The opening act was Betty Who (who?)
– who put on a great show with some backup dancers. I loved how humbly she
introduced herself, asking if we were excited for Panic and then saying “I’m
going to sing and dance for you while you wait for them to get here”. But then
just rocked, with so much confidence. Also – an average sized woman, who was clearly proud of her body? You go Betty. More of that please, music industry. The
main opening act was Two Feet, who were a big part of the reason we were there.
I often tease Jeff that he hasn’t liked a new band in 20 years (this man loves
Nirvana and Tool), but it turned out all he needed was Slacker radio (which
comes free in his new car) to expose him to some new artists – he’s now added
Two Feet and Twenty One Pilots to his list of bands he really likes (both
excellent choices!). He’s destroyed my ear drums frequently with Two Feet’s crazy
bass lines, so I thought that was a good candidate for our next concert - so
for Christmas I decided that would be the perfect gift for him. And behold,
Ticketmaster tells me they’re touring! ... opening for one of my favourite
bands. That would be a hilariously selfish Christmas present, so I ended up
consulting with him on it and we decided to make a Montreal weekend out of
seeing Panic, Two Feet and staying at a nice downtown airbnb.
The weather cooperated for our
adventure – sunny, and freezing. Lol. But at least not the snowstorm of this
weekend – that would have been way trickier. We stopped at three superchargers
along the way to Montreal – conveniently located by an LCBO in Pickering (yes, I
SHOULD buy some champagne!), a Boston Pizza in Kingston (please, take all our money in exchange for so many calories), and absolutely nothing in
Cornwall (I stargazed instead, it was a beautiful clear effing freezing night).
We rolled in with 150kms on the Tesla, thinking that would be plenty until we
wandered to a supercharger sometime the next day – only to find that our
pampered electric car, used to sleeping in a southern Ontario garage, did not
react well to -30 windchills outdoors overnight and we had to take it to a
charger STAT on Saturday morning lest it lose more battery and we be stranded!!
Yikes! Lots of lessons learned about electric cars in the deep cold (such as:
we should have taken my plug in hybrid!). We had amazing poutine for lunch, lounged
about in bed in the sun (how nice is it when you’re in another home that you DON’T
have to clean, without piles of laundry to do and a mournful staring dog to
walk!? So relaxing!), and mastered the subway system to Laval. Mon Francais est
terrible, but I muddled through dinner and drinks before the show. 2019 resolution back on the table: learn some damn French!!
So, back to the concert.
Two Feet played and it was a great
show even though his voice wasn’t that easy to make out above the sound of his
super loud excellent electric guitar playing. He’s a crazy talented guitarist and
it was great to watch. I felt like Jeff and I were the only people who knew all
the words to all the songs and we sang our hearts out. Some people did know
their radio single Feel Like I’m Drownin’ – and gave it well deserved cell
phone flashlight love! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCW_GRh8AjY
Brendon later shared that he handpicked Two Feet because he loved what he was
doing – I thought so, and even more props to him.
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| Two Feet clap |
So now.. the stage is empty, the
roadies are gone, and it’s dark – until a 1 minute countdown until Panic comes
on hits the stage is up on the huge screens behind the stage. The crowd of
teenagers is going wild. Jeff wonders: “where are the drums?” just as the drums
and drummer rise out of the stage on a platform. And then a string trio and
brass trio rise on either side. It’s hard to know where to look, and sooooo fun
to watch.. then it’s dark again... until suddenly LIGHTS – and at the same
moment Brendon on a platform rising out of the middle of the stage LEAPS into
the air, seemingly out of nowhere, at the same time the lyrics and music of (Fuck
A) Silver Lining start, at the same moment a bunch of giant confetti cannons
explode all over the audience. It was ridiculous and hilarious and awesome!! I
could watch the youtube videos of it all day – this one I found from another fan is good, aim for
0:19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkfpzZ1Jb8s - I could literally watch that moment on repeat for the rest of my life lol.
We had these crazy good seats (come on, it was Christmas!) four rows back from the end of that stage arm, and
the people standing in front of us were two super short 10 year old girls, so
we lived the concert dream of sitting through the entire show AND having a
great view. Ah, being old. I did miss standing/dancing a bit, but I wasn’t going to
miss this once in a lifetime opportunity. And we started a sitting chain that lasted three rows
behind us. Super impressed ;) Here’s a snippet from Silver Lining once I caught
my breath, and you can see our sweet view! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juALfUFsUAY
Those dance moves. Those pants! lol. Apparently he wears them for confidence as he has social anxiety - hard to imagine, but I dig him even more for being open about mental health issues. This man is sending only good vibes to the next gen.
I honestly can’t think how to
describe this show. Pure energy. Beautiful light show. Pyrotechnics. Seriously
talented musicians (Brendon doesn’t just sing 5 octaves, dance like a maniac,
play guitar and piano – he drums too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fek1KfzU6N4).
At one point he started playing piano back by the sound equipment and suddenly
his piano, on a platform, rose into the air. Then, it travelled across the
entire length of the general admission crowd on the floor until it reached the
stage while he played Dying in LA. Unreal!
 |
| Piano floats across audience -before landing back at the stage - wild! |
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| This Is Gospel - guitar break from dancing |
He played so many of my favourites,
from Crazy=Genius to One of the Drunks to Miss Jackson (not that Miss Jackson)
to Hallelujah (not that Hallelujah). And their amazing Bohemian Rhapsody cover. The way he acts out his lyrics has always
made me think that’s how I’d act if I were a singer, and it’s so silly and so
fun. Everything was over the top, bright, sparkly, fabulous and amazing. His leather
pants, gold microphone and dance moves were a delight :D The band (total new configuration)
were super solid and the orchestra accompaniment, which I totally HEARD on the
last album but didn’t quite register (ya know?) were great.
 |
| So much fun! |
It felt like it went
on forever, in the best possible way, and I went home just happy and exhausted.
And proud! The little band that everyone thought disappeared (people have said
to me: “remember that emo band Panic! at the Disco?” to which I’d reply “they
have six albums and are one of my favourite bands” (snarkypants)) are releasing Billboard #1 albums and lighting up a whole
new generation with their energy and vibe. Their music is just fantastic – so alive,
fun, catchy, real – and I feel sooo lucky to have seen them at this show!! Yay!
 |
| Dancing in leather pants has got to be warm - shirtless encore which included I Write Sins Not Tragedies (classic!) |
