I went to see Panic! At the Disco this week. Be jealous.

OK, I’ll admit that was petty verging on bratty. I am very grateful to my parents for allowing me and my sister to see Brendon Urie on stage live.

I want to say that I’ve been to a concert nearly every year since the summer before eighth grade. I am in no way saying that my parents are rich. Though, I’m still holding out on the silly notion that they’re only pretending to be middle class to teach me and my sister to be humble. No? Moving on.

My first ever concert came just before my 14th birthday. It was July 26, 2010 and I attended the Carnival of Madness in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I was going into eighth grade after The Year That I Have Mentally Blocked. I was either going through a teen emo phase or I was on the verge of being depressed. That isn’t important. I was into the Hard Rock that bands like Shinedown, Chevelle, Puddle of Mudd, Sevendust, and 10 Years had to offer. I had been raised on classics like Rage Against the Machine and Nine Inch Nails.

My dad’s number one tip when it comes to concerts is to find the best seats near center stage, right by the sound booth. He managed to score us some pretty sweet seats right there and the concert was amazing. I had to miss most of 10 Years because I was waiting in the line to meet Puddle of Mudd. I got to shake hands. They signed a Puddle of Mudd t-shirt that had just been bought. It was pretty incredible to a young teenager such as myself.

I didn’t see a lot of young kids at that particular concert, if any, but I had fun nonetheless. Shinedown was the “main” band, in that they were the last to play. We had been going all afternoon but the mass hardly seemed tired out by the time Shinedown graced the stage. I remember rocking out to “If You Only Knew” as a full moon rose in the background.

I think the love and appreciation for the live experience of concerts is hereditary. I have no scientific backing whatsoever, so you’re just going to have to go with me on this. My Dad attended several shows until he was forced to miss Lollapalooza 1996 because I could have come at any moment and he would be four hours away.

I’ve been to drumcore shows, which isn’t quite the same as, say, March of Madness. I went to DrumCore International Southeastern Championship, with my father, in 2014, in Atlanta, Georgia. That was the first time a drum show actually went alright with me. We had been to three different shows in the years prior.

One year, the show was cancelled mid-performance, because of a heavy thunderstorm. You see, these things are usually held outside. They’re professional halftime shows, for the football fans. That same summer, we went to a makeup of the performance. It began to rain, again. Not enough to force a cancellation, thankfully. Instead, the rest of the show was performed without the stunts and whatnot that were usually put on.

Finally, I got diarrhea. I was accidentally given a Taco Bell ™ chicken cheese wrap when I know I ordered it plain. I digress. In short, that was the worst day of my life. I will not go into details only than to explain what happened. Despite my ailments, my loving father dragged me to the drumcore show with only a Ziploc ™ baggie. Thankfully, I began to clear up by Intermission and lived to write this tale.

I appreciate most music. I will avoid most classical, boy band, and country music, though. Wikipedia classified Nine Inch Nails as “American Industrial Rock”, and we’ll go with that because I don’t have a better word. I love Nine Inch Nails. I have since it was downloaded on my first (and only) iPod, which was given to my for my tenth birthday. I was more of a casual fan, like I am with most of the music I listen to (Hamilton is the only exception).

In 2013, Trent Reznor finally went back on tour and my father was able to secure tickets in Raleigh. I was over the moon and back. Interestingly enough the same awesome friend who first introduced me to NIN had bought us the latest album. On the same holiday, nonetheless (I believe it was Christmas of 2012).

My dad and I arrived at the PNC Arena crazy early. In that, without special tickets, we were first in line for security with so much extra time that I sat against a wall and read a book I had brought. Once we got in the gates, I traded our whatever I was wearing with a tour t-shirt. I accidentally left my original t-shirt on the seats. I can’t find or remember who opened, but they did not pique my interest. I took the most uncomfortable catnap while waiting for the actual show to start. It was a school night for me, so I was prepping for the next day to be a drag.

The arena was packed with Nine Inch Nails fans. Since than, I’ve met at least three different people who claimed to be there. In summary, the show was kick-ass. I partied for two hours straight and I wasn’t the only one. The light show alone both blew me out of the water and quite nearly caused an epileptic seizure (which I know I don’t have). If I had to rank my concerts, thus far, that one would rate at the top.

And the next day, at school? I was running purely on concert steam and remember none of it.

