INDIANAPOLIS — Panic! At The Disco brought together thousands of people Friday night in a packed Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for the band's second stop of its "Pray For The Wicked" tour.
Before the show started, a giant digital clock started counting down from 10 minutes at center stage and screams of excitement could be heard resonating throughout the arena.
When the time ran out, the lights faded, the sound of a deep bass began to rumble the floor and the backing band rose out of the stage flooded by hazy blue lights. Moments later, lead singer and frontman Brendon Urie shot out of the stage floor into the air and landed to screaming applause.
It’s difficult to encapsulate a show like Panic! At The Disco's. It has all the intensity of Circ Du Soleil and all the panache of a broadway musical. Urie, the only original member of P!ATD still in the band's lineup, amplifies the depth of shows with insane vocal performances and theatrics that would leave even the most seasoned concert goer speechless. Friday night’s show in Indianapolis was no different.
In fact, if Friday’s concert had been the vocal Olympics, Urie would have been standing center stage with a gold medal hanging from his neck.
Urie drove the wildly diverse evening setlist with passion and intensity — the likes of which he has come to be known by — from start to finish. From the opening song “(F*** A) Silver Lining” off the band's newest album “Pray for the Wicked,” to a cover of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the show had everything. Urie made sure one thing was very, very clear throughout the set: he has ridiculous range.
While the show marched with purpose, it was the unexpected moments that made the night memorable. After Urie performed 13 songs while dancing back and forth on stage alongside a relatively modest-sized band made up of guitar, bass, drums, strings and a three-piece brass section, he made his way through the crowd singing “Death of a Bachelor.”
It was during this song he shook hands with fans, signed outstretched CDs and t-shirts and even hugged a young girl who was left beaming as he continued on his path towards the back of the venue. Through the entire route, Urie couldn’t help but smile and tell the crowd in a pure, unequivocal tone, “I love all of you.” It’s moments like these that make Urie so likable.
Seconds later, Urie approached a white piano that was uncovered at the back of the venue, sat down and informed the audience he was going to play a song his mother played for him when he was a child. He began playing a short cover of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” and the piano platform lifted into the air and hovered over the crowd before gliding overhead back toward the stage.
Urie’s undeniable chemistry with his fans adds fuel to the fire of his shows. Once he arrived back on stage, he took a moment to talk with the fans who inspire him.
“I look at you guys, a lot of you younger people, and you encourage and inspire me to mobilize,” he said. “The passion you guys have for being who you are, I didn’t have that at your age. So, thank you for instilling my confidence in myself.”
During the song “Girls/Girls/Boys” Urie grabbed two pride flags from audience members and held them while performing.
Early in July, Urie confirmed in an interview with Paper magazine that he is pansexual, a term for attraction to people that is not limited to a particular gender identity or sexual orientation.
“If a person is great, then a person is great,” he said in the interview. “I just like good people, if your heart’s in the right place.”
Regardless of who you are or where you come from, Urie makes it a point to create an atmosphere that is both electric and inviting. He creates a place where, for an hour and 45 minutes, a person can be exactly who they are among others who share the same passion for music, life and love.
Before commencing the final song, Urie replaced his in-ear monitor and told the crowd he couldn't wait to be back again and until then, “Be kind to each other.”
