(As published for Bournemouth Daily Echo)
CHANGING
genre and dropping the all-important exclamation mark from their name
could have been a costly move for Las Vegas four-piece Panic at the
Disco, but a sold-out Southampton Guildhall proved they still have that
special je ne sais quoi.
Following a quirky, if somewhat
x-rated, performance from Cosmo Jarvis, and a notable support set from
Tonight is Goodbye, Panic opened with Pretty Odd album opener We're So
Starving, in which they sang an apology for their long absence - "we're
so sorry we've been gone, we've been busy writing songs for you".
They
wove together previous album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out and the
current album fairly seamlessly, which I thought would be a challenge
they might have difficulty overcoming.
advertisementHowever I,
and other doubtful members of the audience, were happily proved wrong
as old favourites like But it's Better if You Do and I Write Sins Not
Tragedies sat well alongside new style Panic songs, including Nine in
the Afternoon and latest single That Green Gentleman (Things Have
Changed).
Frontman Brendon Urie performed a flawless
unaccompanied acoustic version of Time to Dance before being joined by
his band for an encore of Pas de Cheval, and Mad as Rabbits - the song
that saw 21-year-old songwriter and lead guitarist Ryan Ross truly
shine.
Roars from the audience reflected their mass approval, suggesting Panic will be around for a long time to come.
Allana Cutter