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    RodeoHouston 2019

    Panic! at the Disco brings flamboyance and fireworks to RodeoHouston

    Johnston Farrow
    Johnston Farrow
    Mar 3, 2019 | 9:01 pm

    No. 1 hit-makers Panic! at the Disco brought theatrics and pyrotechnics to NRG Stadium, heating up an otherwise cold and dreary Sunday afternoon at RodeoHouston.

    Once associated with the emo-rock movement of the early-to-mid 2000s, Panic! grew into a monster commercial and critically acclaimed pop-rock act that now sounds like Bruno Mars if he grew up in the suburbs; loved tattoos; and wrote expressive, personal lyrics.

    RodeoHouston announced a paying audience of 74,738, but there were a lot of empty seats in NRG Stadium on Sunday evening, which could be attributed to the cold weather or season ticket holders simply taking a break from a stacked concert schedule. Maybe they were still hungover from Cardi B?

    But there were plenty of die-hard Panic! fans that showed up in force to see the band run through nearly 15 years of hits, including from their last two No. 1 albums, 2016's Death of a Bachelor and 2018's Pray for the Wicked.

    Those two albums got most time in the spotlight —12 songs in all — over the course of the 21-song set and drew the loudest response from an enthusiastic crowd. The four piece drove up in a black SUV, joined on stage by a three string players and a three-piece horn section. Lead singer Brendon Urie, and the sole remaining Panic! member from the group's Las Vegas beginnings, emerged dressed in a gold patterned jacket and leather pants, ready to dance.

    He also came armed with his greatest — some might say grating — weapon, a starkly high falsetto that he wasn't afraid to bust out throughout the evening, a trademark characteristic he's become known for throughout the years. His band — Mike Naran on guitar, Dan Pawlovich on drums, and Nicole Row on bass — locked into a professional groove over the course of around an hour and 15 minutes. But that professionalism made it feel as if everything was a tad choreographed and took away from any sense of unpredictability or grit that other shows at RodeoHouston offer.

    Not that Panic! fans minded in the slightest. Urie is a born performer with a hint of that musical theater kid we all knew in high school, only he grew up and became the famous lead singer of a band. It shouldn't be surprising that the Panic! set included a show tune, "The Greatest Show" from the hit musical film The Greatest Showman.

    Another cover song from a film that could be considered a musical made it onto the setlist in the form of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," Urie impressively playing Freddie Mercury's piano parts while hitting Roger Taylor's notoriously high notes, calling it "the best song written by a rock band."

    Other highlights included "Girls/Girls/Boys," an autobiographical song about Urie's bisexuality, the audience directed to hold up colored phone light filters, turning NRG into a giant LGBTQ rainbow flag, a welcome moment of diversity and inclusiveness. "(Say Amen) Saturday Night," a number practically made for college football broadcasts, made us all forget that it was a work night.

    Any song that featured the entire repertoire of musicians on stage, horns and strings included, such as set closer "Victorious," were excellent. The biggest screams and biggest singalong came on Panic!'s career-making hit, "I Write Sins Not Tragedies."

    One small criticism that seems to befall rock bands at RodeoHouston is how they use the fantastic, star-shaped stage design. Urie and his band, acclaimed for the creative visual set-pieces on their last arena tour, stayed within the confines of the rotating area onstage, not once exploring the five points that are capable of rising 30-feet into the air, something 2019 opener Kacey Musgraves used to her advantage. Maybe it's the experience built by country acts in the unique rodeo setup, but it would be great to see rock bands use the entire space at their disposal and bring a bit more intimacy to the concert experience.

    That said, Panic! put on a clinic of what pop-rock bands can do in a big space, with pyrotechnics lighting up several songs and a lead singer who wasn't afraid to show off his multi-octave pipes. A shirtless Urie and a fireworks display to end the night left devotees more than happy as they filed out into the cold night air, an overall successful addition to the RodeoHouston lineup.

    Setlist
    "Don't Threaten Me with a Good Time"
    "Ready to Go (Get Me Out of My Mind)"
    "Hey Look Ma, I Made It"
    "LA Devotee"
    "Hallelujah"
    "The Ballad of Mona Lisa"
    "Nine in the Afternoon"
    "One of the Drunks"
    "Dancing's Not a Crime"
    "This is Gospel"
    "Death of a Bachelor"
    "The Greatest Show"
    "Girls/Girls/Boys"
    "High Hopes"
    "Miss Jackson"
    "Roaring 20s"
    "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Queen cover)
    "Emperor's New Clothes"
    "(Say Amen) Saturday Night"
    "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
    "Victorious"

    Panic! at the Disco brought the heat on a chilly Sunday night.

