Dates: May 20-June 29
Price: $25.00-$35.00
Opening Acts: fun. Foxy Shazam, The Tabernacle
Why You Should Go: After the exit of guitarist Ryan Ross and bassist Jon Walker, Panic! are re-embracing their hyper-dramatic emo roots on their new album, Vices & Virtues, and supporting tour. “I really miss wearing costumes and makeup,” singer Brendan Urie told SPIN. “I love throwing a big production. I’ve recently been reading about Tesla coils and I’m trying to figure out how I can get one that sits on the stage and shoots sparks without hurting anybody.” Onstage the band shoots sparks of their own, too. At their album release show in New York City, Panic! “were bundles of gracious energy, feeding off the ecstatic post-teen crowd,” wrote SPIN.
With the departure of founding members Ryan Ross and Jon Walker, the pressure was on Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith to carry the Panic! at the Disco flag forward, high and proud. So they enlisted some musician friends (Dallon Weekes and Ian Crawford) to help play and a couple more (John Feldmann of Goldfinger and Butch Walker of Marvelous 3) to help produce what became Vices & Virtues. That new Panic! at the Disco album blends many of the best aspects of the band’s two previous albums into a new spin on their sound. A couple of days before the album was released (and became a Top Ten entry onto the US album charts), Buzzine sat down for a chat with Brendon and Spencer at the Sheraton Hotel in Austin, TX during the SXSW Music Festival.