like an outcast, a misfit, like you don’t belong…know this one truth; you do belong. We accept you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for existing.”
We LOVE you, @PanicAtTheDisco 🙌🏳️🌈 pic.twitter.com/RSw7fw1fQv— Golden 1 Center (@Golden1Center) February 21, 2019
The sense of collective effervescence amongst the thousands of fans from this moment on was so strong that it was almost tangible. There was an intoxicating feeling of pure joy and togetherness radiating all around. Fans did not miss a single beat as they screamed the words to chart-topper after chart-topper, including a chillingly beautiful cover of Bohemian Rhapsody, which Urie called “one of the best songs ever written,“ and their latest single, “High Hopes.”
At one point in the show, we were even given another taste of Urie’s instrumental skills when he performed an impressive drum solo — complete with “cowbell prescription” references Sacramentans can particularly appreciate.
Unsurprisingly, the band’s encore performance of the night was arguably the band’s biggest hit of all time, eternal crowd-pleaser, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies.” As the final show of Panic!’s Pray for the Wicked Tour came to a close, Urie thanked his fans for all their support over the years and reminded them once again how happy he was to be there with them.
“You had to beat millions of tadpoles in order to be here on Planet Earth,” he preached. “The only reason you’re here is because you got first place. Understand that you started life as a winner, and we’re all winners tonight, baby!”
To say the show ended on a high note as a final round of confetti rained down on the audience during “Victorious,” would be misleading, because it implies that there were lower notes. In truth, the entire show was one long high note. It was the kind of show that is sure to give you goosebumps every time you remenisce about it. Urie is an absolute force of nature, and last night’s performance proved that the singer will (literally) do backflips to make his fans feel entertained, loved, and appreciated.
Judging by his electrifying stage presence and the astounding level of energy the band brought to every single song without fail last night, it is no surprise that Panic! at the Disco has continued to see such success for the past 15 years. Though this was the last show of the Pray for the Wicked Tour, we’re praying it’s not the last time the band graces our stage.
