When I literally Panicked! at the Disco...

Hello, all!

I must warn you, most content in this blog post will pertain to the concert I recently attended at the Tabernacle, and how it ended in an evacuation. If you're willing to endure a long post about first-hand details of what exactly happened, then keep reading. 

On Friday, February 7th, 2014, Panic! at the Disco was headlining at the Tabernacle music hall. Junior Prom and The Colourist were the opening acts at the show. Hanna and I had been looking forward to this concert for months, as I am a big fan of P!ATD. I got Hanna into them last January, and now she is officially hooked. I was looking forward to it the most though, not only because I'm such a big fan, but also because I'd just had a rough week and needed something to get me smiling.

from Panic! at the Disco's Facebook page:
Fans camped out at the entrance to the show.

Hanna and I met up at my dorm to have an early dinner consisting of pizza and caffeinated soda. After stuffing ourselves enough to where we wouldn't get hungry whilst stuck in the mosh pit at the concert, we headed for the Tabernacle. I was dressed in my P!ATD shirt from their last headlining tour from 2011, and was armed with cash to buy some more merch from the "Too Weird tour." 

We arrived 3 hours before the concert was set to begin. When we got there, we managed to get a parking spot right next to the venue and the ferris wheel ("Skyview"). We walked toward the entrance to check out the line to get in. We kept walking and reached the corner, turning as we walked. The line was enormous. We got to the next corner and walked. By the time we reached the end of the line, we realized we could've walked directly from the car across the way rather than walk around the block. Oh well... EXERCISE!!!

The line in front of us.

Though we had awhile before they could let us in, we passed the time away talking and eventually found ourselves feet away from the entrance. We presented our tickets and darted straight to the merch line. Glad we got in line when we did, because it wrapped all the way around the room! I bought a winter hat and scarf with the band's name printed on it, and a t-shirt. Hanna and I went back upstairs and worked our way toward the stage, entering from the left side. We managed to work our way in and didn't have a lot of trouble seeing the stage as we were lucky not to have too many tall people in the way. 

Success.

Rocking my new winter hat :)

After about fifteen minutes of waiting in the mosh pit, Junior Prom went on and played for a short time. Then, the Colourist went onstage and played. Their drummer was amazing and she had the sweetest voice! They just released an EP last summer and said we should expect a new album this spring. 

Junior Prom

The Colourist

Anticipation was building up inside as Hanna and I waited anxiously for P!ATD to go on. The last time I saw them live was when they opened up for another pop punk band, Fall Out Boy, in September 2013, but since they have released a new album, I've been looking forward to seeing them headlining a show. 

Once the stage was set, Panic! at the Disco ran out on stage and opened us up with Vegas Lights. A short clip can be found on my Instagram here. Everyone was jumping up and down to the music. Once Vegas Lights ended, they went straight into Time to Dance. 

Lead singer Brendon Urie singing Time to Dance

The jumping started and you could feel the floor shake. When I was last at the Tabernacle for P!ATD in 2011, the floor felt the same with all the jumping, but I didn't think much of it. Well, at the end of Time to Dance, the stage manager walked out to talk to Brendon, where Brendon walked to the front of the stage and said, "you guys are breaking the actual building." Now, I thought he was being humorous because perhaps he was impressed by our energy in response to their music. But that wasn't the case. The crowd cheered, probably thinking the same thing Hanna and I were thinking, that it was a joke. The stage manager kept feeding information to Brendon, and he too was surprised-- "we have to stop... the floor is cracked apparently." He asked the stage manager if they could come back, and looked at the audience to say, "okay, give us a second to duct tape the floor, and uh, we'll be right back." Sadly, it was going to take more than duct tape to fix the problem. We were soon given instructions to evacuate the building. 

Stage manager talking to Brendon Urie

The crowd that filed out of the Tabernacle

Fans sobbed or complained as they filed into the street, blocking cars which were trying to drive down Luckie Street. People had their phones out, sending snapchats and posting to Instagram or Facebook, showing the social networking users the crowd of people standing outside the Tabernacle. We waited in the cold to hear an update on what was to happen. We soon learned that the concert was over, and cancelled, and that we would probably get a refund and P!ATD would be coming back in the summer (according to tweets and other social networking posts made by the band). Hanna and I, disappointed, walked next door to Skyview Atlanta, had our picture taken, and rode the enclosed ferris wheel. The skyline looked beautiful. The last time I rode Skyview was in September, during the daytime. 

The wheel is incredible at night!

Bokeh

View of Skyline... kinda.

I couldn't resist.

When we got off, we went back to the car and drove all the way to Steak n' Shake for a midnight meal. On the way there, we listened to P!ATD's third album, sang along, cried, and complained like any typical "fan girl" would. 

Midnight at Steak n' Shake

When we finished eating, Hanna took me back to my dorm and then she left for home. I stayed up to look at all the news reports that were released, since we noticed all the news teams parked outside the Tabernacle. As I watched a video from 11Alive news, I spotted Hanna and me in the crowd of one of the photos shared by another concert attendee. 

11Alive News... see us?

Now you should be able to spot us.

On one article I read that the fire marshal said, "We'd have a story either way-- an evacuation or collapse." I'm glad they chose the evacuation.

Just when I thought my week was going to turn around, the fun ended abruptly. Here's to hoping for a better week! On the bright side, The Walking Dead returns tonight! I'm looking forward to watching the rest of Season 4 this semester. Now that I'm on campus, I'll get to watch with friends! In a few hours I'll head next door to see the premiere. 

I just wanted to say I am thankful the staff at the Tabernacle caught the problem before it became a disaster. Hopefully they will repair the 100-year-old facility soon so that other upcoming performances won't be hindered. 

Have a great Sunday evening!

Until next time,

Kelsey