Panic! At the Disco’s live set at the Filmore Auditorium in Denver is now available on streaming. The 2006 “Nothing Rhymes With Circus” tour put the Nevada band on the map, and fans’ demands for a live recording of the Denver show have been answered.
The Denver set has been lauded as the best Panic concert ever; the combination of the band’s most successful album, their first platinum song, the original members, an unmistakable energy exchange between the band and beloved covers have had fans talking about this concert for 20 years.
The set was from the band’s first headlining tour, with The Hush Sound and The Dresden Dolls opening. Aside from playing “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out,” the band’s debut album, in full, Panic also covered “Karma Police” by Radiohead and “Tonight, Tonight” by The Smashing Pumpkins.
The release follows the performance of “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” in full at When We Were Young Fest in Las Vegas, the band’s home on Oct. 18 and Oct. 19. An Instagram post instructed fans to go to the corner of 4th and Fremont Street, an allusion to lyrics of the final song on the album, for a pop-up with free stickers and a photo-op with a mural promoting the deluxe album they announced on Instagram after the festival.
The concert video, now posted on the band’s official YouTube account, features burlesque dancers and a ringmaster in costume. A small intermission halfway through the show introduces the band members as people and as they throw drumsticks to “Panic’s biggest fans.” The fans could easily be placed as emos of 2006, with their side-swept bangs and deep knowledge of early Panic lyrics.
The anticipation of this live album being legitimately released has been building for years, its release being a legendary moment in emo history. This show was their equivalent to Cheap Trick’s “At Budokan,”or The Who’s “Live at Leeds.” Bootlegs of the concert on YouTube and Spotify have been posted and reposted innumerably, so this official full album with deluxe materials after the band’s official breakup in 2023 lets fans relive peak Panic! At the Disco.
However, with anniversary editions and rereleases, there is always a chance a group is simply trying to cash in on nostalgia. With bands like Panic! At the Disco, whose last album fell flat on its face and hasn’t had a large media presence in nearly a decade, a twentieth anniversary album allows fans and Brendon Urie’s wallet to relive the glory days. Regardless of whether or not this album is a cash grab wrapped in never-before-heard demos, the live album is available on streaming platforms and has nostalgic fans proving it was never just a phase.
