Panic at the Disco / The Academy Is... / Cobra Starship - 22+23 Aug 2008 - Acer Arena + Rod Laver Arena (Melb)

Saw this gig two nights in a row, once in Sydney and once in Melbourne.

Cobra Starship

Cobra Starship were lots of high energy fun, as usual. Frontman Gabe Saporta continues to have the best grasp of showmanship I've ever seen live, he really knows how to work a crowd. In Melbourne they were even more animated than the night before, with Gabe mouthing off at a mile a minute between songs, jumping all over the stage, hanging off his bandmates as he sang for an already enthusiastic crowd. They were fun, as always, though they played exactly the same set in both cities, and were running close to the script with regards to banter.

The City Is At War
Hey Mr DJ
The Church of Hot Addiction
Smile for the Paparazzi
Snakes on a Plane
(Hollaback Boy)
Guilty Pleasure

The Academy Is...

The Academy Is... were much improved from when I saw them last. The two new songs they playedm, from the just released third album Fast Times at Barrington High, worked well live, and were well received by the audience. William Beckett remains a really earnest frontman, though they were slower to warm to the crowd in Melbourne, with less banter and connection.

Their set list overall was a bit odd though, not enough high points with lesser known songs from older albums. They slightly reshuffled of the set in Melbourne, though they played the same songs in both cities, much to my disappointment.

Neighbors
Slow Down
Forever Young = Summer Hair
The Phrase That Pays
We've Got a Big Mess on our Hands
About A Girl
Everything We Had
Checkmarks

Panic at the Disco

Like the other bands, Panic at the Disco played the same set in both cities with banter along similar lines, though there was spontaneity in how they'd react to the crowds' response, and warmth in how much they enjoyed performing. Concerts in stadiums have crap sound, usually, and unfortunately it was true of both Sydney and Melbourne - the mix was uneven such that I could always hear one guitar over the other, and while that meant I got to enjoy Ryan Ross guitar solos very clearly, moments like Brendon Urie's solo in Pas De Cheval had lesser impact, sounding muddier and lost in the mix.

The band had new arrangements of older songs, trying to bridge the difference in sound between their first and second albums, and they sounded good. Apart from the musical aspect, they played such a *warm* show, all light and joy (and flowers and bubbles!), and it reflected the atmosphere of the set.

Fans kept throwing thing on stage, which made for some enjoyable interaction between band and crowd - at one point, Ryan repeated "Brendon just got paid!" since a total of 65 cents had been thrown at Brendon. And I laughed when Ryan declared proudly that he was keeping '20p'. Wrong country! But it was a nice exchange, indicative of how relaxed and amused the band were on stage.


We're So Starving
Nine in the Afternoon
But It's Better If You Do
Camisado
She's a Handsome Woman
The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage
Behind the Sea
Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off
I Constantly Thank God For Esteban
That Green Gentleman
There's A Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Figured It Out Yet
Folkin' Around
I Write Sins, Not Tragedies
Northern Downpour
-
Time to Dance (acoustic)
Pas De Cheval
Mad as Rabbits

Cobra Starship / The Academy Is... - 7 Aug 2007 - UNSW Roundhouse

Cobra Starship are 500% awesome (100% for each member of the band). I don't think I’ve had so much fun during a set for ages. They were were good musicians but didn’t take themselves too seriously; also, they were obviously enjoying themselves on stage, and knew how to bring everyone along for the ride. I was on side of Vicky T (keytar) and Alex (bass), but I had a better view of Ryland (guitar) and Gabe (lead singer). Actually I had a great view of Gabe, which was all important, because Gabe's dancing was *hilarious* and Gabe in general was very funny and scarily charming. He also talks very very fast in a loose way, seemingly verbalising everything in his mind between songs, keeping up a very natural banter.
They only had one album out (the dancetastic While The City Sleeps We Rule the Streets) so the set list was a best of. I would’ve been happy for them to play every single song off the album and keep on being awesome.

Send My Love To The Dancefloor, I'll See You In Hell (Hey Mister DJ)
Keep It Simple
It's Amateur Night At The Appollo Creed
The Kids Are All F****d Up
It's Warmer In The Basement
The Ballad Of Big Poppa And Diamond Girl
The Church Of Hot Addiction
Hollaback Boy
Bring It (Snakes On A Plane)

I must admit, I was definitely more there for Cobra Starship than The Academy Is… But I’d paid my monies, and I’m a completist if not a real fan, so I stayed. I enjoyed them in the songs where they were rocking out (like 'We’ve Got a Big Mess On Our Hands' and 'You Might Have Noticed'), but I had to hear an equal number of songs that annoyed me greatly , in particular the overly sincere ballads like 'Everything We Had' (the lyrics they make me want to cry). The highlight though was the first song of the encore, with just William, Michael on guitar, and their drummer (The Butcher) harmonising very nicely.

Oddly enough, considering they shared the same (Aussie) sound tech, the sound was rather muddy for TAI but nicely clear for CS. And I get it, they have Aussies on tour with them (aforementioned sound dude, plus their new guitarist Michael Guy Chislett - a Sydney boy who used to play for the Hillsong band, go figure), but did they really have to mention it in every lull?


The Phrase That Pays
LAX to O'Hare
Slow Down
Classifieds
Black Mamba
We've Got A Big Mess On Our Hands
Seed
Bulls in Brooklyn
Everything We Had
You Might Have Noticed
Neighbours
Checkmarks

40 Steps
Almost Here