Panic! at the Disco
It was Panic! At the ice rink!
I normally cover theater, so Tuesday was to be a night off with a 13-year-old diehard fan of Vegas pinup boys Panic! at the Disco. Turns out it was some of the best theater I’ve ever seen – even if it was at DU’s lousy ice arena. This was a Queen concert accentuated with circus freaks and “Cabaret” Kit Kat Girls.
The rousing hour of singalong circus rock – themed as a Victorian carnival/freak/fetish show – opened with showman Brendon Urie centering a horizontal line of 10 bandmates and hot dancers walking out together like a Tim Burton fashion runway.
Knocking out hits like “I Constantly Thank God for Esteban,” this was visually moving, epic storytelling with pulsating choreography. Dressed in swashbuckling costumes and wearing the makeup of goth marionettes, these boys have clearly attended their share of Cirque du Soleil shows in their hometown.
The music may be derivative, but Panic! honors its ’80s generational links to Freddy Mercury and The Cure by taking showmanship to an eye-popping, orgiastic new level. We’re talking vaudeville, burlesque, rhythmic gymnastics, marching band, contortionism, ballet and even a wedding on stilts (“I Write Sins, Not Tragedies”). -John Moore
Vince Gill
It wasn’t long ago that Vince Gill’s name and reputation for smooth country was in decline. But when Gill took the stage at the Paramount Theatre on Nov. 21 in support of his stirring new four-CD set “These Days,” he set things straight not only with the adoring crowd but his naysayers, too.
Yes, there are songs such as “The Reason Why,” which are Gill’s smooth country bread and butter. But smooth country, not unlike smooth jazz, turns many off. And that’s when Gill’s past as a bluegrass picker comes in handy. Much of Gill’s sprawling, two-plus hour show at the Paramount focused on his more traditional country and bluegrass songs from “These Days.” And their presentation, fronted by Gill and carried through by a 16-piece band, was goliath.
The 17 players weren’t always on the stage together, but the varying arrangements of the music and the musicians was masterful. The sound was as full as the Paramount has ever sounded, and the sounds were joyful, with Gill sprinkling the new songs with familiar notes from the past. The countryman also played the witty emcee, sometimes breaking between songs for extended chats as he told stories about his wife, Amy Grant, or his friends and peers. -Ricardo Baca
Tenacious D
It goes without saying, Jack Black and Kyle Gass are massively talented singers, players and comedians. Their power-duo Tenacious D is a musical force in its ability to make people rock out and laugh at the same time.
The D has proven to be a potent opening band (during stints with Weezer and Jimmy Eat World among others), but at its headlining show at the Fillmore on Nov. 22 the band showed an unexpected weakness. The music rocked throughout the gig, but the comedy wasn’t always there – curious since many consider them a joke band.
The duo is more than a joke band, but it is a band that relies on jokes for its appeal. But this tour, staged to promote the film “Tenacious D in The Pick Of Destiny,” sometimes fell flat. Songs like the old “Kielbasa,” the new “Kikapoo” and the hit “Tribute,” which came in the encore, were stirring rock songs.
But while there were a few funny moments, the best came when The D went multimedia and found Charlie Chaplin, the Antichrist and Colonel Sanders in hell – and asked them to join their band. And so they did. The resulting band certainly rocked our socks off, but it hardly tickled our funny bone. – Ricardo Baca
