Panic! At The Disco at Brixton 02 Academy review

Image: Panic! At The Disco (Philip Jenkins)

In 2006 Panic! at the Disco headlined the O2 Academy in Brixton for four consecutive evenings. 10 years on they're back with four more albums under their belt - including the most recent release Death of a Bachelor.

The album arrived following the departure of drummer Spencer Smith last year, leaving former emo pin-up Brendon Urie as the only original member of Panic! left. 

This is a new sound for Panic! At The Disco. No gimmicks, just a stage with a stool and an electric piano. Starting off the evening with 'Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time' and progressing into 'LA Devotee' the crowd was soon up on their feet and dancing along to the  new tracks.

There's one thing that the Panic! haven't stopped doing: delivering an upbeat non-stop show. A classic rendition of 'Mona Lisa', 'Kill Tonight' and the new gem 'Hallelujah' (listen above) saw Brendon deliver some outstandingly high vocal ranges. 

There was rarely a moment when Brendon would stop to speak; the band delivered tune after tune to their sold out crowd. After a very short break they came back with the electro pop rendition of 'Girls/Girls/Boys'. Before you knew it the entire venue were in a union of applause.

The likes of 'Nicotine', 'Miss Jackson' were belted out with an encore of and, of course, what’s a Panic at the Disco gig without a classic piano rendition of 'Nine In The Afternoon'?

After came the acceptably eccentric cover of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' moving into a snippet of David Bowie's 'Oh! You Pretty Things' . “You guys mean so much to me” said Brendon, before announcing that 100% of merchandise purchased at the gig would be donated to Cancer Research. 

In true Panic! fashion, the band didn't leave their fans wanting more. With no time to walk off and wait for their crowd to demand an encore, the band shot straight into triumphant hit 'Victorious' followed by 'This Is Gospel' and then the latest chart entry (listen above) 'Emperor's New Clothes'. 

Words: Lauren Page 

Read: The Maccabees at Manchester Albert Hall review