Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, Panic! at the Disco, & Weezer - Live at Constellation Brands, Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center [Saturday, 6/25/16] [Review]

Seeing Panic! at the Disco live has been on my bucket list for years. Panic! is one of my favorite bands, and many years ago, it seemed so unfair when my younger brother got to see them alongside blink-182 when he wasn't even really that big of a fan of Panic!. I am finally able to let go of that burning jealousy, though, as I have now seen them myself. When a close friend invited me to the show, I was originally under the impression that it was just Panic! and Weezer performing, but I still enthusiastically took her up on the offer because, as I said, I am a big Panic! fan. I soon learned, however, that Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness would also be playing, and I was then even more excited, as I have been a fan of Andrew for eight years or so now. I, in fact, saw him while he was still with Jack's Mannequin back in 2008 in Syracuse, and it was a great show. I am a casual fan of Weezer; they're hardly one of my favorite bands, but I do appreciate and love a handful of their songs.  I was most excited about Panic! because I hadn't seen them before, and I was not even slightly disappointed. (Well, I might have been a little bit disappointed that Brendon didn't perform "Build God, Then We'll Talk," but I digress.) The bottom line is that I am so happy that I went to this concert; I had a fantastic time with friends and was treated to a fantastic show.

I have been to many concerts that did not start on time or started much later than I had expected because of opening bands that I hadn't been expecting. This was not the case with this show, though; Andrew McMahon started his set at 7:00 sharp, and he was, as I expected, a great performer and very entertaining. As was the case when I saw him in 2008, he could not sit still; he bounced up and down off his seat as his fingers joyously played his piano. He also frequently stood on the piano, occasionally causing a discord of sound as he even stood on the keys. It's always clear when Andrew performs that he's happy to be alive and is having a good time. He even walked through the audience and was, at one point, only about ten to twenty feet from me. I tried to get a picture, but it was too fast. My only complaint about Andrew's set is that it wasn't long enough. I believe that he only performed seven songs, and consequently, even though I had been hoping that he'd play some classics, "Dark Blue" was the only old song that he performed. That was an amazing performance, though, and it almost brought me to tears as it brought me back to 2008 when I first discovered Andrew, and most of 2008 was, for the most part, a simpler and happier time for me. Andrew performed:

1. All Our Lives
2. High Dive
3. Canyon Moon
4. Fire Escape [a new song that I hadn't heard before]
5. Dark Blue
6. Synesthesia
7. Cecilia and the Satellite

I really could have done with his set being longer and Weezer's being shorter, but I am just happy that I got to see Andrew a second time.

Something else that I really liked about this show is that not a whole lot of time was spent preparing in between sets. I have been to some concerts at which the time in between sets was a good forty-five minutes or so, and that was not the case here. I don't think that we waited much longer than twenty minutes, so fortunately, after Andrew's performance, I didn't have long to wait until Panic! began their (or I guess that I should technically say his since it's really more of a solo project now) set. Although the setlist was missing a few numbers that I would have liked to have heard, it was pretty solid. It was as follows:

1. Don't Threaten Me with a Good Time
2. Vegas Lights
3. The Ballad of Mona Lisa
4. Hallelujah
5. Time to Dance
6. Emperor's New Clothes
7. Girls/Girls/Boys
8. Ready to Go (Get Me Out of My Mind)
9. Nine in the Afternoon
10. Crazy = Genius
11. Miss Jackson
12. Golden Days
13. Bohemian Rhapsody
14. LA Devotee
15. Death of a Bachelor
16. I Write Sins Not Tragedies
17. This Is Gospel
18. Victorious

I was, as I said, hoping to hear "Build God, Then We'll Talk," as it is one of my favorite songs from Panic!. I was also hoping to hear the song from the new album, "House of Memories." Beggars can't be choosers, though, because I was just so happy to be there and to finally see Panic! live, especially after the Death of a Bachelor album, which is one of my favorite Panic! albums alongside Pretty. Odd. Highlights of Brendon's set included "Time to Dance," "Emperor's New Clothes," "Girls/Girls/Boys," "Bohemian Rhapsody" (of course), "I Write Sins Not Tragedies," and "Victorious." 

If Brendon Urie knows anything, it's how to put on a good show. He's a natural performer. He moved from one end of the stage to the other and never seemed to run low on energy. He even expertly performed a backflip at one point, and he's so multi-talented; he played piano, guitar, and drums during the show. I am also pretty sure that I wasn't the only one who felt that the show got even better once he took his shirt off. Brendon is, after all, a beautiful human being. I even met a guy at the show who told me that Brendon makes him question his sexuality. It was somewhat of an educational experience for me, too. Regarding Andrew's song "Cecilia and the Satellite," I always wondered who Cecilia was, and Andrew explained that Cecilia is his daughter. Before Brendon performed "This Is Gospel," he dedicated it to Spencer Smith, who used to be in the band. I knew about Spencer but didn't know that he left the band due to an alcohol and drug addiction. Brendon referred to him as his best friend, which was really touching. Not only was Brendon himself amazing (especially with the awe-inspiring high notes that he reached like I've never heard from the studio), so was the stage design. Inspired primarily by art deco, the stage featured a lot of browns and yellows but also, during certain songs, was extremely colorful with blues and pinks. A lot of the design was inspired by the sketch-like appearance of the Death of a Bachelor cover art, which made a lot of sense considering the fact that that was the album that he was primarily promoting with this tour.

Once again, there wasn't a terribly long wait until Weezer came on. Weezer's setlist was as follows:

1. California Kids
2. Hash Pipe
3. My Name Is Jonas
4. (If You're Wondering If I Want You to) I Want You To
5. Jacked Up
6. Pork and Beans
7. Troublemaker
8. Perfect Situation
9. Thank God for Girls
10. Beverly Hills
11. Dope Nose / Back to the Shack / Keep Fishin' / The Good Life / Surf Wax America
12. Undone - the Sweater Song
13. King of the World / Only in Dreams
14. Island in the Sun
15. Say It Ain't So
16. El Scorcho / Buddy Holly (Encore)

The songs that I knew well, like "Pork and Beans," "Perfect Situation," "Beverly Hills," "Island in the Sun," and "Buddy Holly" were exciting to see/hear live. One of the highlights was "Thank God for Girls." The band featured a slideshow of photos of strong, influential women, including Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé, and even fictional characters like Daenerys and Brienne from Game of Thrones. The end of the performance even featured a rainbow flag. The stage design was very bright and colorful and featured mostly a beach theme; they even had beach balls being passed around the arena at one point. The only real complaint that I had with Weezer was that they didn't seem too zealous to be there. They didn't interact with the audience at all, and most of their set seemed very stiff and rehearsed. I know that sets obviously are rehearsed (they have to be), but as opposed to Andrew and Brendon, both of whom were full of energy and seemed excited to be performing, Rivers especially didn't show much enthusiasm, barely even cracking a smile throughout the set. I was also not allowed to bring my book-bag into the show (which I had wanted on hand to carry my wallet, the band merchandise that I had planned to buy, etc.), and we later discovered that that was Weezer's rule. The show, overall, was fantastic. I had such a euphorically memorable time that I won't ever forget!