The aptly named Gospel Tour, featuring Panic! At the Disco and Walk the Moon began amidst some “biblical” controversy, which launched both bands into trending topic status on social media. After learning that the infamous Westboro Baptist Church was set to picket the second stop on the tour in Kansas City, both Panic! At the Disco and Walk the Moon took to social media to show support for LBGT and human rights causes. They also announced that some proceeds of that night’s merch sales would go to support these organizations.
Controversy aside, Gospel Tour is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated tours of summer 2014, and came to New York’s Theater at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, August 5th. Both PATD and WTM bring to the table an infectious energy and an extremely loyal (and loud) fan base. Add in rising stars Magic Man to the lineup and you’ve got yourself a pop-rock heartthrob trifecta.
Opening for acts with such a devout following often will put a band in the awkward position of accepting polite claps and a disinterested audience. However, Magic Man received a well-deserved headliners type welcome as they took the stage.
They gave the crowd exactly what they needed, an energetic dance influenced indie-pop set led by Alex for the screaming girls, and a Bruce Springsteen “Dancing In The Dark” cover for their parents.
Next up was Walk the Moon, who’ve come a long in just three years, yet remain true to their music, fans and overall mission of fun.
Nick Petricca gave the crowd a more mature, reserved and blue blazer-ed lead singer on Tuesday night. Rarely leaving his podium of keyboards and drums, Petricca embodied a charismatic faith leader on this Gospel Tour. Right before launching into “I Can Lift a Car”, Petricca invited the audience to shed any negativity and led us in a bit of positive meditation.
Although they played a short set of only nine songs ending with “Anna Sun”, they still managed to break MSG.
That’s correct, the audience danced holes into the Theater at MSG’s concrete floors.
Panic! At the Disco opened their 21-song set with “Vegas Lights” and the screams from the crowd became deafening. For this audience, this was THEIR night, with THEIR band. For some, their closest proximity to singer Brendon Urie thus far was a Tumblr reblog.
They played a mix from their entire discography making sure not to alienate any fans. Urie then announced that the band was in its tenth year, and judging from the average age of the crowd, they’ve had no problems picking up new fans every step of the way.
Their staying power is no doubt due to the fact that they’ve never been the “One Trick Pony”. They’ve experimented with different sounds, styles, and influences. The evolution is evident from the vaudevillian-pop of 2005’s “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” to the more flower power mellow of 2008’s “Pretty. Odd.”, back to revisiting their original sound on 2011’s “Vices and Virtues”.
Halfway through their set Urie introduced the song “Miss Jackson” by giving us some insight into its meaning, and in turn giving the audience the biggest dose of testosterone all night.
“It’s about a girl I used to fuck, then she started fucking all my friends, and then I joined a band and said fuck you!”
In a bold musical move Panic! At the Disco and a now shirtless Urie covered, and nailed, Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Its success was a direct result of Urie’s opportunity to showcase his falsetto and the perfect guitar solo by Kenneth Harris.
Finally, “I Write Sins, Not Tragedies” was the expected encore but an amazing performance nonetheless. I suspect it was also a nostalgic reminder for many as to why they first fell in love Panic! At the Disco almost ten years ago.
