So the Panic at the Disco concert was awesome yet slightly disappointing at the same time. They played what seemed to be a shorter set, I think this is because Dashboard Confessional was "co-headlining". They didn't play my 2 favorite songs of theirs, however they did play a song of the new album that they didn't play last time around on the Honda Civic Tour..that being When the Day Met the Night (great song). They omitted Pas De Cheval and Folkin' Around, two of my favorite songs, from the set list. Both were included on the Honda Civic Tour, to my great delight. The show also ended somewhat awkwardly. Panic closed with a cover of the classic song Shout, which was very entertaining and a whole lot of fun, but it was a strange way to end a show...a random cover song with no encore. I fully expected them to come back out and play Folkin' Around and close with Pas De Cheval, which would have been an incredible encore in my opinion, and similar to the one from HCT. But then the house lights came on and I died a little inside. I did, however, take solace in the knowing that I might have a chance at finally meeting the band around back of the arena. So I went to the area near the buses and waited as usual. A couple of the guys from The Cab came over and signed, but beyond that, no action. The boys from PATD walked out about 40 minutes after the show ended, and headed straight to their bus, at least they waved to the fans...some of whom were crazed girls.... Then a bit later their manager(?) came out and explained to us that the band no longer signs autographs after shows unless there is a secure barricade....There was not one present, just caution tape and a few temporary wooden barriers. He said that about a year and a half ago they came out to sign and the crowd gave no respect to the caution tape and swarmed on the band (what exactly happened, he did not specify). So since then they try to avoid a repeat of that situation. He also explained that he put in the band's rider that there be a sturdy barricade in the back area, so they would be able to come over to meet the fans, but MTV (who is sponsoring the tour) did not fulfill their obligation, big surprise.....
So I suppose those two occurrences deflated me somewhat, and left a sour taste in my mouth. The show all in all was good. The Cab was good as expected, as were Plain White T's. I didn't pay much attention to Dashboard Confessional at all, because I ran into some friends of mine in a band called
Flight To Athena (check them out, they are really good) and I talked to them for a bit. I did get to meet the singer for The Cab during Dashboard's set, and after the show 'round back, so that was a highlight.
In my opinion Dashboard Confessional should have only been an opening band not a "co-headliner", a majority of people didn't seem to be that into them, yes there were plenty of fans of them, but mostly it was a Panic at the Disco crowd. This way PATD could have had a longer set and included more songs that the crowd was eager to hear, they still did not play Build God, Then We'll Talk, which was also missing from the HCT set list. I don't regret paying the $40 to go to the show, I had fun and enjoyed it, but it just left something to be desired, a feeling I didn't have as strongly after the previous 2 times seeing Panic.
I'll give the experience 3.5 stars out of 5, not because of a lack of entertainment, just a disappointing ending to the night.
