Now tonight was one of those gigs that I had been looking forward to for quite a while. One of the reasons for that was that it was my first gig since the New Year and actually my first gig in nearly two month. Secondly because all three bands on the bill were bands that I was really looking forward to seeing live and two of those bands had also brought out albums over the past year that would definitely make my top 5 of 2005 list. Panic! At The Disco and The Academy Is are two of my favourite bands at the moment as I’m sure they are for a lot of people and that’s why we’ve seen many of the dates on the tour upgraded to bigger venues in order to meet demand. So the question is ‘Will it be able to live up to the hype?’
It’s Victory Records’ The Junior Varsity that kick off tonight’s proceedings and it’s pretty clear by the crowds reaction that I’m one of the only people who’s actually heard any of their songs before. However it’s their catchy blend of emo-rock that soon gets this excited crowd dancing and with a front man as instantly likeable as Asa Dawson they can’t do much wrong. Their 2005 album ‘Wide Eyes’ was an enjoyable release even if it was a bit hit and miss, however when playing live The Junior Varsity are a hell of a lot more enjoyable and songs like ‘Get Comfortable’ and ‘What It Meant To Be Clean’ come across great live.
Next up is the band that many think could be headlining this tour although many other also believe that they wouldn’t deserve to. Panic! At The Disco have rewritten the guide on how to become an overnight success, you just need to see how many unimaginative people have their Myspace name set as (Name)! At The Disco to see how many fans they have gained in the two/three months since their debut album came out. Although tonight they manage to almost achieve the impossible, they actually live up to their hype.
From start to finish Panic! are simply amazing as their go through songs like ‘Camisado’, ‘Time To Dance’ and ‘Build God, Then We’ll Talk’ from their brilliant debut album. Brendon Urie isn’t the most charismatic front man ever but he does sound as good live as he does on record and together with his band mates they have put on a performance that I’m sure many people in Newcastle will remember for a long time and will have many people waiting with baited breathe for Panic! To announce their headline UK tour dates for April.
So now its time for the real headliners to get on stage and show what they can do and to basically prove that this is their tour and they are the reason why people came to these shows. Even though initially it does seem as though the venue has lost a few people after P!ATD’s set, the people soon come back up the stairs to see The Academy Is rip into ‘Checkmarks’ and all eyes and ears are directed straight to the front of the room. Academy front man William Beckett is an amazing vocalist and really does command your attention with his charismatic and slightly camp display.
The Academy Is really sound amazing on tracks like ‘Skeptics And True Believers’, ‘Attention’ and when they finish on ‘Black Mamba’ the crowd really goes crazy. All in all this has been one of the best gigs I’ve been to in quite a while. Paying £10 to see two bands of the calibre of The Academy Is and Panic! At The Disco is a bargain, I would have paid more than double. This reminds me of this time last year when Taking Back Sunday toured with My Chemical Romance supporting, apart from tonight might actually have been better, which really does say a lot.
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