Panic! At The Disco: Death of a Bachelor Tour

Panic! At The Disco w/ Misterwives and Saint Motel
WaMu Theater, Seattle, WA
03.26.17

Fans waited in long lines, mainly young teenage girls, packed tight together inside the WaMu Theater for Panic! At The Disco. The disco-pop band has basically turned into a solo band for original lead singer Brendon Urie. After a number of lineup changes and genre tweaks, The Death of A Bachelor tour felt more like the groundwork for what’s to come from the band. Currently on their West Coast portion of their largest headlining tour to date, PATD were playing in stadiums and selling out venues all across the country.

Opening the show were Saint Motel from Los Angeles. This indie pop band’s performance was fun and a breeze to dance to. A horn section in the back added an interesting twist to the typical pop band. During “Puzzle Piece,” the horn solo really got the crowd excited. SM’s lead, A/J Jackson, really hyped up the crowd for Panic! multiple times during the set. Most notably on the last song, SM played their most popular song, “My Type,” which set up the following act perfectly.

Next up was New York City-based band, Misterwives. They entered the stage to the song “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. It was the perfect entrance, leading into their first song, “Imagination Infatuation.” This female-fronted act brought an even more energetic presence then SM, if that’s possible to imagine. Also accommpanied by a back row of horns, this lively and bubbly group captured the attention of the audience instantly. Leading singer, Mandy Lee, danced around non-stop from the first note to the last. While most of their songs are catchy pop tunes they played a new song off their upcoming record that showed more range, especially in Lee’s vocals. She brought a really unique soul to the band’s sound. The performance left current and any new fans excited for what’s to come from this young band.

With a countdown clock ticking away the minutes and seconds until the start of the show, the anticipation was building. Once it reached 00:00 the venue went dark and the music lit up the venue. With an explosion of light, each member of PATD entered the stage and went right into “Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time,” from their latest release and tour name Death of a Bachelor.

Urie, as the front man and the only remaining original member, commanded most of the show. He’s a singer with a naturally strong bravado, and the band provided a beautiful accent to his personality. Sticking mainly to the middle of the stage, Urie danced by himself to each song most of the night. He came to the edge of the stage only a few times.

The heavy inspiration from Sinatra on Death of a Bachelor was incorporated into older songs throughout the night. Panic! remixed fan favorites into songs that meshed with their new style. From their first record, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out, PATD remixed three songs into one epic and nostalgic song featuring “The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage,” “Camisado,” and “But It’s Better If You Do.”

Panic! is well known for their over-the-top, theatrical music videos, and they incorporated this into their live show. After “Hallelujah,” a short video played during an intermission where is appears to ”follow” Urie backstage. Backstage, he gets abducted, tied to a chair, and shocked, symbolising what can only be seen as “The Death of a Bachelor.” The music video offered an entertaining transition as a grand piano was moved on stage. The theatrics included flames from the stage during the start of “Miss Jackson.”

Halfway through the set, Urie told the crowd he woke up feeling “hella sick” but the enthusiasm from the fans was making him feel way better. Considering he had a temperature of 103 and was losing his voice, you could not even tell he was feeling sick. The whole night he gave it everything he had. You could see the smile on Urie’s face as he sang each note. From the beginning to the end, you could see that the death of his bachelor life was a good thing coming.

With a setlist full of incredible original songs, Urie made room to pay tribute to the songs that inspired him when writing music. He told the audience he loved to listen to these songs as he grew up. He covered Billy Joel’s “Movin’ Out” and Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

The night ended with Panic!’s two most popular songs from their first album and their most recent album, starting with “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” and ending with “Victorious.” It was a perfect summary from the band’s beginnings to where they are now. At the end of the night, after a show like that, there were no sad faces leaving the venue even though it was raining outside.

Review and photos by Logan Westom

Panic At The Disco