yeah so I saw Panic 2 Thursdays ago when they kicked off their honda civic tour (which they deemed their Happy Birthday Brendon tour, with said lead singer attaining the ripe old age of 21...oh the lucky bastard...) anyhow, I've been swamped with work so I haven't had the time to write a proper review, and now, it's been such a long time (and, quite honestly, too many joints) that I won't be able to recollect everything from that night, just the important things which I so smartly wrote down the next day. so be forewarned, this is not a review, but merely a summary of the night's events.
first off, their incredibly catchy "she's a handsome woman" off their new record was stuck in my head for DAYS after. they introduced it by stating "this is a rock and roll song". thanks, Panic. but in all honesty, Panic has undergone some major changes in the past couple of years. they've shed their whole burlesque/vaudville/electronica-pop coat and (successfully) moved on to...well, they moved on to back in time when music was music and the voice was more than capable of what most synthesizers do today. also, their record has a lot of different "genres"..taking influences from folksie stuff to blues to country to good ol' rock n roll. this being said, hello Ryan Ross, who knew you had such an amazing voice?! he gave a spectacular rendition of "I have friends in holy spaces", which Brendon sings on the record.
She had the world [mp3] if his vox don't make you tear up, even just a bit, you are DEAD INSIDE.
I also really adore this song: Behind the sea [mp3], but that might just have to do with the fact that Ryan winked at me while singing it. whew. "we're all too smart to talk to g-d". yep, yep, yep.
for the record, their new album makes you feel a myriad of emotions, all good, ranging from excited/giddy [their lead single, nine in the afternoon, of course, referencing Ryan's complaint that he thought it was 7 in the afternoon when they were stuck in the recording studio with no windows for ridiculous amounts of time] to really quite at home [northern downpour]. Pretty. Odd. is to good-soundtrack-to-your-life music what A Fever You Can't Sweat Out was to a workout playlist...meant to be.
their performance was obviously a bit less than perfect, they seemed a bit intimidated and unsure of themselves. Ryan delivered through and through, though, and all of them performed quite well, the guitars BLEW MY MIND AWAY (bass included) that green gentleman anyone?
anyhow, yeah, even though their performance was not up to their own standards, it was still pretty fucking amazing.
they played a lot off of their first record, only all remixed versions. Brendon encored with "Time to Dance" [which he explained was their first recorded song] by himself on an acoustic guitar, asking the audience to full in for the missing keyboard intro. come to think of it, there was a lot of acoustic-guitar goings on during that show. the rest of the band joined Brendon after he finished to sing a couple more encore songs, Pas De Cheval [I LOVE this one. for some reason, it reminds me of Aretha Franklin. a LOT.] and Mad As Rabbits, the closer to their record.
oh, just for the record, there were three opening bands: phantom planet, the hush sound and motion city soundtrack, and PP was BY FAR the best, they gave such a spectacular performance, really genuine and heartfelt. they're just a great band who love what they're doing. it's kind of sad how that's refreshing...so many people in the music industry have just lost touch with the music and the connections it's supposed to induce with the fans...
one final thought: I almost started crying when they sang "there's a good reason these tables are numbered honey, you just haven't thought of it yet"...by far my favourite by them, and I quite enjoyed the twist they added to it.
so yeah, I stick to my word, they are, and have always been a great band. people were far too hard on them, partly because of how played out "I write sins not tragedies" became, but COME ON, most of the band weren't even 18 when they made their first record! they are musical prodigies, and more importantly, willing to learn and adapt, as they displayed with their much matured and very enjoyable sophomore record. not to mention they deliver great live sets, which is so important. I've seen them twice now and will definitely trek a third (and fourth etc) the next time they're in the neighborhood.
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