 I
arrive at the venue hoping the get in to shoot
King Charles, a rather eccentric English singer/songwriter,
as I’ve heard good things about him, but
unfortunately due to a miscommunication with photo
passes, I don’t get in until the end of
his set, but what little I did see was great.
He sounding pristine with clear cut guitars and
vocals putting over his unique style and attitude.
I manage to catch Mississippi Isabel, with its
slow piano and poetic vocals with a lovely guitar
solo to boot, Lady Percy a more sweet sounding
ballad about love with almost chanting vocals
and finally the song  that
gave him a record deal Love Lust, a bitter sweet
love song that starts of quiet but builds up to
an epic chorus of guitars drums and keys, it all
sound great and I wish I’d caught more of
the set. King Charles leaves the stage to huge
applause with the crowd seemingly warmed up, it’s
time for the main act.
Panic At The Disco, are a bit different now from
when they first started, with many original members
gone it now remains just Spencer Smith and Brendon
Urie, but with Smith currently trying to get over
addiction problems its left to Urie to be the
only original member, but although he is the only
original  member
he isn’t alone as he is joined by bassist
Dallon Weekes who is now an official member of
the band and 2 other touring members on drums
and guitar to make this live show work. The stage
gets shrouded in darkness and the band take to
the stage, as the intro to Vegas Lights plays,
then from the back of the stage Urie bursts forward
with his echoy vocals driving the crowd of mainly
girls wild. He gets to the front of the stage
with his mini keyboard/synth controls stand, which
controls both his vocal effects and background
synth, and goes crazy jumping around and getting
this party started. The band sound amazing, with
crystal clear vocals from Urie, and with an awesome
blend  of
guitars, bass, drums and keys which make it almost
sound like you’re listening to a Panic At
The Disco Cd instead of seeing them on stage,
which is amazing considering the huge vocal range
that is used by Urie. The set continues with Time
to Dance, which has the chantable sections of
“when I say shotgun you say wedding!”
and the crowd loves it, speaking of the crowd
it is a shame that this venue isn’t packed
out, it seems as if the floor could have been
almost full if the venue had shut the balcony,
but instead people have chosen to sit down and
watch the gig instead of getting involved downstairs,
it really does puzzle me as this is a band you
dance too, with their catchy  chorus’s
and sing-a-longable vocals, which is none more
everpresent than in the 3rd track they play, The
Ballad of Mona Lisa. After this Urie takes a moment
to thank the crowd for kicking things of with
a bang, he then goes on to thank everyone for
the years of support before playing an oldy, The
Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide
is the Press Coverage which explodes throughout
the venue. They continue with Lets Kill Tonight,
This Is Gospel, Camisado, Hurricane, New Perspective
and Casual Affair. The band look amazing, with
everyone getting into the swing of things by pouncing
about the stage and playing up to the screams
coming from different sections. When Urie isn’t
stuck twiddling nobs, he’s moving about
as much as possible. The stage set up is also
something worth noting, as the back drop is moving
images that changes throughout each song, which
adds an almost stadium vibe to this show, that
and the huge setlist sets Panic At The Disco apart
from other bands that would normally play venues
like this, as they continue with more classics;
Ready To Go, Miss Jackson, Nine In The Afternoon,
The End Of All Things, Lying Is The Most Fun A
Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off,
Nicotine, But Its Better If You Do and Nearly
Witches which sees the band  retreat
to the side of stage to huge screams. The band
reappear with a now topless Urie, which drives
the girls crazy, before they go into Girls/Girls/Boys,
Urie then takes a moment to tell the crowd how
he normally does something on a Thursday only
that’s called Positive Hardcore Thursday’s
but he’s going to play it on a Saturday,
this song is a screamo metal song that involves
plenty of screaming and also introduces smoke
guns that blast air into the roof of the venue
to huge cheers. They then end the night with I
Write Sins Not Tragedies, which sees the smoke
go crazy and the crowd too.
Overall tonight has been amazing, King Charles
started the night off well with his own brand
of indie pop before Panic At The Disco tour the
Civic a new one with huge pop ballads and a great
stage show, I can’t recommend Panic At The
Disco live enough, I can’t believe this
is my first time seeing them and I hope it isn’t
my last!
King Charles 3/5
Panic At The Disco 4.5/5
Review By James Daly
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