Ever seen the movie “Moulin Rouge?” Pop it into a DVD player while listening to Panic! At the Disco’s album and it is easy to get a sense of what Panic’s live show is like.
The lack of design creativity was briefly forgotten as attention shifted to the three glamorous yet freakish dancers on stage with the band. The dancers were dressed exactly like the white-faced, mop-haired, clown-like actors in their video for “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” and ran rampant across the stage for most of the show. The deja vu feeling returned during one song as the dancers performed choreography with ropes similar to the choreography in Madonna’s video, “Human Nature.”
Although the lack of visual originality was obvious, it does not mean the performance was any less enjoyable. Some bands, especially those as new to fame as Panic! and possibly not very experienced, can sound horrible live. Besides maintaining a high energy level during their whole set, Panic! sounded as good and catchy live as they do on their album.
A sold-out venue of mostly young teenagers and likely TRL watchers screamed along word-for-word to every song as the band played most of their songs, and even threw in covers to Radiohead’s “Karma Police, and Smashing Pumpkins’ “Tonight, Tonight.”
Certain concert-goers were as colorful as the bands playing. Concert fashion was an ‘anything goes’ type of attitude with fans wearing anything from T-shirt and jeans, to 80’s punk motif, to frilly skirts with corsets and white face cabaret makeup. Middle-aged adults were a rare sight.
The cabaret lovers squealed with delight earlier in the night when ringmaster and Panic! singer Brenden Urie made an appearance on stage during the Dresden Dolls’ set to perform a cover of Britney Spear’s “Hit me Baby one more Time” with Dolls’ singer and pianist, Amanda Palmer. The duet between Urie and Palmer was proof that almost any performer could have made that song a hit.
Putting Dolls and Panic! on the same bill was a somewhat awkward fit. Although both bands rely heavily on pianos and eccentric stage presence in their performances, their fan bases seem to be from two different worlds.
During the Dolls’ set, half the audience seemed to be enjoying Palmer’s attacking manner of playing her keyboard, but the other half of the crowd spent the time wandering around, talking on their cell phones or chatting with their friends sitting on the grass next to them.
The crowd appeared even less interested with the initial opening act, The Hush Sound. Viewers stood motionless but attentive while THS kicked off the evening with its keyboard, rock ‘n’ roll guitar riffs and drum infused sound. THS’s sound seemed like a good touring match with Dolls, but again an odd combination with Panic!
Dresden Dolls“What do you call a fire in a cookie factory? Panic! At Nabisco.” That was the joke Dresden Dolls’ singer and pianist Amanda Palmer told her audience at CD101 radio station as she prepared to do a live on-air set. Dresden Dolls and The Hush Sound are currently on tour supporting Panic! At the Disco and played a sold-out concert at Lifestyle Communities Pavilion on Thursday evening. While THS and Panic! played one major concert that day, Dolls flexed their tireless muscles by making three public performances in Columbus. The duo’s first was during the afternoon at CD101 for part of the station’s “Big Room” performances. Palmer sang while bandmate Brian Viglione played acoustic guitar to some of their songs and a few lesser known covers. Immediately after signing autographs for fans that came by the station to watch, the band rushed to LC Pavilion for sound check. Later that evening, after playing their lengthy set on the venue’s outdoor stage, the band ran in between fans to get to their merch station, grabbed a few items and then jumped into an awaiting cab to take them to their final appearance of the night. The third performance was at Columbus’ only independent neighborhood theater, Studio 35 Cinema, in support of “Fuck the back row! A Night of celluloid vaudeville with Amanda Palmer.” Back row is a program of short films submitted by Dresden Dolls’ fans that have been selected by long-time Dolls’ collaborator, Michael Pope, and producer BriAnna Olson. After the films finished rolling, and local oddball artists performed, Palmer closed the evening by playing piano and singing songs from not-so-popular film soundtracks. With little time to rest, how do the Dolls keep up with such an exhausting pace? “By being a very boring band,” Palmer said while raising one of her modified eyebrows. |