Skip to my senior year of high school. I was touring colleges, trying to make a very important life decision. I decided to tour Queen's University of Charlotte, North Carolina. My father and I arrived a day early because he had a concert in mind. We were set to attend Slayer at The Fillmore, in Charlotte. The Fillmore, if you’re unfamiliar, is a former warehouse turned multi concert venue. I was a little apprehensive.

I will say that the line, though long, moved fairly quickly once the doors opened. Slayer is a thrash metal band. I was not much of a metal fan. I like it, on occasion. I was also politely asked to step aside so I could be searched by a female guard once she was free.

Slayer was my first standing room only concert. The converted warehouse was full of metal fans. All of whom were very polite, so please stuff your stereotype. I may have been tired, a bit cranky, and stressed, but I had a good time. This was the beginning of the decline in my ability to hear out my right ear.

Now for my worst concert (sorry Mom). You see, our neighbor used to work for the local radio station. On the down low, he was able to score us some tickets to see Heart when they came to somewhere in Virginia. This was solely for my Mom. He only got two tickets, so we had to buy a third. See, everyone knows “Barracuda” right? Yeah, that was all me and my sister knew as well. We had apprehension from the start.

The partially outdoor venue was sparsely populated. Certainly less packed than any of my other concerts. There were entire empty sections. We chose to sit in one within light reach of a parking lot so we could read.

It was on the way back to the parking garage where we had left our car, that the night only got worse. See, I thought it was cool to wear flip flops, even though I am accident prone. I fell down a lot. This time was no exception. I tripped over the curb. I began to stumble, somehow thinking I was going to either balance out or grab a distant wall. I instead fell right on my knees. I refuse to be gross, but it wasn’t pretty.

A couple who had been walking ahead of us offered their help. We politely declined when I was able to get to my feet (albeit in pain). They happened to exit the parking garage by the time we hobbled up and offered us a bunch of napkins. That we took, because we didn’t think we had much in the car (in first aid). We were right We decided to stop in at a nearby gas station to grab a first aid kit and for the third time we were graced by the same selfless couple.

Believe me, I’ve had worse injuries. I think I will re-read the rules and write up about that one of these days.

And now for the story you’ve been waiting for. I hope. I went to see Panic! At the Disco. We were at Walnut Creek, in Raleigh. They also had Weezer and Andrew McMahon, apparently. I felt bad for the other two bands. Most of the crowd (which was teen girls and their parents) was here for Panic.

Andrew was the opening act. I didn’t recognize him until his last song, which I’ve heard on the radio just enough to recognize. He did peak my interest when he decided to run through the crowd, while singing.

I may or may not have screamed myself hoarse for the next 90 minutes, though. Brendon Urie, the lead singer and sole remember member, made many a statement. In a state that has decided members of the LGBTQ+ Community are of a lesser class (I’m talking about HB2), nonetheless. Trust me, there was worry that he would cancel like many a band already had. Instead he came on stage draped in a rainbow flag (which excited the girl a few seats down from me, who had brought her own flag).

It was hot in Raleigh. Apparently it was a high of 91, and I believe it. Brendon began to strip. First he lose his blue jacket. He went into a rant about HB2 before singing “Girls/ Girls/ Boys”. After which he stripped off his polka dot T-shirt, which led to a lot of screaming. A joke among my family is that a particularly fit person “needs to get to a gym”.

During “Crazy= Genius," from his latest album "Death of a Bachelor," he got into a crazy drum battle with his drumist. At two points, he climbed onto a platform on the stage and did a backflip. He than got on a piano and joked that we wouldn’t know this song. He than dove into “Bohemian Rhapsody” (as originally performed by Queen). I mean, who doesn’t know the lyrics to that?

I mean get it why Queen chose Adam Lambert but they should have taken Brendon. In my opinion. Brendon then began to wrap up by performing “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”, which was the Panic! At the Disco breakthrough song, their first major hit. It’s so old that radios still muted out the God in “godd---”. He finally wrapped up with “Victorious”, the radio pop hit off his latest album. I than temporarily lost a good majority of the ability to hear out of my right ear, again. This was because the girls a row or two behind me, and on that side, screamed so shrilly at the end that my ears were actually ringing.

We, being me, my sister, and my father, then decided to leave instead of listening to Weezer. Our reasoning being that both Dad and I had to get up early the next day for work.I am a bit ashamed, because I actually like a couple Weezer songs.

Added bonus, my T-shirt got a lot of acclaim. It was the quote “Young, scrappy, and hungry” from "Hamilton."

Now, get out there and enjoy a concert or two OK?