Panic! At the Disco pictures with tag: live shows

Panic at the Disco Debut Stripped-Down Set, Sound on Honda Civic Tour

There were some jarring product placements at the opening night of Panic at the Disco’s North American outing — even for something called the Honda Civic Tour. Motion City Soundtrack, the Hush Sound and Phantom Planet opened, and between sets automobile commercials alternated with videos from acts on the record label that distributes PATD’s music. (Click here for photos from last night’s show.) The Las Vegas quartet finally took the stage more than two and a half hours after the show began, opening with the salutary “We’re So Starving” and the current hit “Nine in the Afternoon.” The band alternated considerably less aggressive versions of tracks from A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out with stripped-down selections from its elaborate new album Pretty. Odd. Whether it was first-night jitters, a lack of sufficient rehearsal time, or the simple fact that their music is dependent on dozens of overdubs both from themselves and a myriad of outside players, Panic’s live presence was decidedly tentative. Drummer Spencer Smith proved himself the most confident musician: While other members cautiously approached what was essentially an entire set comprised of new and daunting arrangements, he supplied a momentum otherwise lacking from older album tracks like “Camisado” and intricate new cuts like “She’s a Handsome Woman.” Singer Brendon Urie furrowed and arched his brow to signify emotions he couldn’t fully articulate with hands occupied with guitars, while guitarist Ryan Ross looked uncomfortable and affable bassist Jon Walker acted as spokesman. Despite the fact that Panic had traded its burlesque dancers, frilly costumes and androgynous makeup for muted beige outfits and facial hair, the largely teenage and female audience screamed as if attending a boy-band spectacle. And to some degree, they were: Walker chided Urie for taking a sip from a beer, as the frontman was two days shy of his twenty-first birthday; an event Smith won’t celebrate for several m

Published: 2008-04-11 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Live Shows

Backstage With Panic at the Disco: “Give the Jonas Brothers a Beer”

The visitor’s locker room is like home to Panic at the Disco. It’s their dressing room at the Staples Center arena in Los Angeles, and there is the usual spread of chips, salsa and a big jug of Johnny Walker Red, all to help with the idle hours before showtime as Christmas lights blink in the corner. But the band is thinking about making music again. Panic bassist Jon Walker sits on a miniature amp with an electric guitar and begins strumming John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Guitarist Ryan Ross sits next to him in a pink tie and purple blazer, chewing on a bagel, but he soon moves to a small drum kit to tap out an anxious beat. “It’s funny how when you’re on tour you don’t really play music that much,” says Walker, “so we’re trying to make that happen again.” (Click above for exclusive backstage footage of Panic at the Disco). The October 10 date in L.A. is only the fourth night of a tour with Dashboard Confessional, Plain White T’s and the Cab, the first live road trip sponsored by the Rock Band video game. And Panic is keeping miniature amps, a little jazzman’s drum kit and a couple of guitars in their dressing room to work on songs for the next album, a follow-up to this year’s classic rock and pop-influenced Pretty. Odd. Another crucial bit of equipment are the burning the candles they bring to every arena locker room, says Walker. “Candles are a big must in arenas when the night before there were 40 Detroit Red Wings in the dressing room sweating it out.” Singer Brendon Urie sips a beer and drummer Spencer Smith is fresh from the shower. The band spent the last few weeks back and forth between their home base of Las Vegas and California — rehearsing at home, then out to L.A. to shoot a video for “Northern Downpour,” a few days of rehearsal and a show in San Diego, L.A. again for Last Call with Carson Daly, back to Vegas, Phoenix, Vegas and now in downtown L.A. In a few hours would be the tour’s first show to include Panic’s big video wall. “We’re going to film the sho

Published: 2008-10-15 Provider: Rolling Stone Keywords: Rock News, Live Shows, Videos, More News