Panic! At The Disco, The Picture House, Edinburgh

No band displays the power of a frontman’s charisma better than Panic At The Disco. On this, the first UK tour in which singer Brendon Urie is the only band member of the original Panic line up remaining, there is more weight than ever placed on the charms of the band leader. Thankfully though, Urie is a joy to watch on stage. As he throws himself around and displays boundless enthusiasm for his environment, his enthusiasm infects everyone in the audience. Though the band have their large base of devout followers, it was difficult not to believe that even the most casual fans were swayed into joining in on a round of set closer ‘I Write Sins Not Tragedies’.

Touring their fourth album, Panic make the smart decision to appeal to their aforementioned long time fans by peppering the set with more songs from both their debut and their third album than their newest. Notably absent is cult favourite ‘Pretty. Odd’, though lead single ‘Nine In The Afternoon’ does make a welcome appearance. The lack of their folky sophomore record may be in order to create a more streamlined set though, as one of the most noticeable things in this show is just how smooth the song transitions are for a band that are so used to experimenting with different styles. It’s understandable that the band’s least popular era was jettisoned in favour of a better paced setlist.

There is no room for misery in the tight one hour the band are on stage, and the whole effort is ripe with energy and life. Through the lightning rod of joyous intensity that is the band’s frontman, Panic! At The Disco channel the energy of a carnival directly into their audience and one could be excused for thinking they may one day fulfil their claims to rock the very foundations of the Edinburgh Picture House should they ever make another visit.