Panic! At The Disco & Weezer Tear Down The BB&T Pavilion in New Jersey
Weezer, Panic! at the Disco and Andrew McMahon took over the BB&T Pavilion in Camden, N.J. on Tuesday, July 5th 2016 making for a very nostalgic evening but also including new music. Weezer’s headlining 75-minute set, which included 16 full length songs, a medley of a few others as well as bits & pieces of other songs blended in, which gave confidence to those hailing the band’s new self-titled “White Album” as their return. Panic! at the Disco’s 75-minute set was much more consistent, and showed both why the band was such a huge hit, yet also has been able to show how the band and their sound has matured to the point of having its first No. 1 album with January’s release of “Death of a Bachelor.”
Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness' 7-song half-hour set showed that he is filled with talent, grown a lot in his musical talent but yet still remains under appreciated although his songs filled the radio stations daily. Opening with "All Our Lives" followed by a fan favorite, "High Drive." Andrew McMahon has always had a lot of energy during his sets; he not only plays the piano, but runs around, sings on top off, and jumps off of the Piano. With four of the songs from his newest record, 2014’s release of Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, and one even newer and unreleased songs “Fire Escape”, the set showed how Andrew McMahon has continued to evolve as a musician even past his two great former bands that both had a lot of success, Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin. He even played a Jack's Mannequin biggest hit and gold song "Dark Blue" which everyone knows and sang along to. McMahon loves fan interaction during his shows, So during “Synestasia,” he went into the general admission pit section, then back to the lawn, to sing as fans in that area dance with a parachute that he provided for them. Then, closing out his incredible set with his huge hit, “Cecilia and the Satellite,” his song for his daughter, during which he furiously played the piano. The only downside of his set was that he only received 30 minutes to play which we wish was much longer as he has so many hit songs and fans were left wanting more for sure.
Panic! At The Disco's 18-song 75 minute set was led by a strong production that included an array of lights, LED screens, confetti, CO2, and more. They opened with "Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time" which is a new hit track off their latest album Death of a Bachelor. Brendon Urie is an exceptional frontman with a ton of energy and one of the best stage presence's possible from any musician. During their set he not only sang (Hitting high notes that gave us goosebumps), played guitar, piano, and had a pretty impressive (SJC Drumkit) drum solo while throwing in a few backflips as well. I personally think that Panic! At The Disco is much better live then they are on their records, with Urie's flawless vocals and the impressive vocal range he carries with him adding in extremely high notes to some of their hit songs which seemed to be almost all of their setlist. His falsetto was so high that on songs such as “The Ballad of Mona Lisa,” it was hard to believe it was live. Not only can Urie put on one incredible show but he can also show that he is a very fashionable frontman wearing black sparkly leather pants, a cheetah shirt, and completing his outfit with a sharkskin blue suit jacket. The theatrical presentation matching the vocals of frontman Brendon Urie – the only remaining official member of the band on stage were very complimenting to their set. Almost all of Panic! At The Disco's set was full of hits, and RIAA certified gold, platinum, etc singles. When the band covered Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which is really fitting into their set list – Urie definitley doing one of the best and closest renditions of Queen's hit song. P!ATD is definitley the band that everyone wanted to see at this show as many fans left after their set and the deafening screams that the fans made during their set proved that. They never fail to impress and give their fans what they want, their live show is always unique and mindblowing.
Weezer's 75 minute 17-song setlist was definitley one for the books, however I felt their set was not as fun as P!ATD's set was but it was still a huge pleaser for their fans who came to see their huge hits as well as their newer hits. The stage set with a ton of lights, LED screens filled with beautiful displays to fit each song. Weezer opening with "California Kids," "HashPipe," & "My Name Is Jonas," where the band tossed out very large beach balls unto the crowd which kept ending up back on the stage was a cool addition to their set. While Weezer’s performance could be characterized as boring and slow at times, vocalist-guitarist frontman Rivers Cuomo seemed to be picking up some showmanship tips from Urie as he dressed fashionable and danced around. Weezer of course playing their biggest hit "Beverly Hills" mid-set making for an eruption in the crowd as it seemed that is what everyone came to see during their set. Weezer saved their best for last, closing their set with what seemed the fans favorite new song. A very catchy, and chanting filled hook of “King of the World,” with Cuomo in a crown and red royal robe performing this tune. It transitioned into the 1999 song “Only In Dreams”; Then a cool, fun “Island in the Sun” and “Say It Ain’t So.” The encore started with Rivers Cuomo alone on keyboards to start “El Scorcho,” the band then re-joining him one by one as the song continued and the show closed with the bands other biggest hit, “Buddy Holly.”
Photos By: Andrew Wendowski Photography
