A change of venue from Burswood Dome to the slightly more modest Challenge Stadium saw crowds arriving hours earlier due to the first-come-first-seated policy as there was no allocated seating. On arrival people could be seen lining up from the stadium to Woop Woop from all directions and all doors, though the pace was steady and getting in was no problem. The concert: a showcase of some of the biggest bands to come out of America from record labels Decaydance/ Fueled by Ramen. It has been two years since we first laid ears on the once unique sounds of A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. For the first time in their touring careers Panic at the Disco graces the West with their fusion of pop/techno/rock and whatever could be added to that list.
Local boys and finalists in the support competition, Mavericks and Imposters weren’t originally meant to play the opening slot of the tour but when asked, enthusiastically accepted the last minute invitation. Playing a very short four song set they warmed up the crowd with their punk/rock sounds starting with Lions and Tigers and Bears. They were well received for an unsigned and relatively unknown band. Taking in the atmosphere lead singer Daniel Wootton could be seen jumping on the amps and belting out lyrics with enthusiasm whilst band members Dave Petchell (guitarist), Tim Rose (bassist) and Jeff”Badlands” Arhn (guitarist) manoeuvred the stage and guitar battled each other. Taking their fifteen minutes of fame (literally) to capitalize on this opportunity they wrapped up with Headlines for the Households.
For the first buffering period fans managed to entertain themselves to Flo Rida’s Low with the river of people below in the “Panic” pit getting down and singing along. Not long after, Soulja Boy’s Crank Dat Soulja Boy played over the speakers bringing out Cobra Starship, flamboyant front man, Gabe Saporta who busted out a couple of the moves receiving applause from the onlookers.
Kicking it off with the epic dance hit The City is at War from their 2008 release ¡Viva La Cobra! we felt the stadium shake to its rafters with five-thousand plus people jumping to the beat. In the middle of their set Saporta mentioned that he knew Samuel L. Jackson and that he had told him that the most important thing to have was a gang/band/fang sign. In a show of embarrassing proportions people made the cobra sign and raised it into the air. Unexpectedly, William Beckett of The Academy is… joined band on stage to sing Bring it (Snakes on a Plane) with all the tweens, preteens and parents shrilly screaming at the top of their lungs. Pointing into the moshpit, we saw girls positively faint from the thought that he may have actually been pointing at them. Finishing with Guilty Pleasure we saw waves of raised fists while fans yelled, “Shut up!” and as the rest of the band walked off stage Saporta ran into the pit to the pleasure of ready to grope hands.
The crowd was beginning to look like a tin of sardines as we were heading towards the headliners but, we weren’t there just yet. Up next were the aforementioned The Academy is…. Last time they were in Perth they played to a small crowd at Club Capitol so this was definitely a major step up for the band whose popularity has been exponentially rising in Australia. No time for small talk as the band launched straight into the well known single Neighbors (for the extra vowel haters). Band members Mike Carden(guitarist), Adam T. Siska (bassist) and Aussie Michael Guy Chislett (guitarist) worked the floor with Beckett while Andy “The Butcher” Mrotek madly played the drums in the back. After an introduction to the band, the audience got a first taste of new track Summer Hair = Forever Young which had only been released nine days(eight if you are from America) prior with the album Fast Times at Barrington High.
In a dramatic moment everything was slowed down and lights were dimmed for Everything We Had off of 2007’s sophomore album Santi. In retaliation the audience whipped out their mobiles and lit up the room like hundreds of fireflies waving side-to-side proving how effective lyrics can be. Wrapping up their set with About a Girl, Beckett also joked that this song was about his ex-girlfriend, Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice. Local knowledge…Always a crowd pleaser.
Lighting techs sat in the rigs like trapeze artists to prepare for the final act whilst backdrops of floral patterns rolled out from the sides to frame the scene.
Lights flared up to reveal a stage set out like the album cover of Pretty.Odd., microphones woven with fairy lights and fake flowers. Perhaps the nights loudest, shrillest screams rung throughout the stadium as Panic at The Disco took to the stage. With Perth missing out on the theatrical, circus themed show last tour, singer Brendon Urie claimed that they were still the same band trying to prove so with We’re So Starving with apologies in the lyrics. Behind, a screen turned on to show animal anatomy, suits of armour, falling silhouettes of people and gardens that look like they’d been taken straight out of Alice in Wonderland. After a spot on performance of The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage guitarist Ryan Ross showing his knowledge of Australian bands sung a excerpt of Savage Garden’s Truly Madly Deeply sending the entire female population in the room swooning. To further stir the audience a show of hands for singles was called for and a bid for Urie who also had single status started at three-hundred dollars. A disappointing amount for an international rock star.
More audience participation was guaranteed when PATD played There’s a Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven’t Thought of it Yet as punters were asked to use jazz hands in the chorus and snaps in the verses. This was followed by the favourite I Write Sins Not Tragedies where the band refused to sing unless everyone sang along. Of course, the crowd obliged, intending to do so anyway, and practically everyone was out of their seats. The band thanked the audience for a warm reception and dropped their instruments.
The room was once again darkened. Out of nowhere chants and thunderous stomping bounced off the walls for the encore.
Urie took to the stage once again, solo, to play an acoustic version of Time to Dance, an interesting change from the usual electronic effects that back the song. Joined again by his fellow band mates of Ross, drummer Spencer Smith and bassist Jon Walker they introduced each other and thanked the congregation for attending the concert and played the final song of the night Mad as Rabbits. Exiting stage right, all that could be seen of the band were their shadows in the dark and as the human silhouette on the screen waved good bye so ended the night that was.
