Panic! At the Disco “Viva Las Vengeance” Tour shook the ground at Climate Pledge Arena

A memorable experience to be immersed in; with visuals and intense belts from Brendon Urie.

On October 16, Panic! At The Disco arrived at  Climate Pledge Arena for their “Viva Las Vengeance” Tour, accompanied by special guests: singer MARINA and musical group Little Image. As a minimal concert goer, the anticipation for this event built up until Sunday hit, and the tests and homework assignments I raced past made it worthwhile. After all, a concert is an escape from reality and an immersion into music.

As I arrived at the grounds with my sister, my nerves were shaky, my head was pounding and crowds of people circled around us. Though we hit some roadblocks in our planning, we were able to move past them and find our way to our seats. The first opener was an alternative/indie band that called themselves Little Image, but we did not pay them any mind. I held more excitement for MARINA, since she had been my main reason for coming to this concert. Little Image played as groups of people flooded the massive arena, in what felt like years in songs total. However, their fanbase did make themselves known by making sure their faces turned into tomatoes and their lungs fell to the ground. 

A backdrop replaced the Little Image name with the next artist’s as the lights went from black to red. The beat dropped and the second opener, who is my favorite, MARINA, the electro-pop singer who was recently known as Marina and the Diamonds. The crowd went wild as they saw her head appear, and she performed her first out of 14 songs called “Ancient Dreams,” the title of her recent album.

She carried the crowd with confidence and flew through her setlist with ease. The performances had amazing lighting and energy that fit the theme of each song. For the die-hard fans out there, speaking for myself, it was lovely to see the same aesthetic from the albums live in person. For example, as she began to sing her most-known songs out of her Electra Heart era and The Family Jewels album, pink lights filled the arena as “Primadonna” was being performed. This song came from a softer aesthetic along with other songs such as “How to Be a Heartbreaker” and “Bubblegum B***h.” The Family Jewels selection of songs included “Oh No” and “Hermit the Frog,” which were mostly of a purple and green arrangement. 

It was clear that MARINA aura gave off siren vibes, and her singing was alluring especially during “Froot,” this being one of her sultrier songs. The one downside of her set was the positioning of the lights, which stunted her freedom as they blocked the exits to the main stage. This didn’t allow her much movement until “How to Be a Heartbreaker,” which she had more fun with once she found another set of stairs to the main stage. Overall, MARINA’s set was entertaining as she spoke to the audience ensuring we all connected with her, but I did not like that she didn’t say goodbye. 

Intermission began and more anticipation sunk in for the thousands of people; a timer appeared on the screen counting down until Panic! at The Disco would arrive onstage. Starting from 9:59 minutes, I conversed with my sister to pass the time. 

Fog rose from out of the stage as the clock went off. The lights turned dark, and the U-shape of the stage brightened in broken lines on and off; the crowd went crazy, in what felt as a roar as the arena appeared to shake.

As the drummer began playing, the bassist and guitarist, Nicole Row and Mike Naran, who lead the stage, walked out to their places. Brendon Urie walked onto the stage right after in his first of many jackets: black with a yellow stripe, a rainbow designed jacket, and my personal favorite, a white one. 

He sang a total of 25 songs with amazing visuals. The atmosphere was like something out of a movie; people were connected together in the moment, throughout each song, and gracefully immersed in the energy.

Though I did not necessarily know every song by heart, it was still extremely hard not to enjoy every moment of every second of this. My top six favorites out of 25 songs off their set were because of visuals, crowd interaction, vibe, and performance, and easily went to “ Death of a Bachelor,” “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” “Gospel,” ” Nine in the Afternoon,” “Say Amen (Saturday Night)” and “Miss Jackson.” 

Ending at 10:00 p.m., I was shocked at how fast time passed and how early it had still been. Between the riffs and Urie’s signature vocal belts, this concert experience was added to my top 10 list of the best concerts I’ve been to. It was just a feeling everyone should be able to experience at least once in their life.