    Panic at the Disco RodeoHouston 2019
      
    Photo courtesy of RodeoHouston
    Panic! at the Disco brought the heat on a chilly Sunday night.
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    RodeoHouston 2019

    'King of country' George Strait shatters NRG Stadium record with star-studded show

    Johnston Farrow
    Johnston Farrow
    Mar 18, 2019 | 3:35 am
    'King of country' George Strait shatters NRG Stadium record with star-studded show
    Photo courtesy of RodeoHouston
    Dress like King George on Tuesday.

    Country legend George Strait closed out RodeoHouston 2019 in style on Sunday, March 18, breaking the NRG Stadium attendance record he set back in 2013, attracting 80,108 country fans to see him play over two hours, and covering almost all the biggest hits of his career.

    It was a Texas-strong lineup all around, with popular regional country artists Robert Earl Keen and Lyle Lovett kicking things off with an hour-long set. The two Houston-raised performers traded off songs, with Lovett's rootsy take on the genre giving way to Keen's celebratory shuffle.

    Lovett shined on "Church," which turned NRG into a Sunday revivalist revue; and Keen rocked "Shades of Grey" with a jacket and hair to match that song's title, before the two teamed up for a duet of "This Old Porch," recalling the dirt, grit, and humidity of a hot Texas summer evening.

    Following a 30-minute intermission, Strait walked out of the tunnel to thunderous applause, flashing his famously handsome smile, dressed in a plaid green dress shirt, brown cowboy hat, jeans, and cowboy boots. The 66-year-old acknowledged the crowd and quickly got into his No. 1 song "Write This Down," from 1999's Always Never the Same, backed by an 11-piece band that brought a well-rounded and big sound to the proceedings.

    But this was Strait's show, and he stood front-and-center throughout, letting his one-of-a-kind crooner baritone do much of the work throughout the insane, 32-song setlist, not moving much from his spot in front of the microphone.

    His performance of classic traditionalist country spanned decades of No. 1 songs, and the venue was packed to the rafters and on the floor, which was specially opened for the last of an overall successful season of performances for RodeoHouston. It might have been the most diverse lineup in recent memory of the three-week-long event, but Strait brought it back to its roots, the walking definition of a rodeo performer.

    The second-highest selling male country artist of all time (only behind Garth Brooks) and record-holder for most country No. 1 songs locked into a groove of faster-paced numbers, followed by a couple of slow dance songs, which the crowd on the NRG floor obliged by finding themselves waltz partners.

    To more casual fans, this rhythm of song selection might've been a bit tiresome, but if you were a Strait diehard, you would be hard pressed to find any fault with this show. A handful of songs incorporated heavy rodeo imagery, both in lyrics and in production, with Strait even alluding to his first appearance at the event way back in 1983, with photos from his first appearance flashing on screen during "Troubadour" from the 2008 album of the same name.

    All the big ones made the final cut: "Check Yes or No" from 1995's Strait Out of the Box; "The Fireman" from 1985's Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind; "The Chair" from 1985's Something Special; and the soulful, perfection of a country song "Amarillo By Morning" from 1982's Strait from the Heart, which Strait called his "most favorite song, ever." So many more were either chart-toppers or major country hits.

    As a rodeo tradition, covers found their way into the set, including two from another legend, Merle Haggard, the old school twang of “You Take Me for Granted” and “Are the Good Times Really Over," recalling the best of the AM radio dial. The encore also featured an inspired version of Tom Petty's "You Wreck Me," a classy nod by Strait to that acclaimed singer-songwriter's recent passing.

    Another highlight included a duet with the youngest performer at RodeoHouston this year when the adorable George Harvey Strait III joined his bubba onstage to sing back-up on "God and Country Music" from the forthcoming, sure-fire hit album, Honky Tonk Time Machine, set to be released later this year. "What a way to start your singing career, in front of 80,000 people," Strait exclaimed following the song.

    One of the best numbers of the night came in the form of what should be that album's first single, "Every Little Honky Tonk Bar," Strait's strongest tune in years with its clever lyrics and giddy-up beat. He also performed "Codigo," another cut from that album, and while it sounded great, having a song about your own brand of tequila seems a little too on the nose.

    But the biggest applause came when Strait came out for an encore of four songs, the mandatory "All My Exes Live In Texas" from 1987's Ocean Front Property, "I Cross My Heart," from 1992's Pure Country, the aforementioned Petty number, and wrapping up with "Cowboys Like Us" from the 2003 album, Honkytonkville.

    Though the show ended well after 10:30 pm, NRG remained nearly full throughout, a testament to the power that Strait and his still dominant, timeless voice carried among his fans, most especially in his second home at RodeoHouston. Let's hope it won't take another six years to get him back.

    George Strait Setlist
    “Write This Down”
    “I Can Still Make Cheyenne”
    “Take Me to Texas”
    “I Saw God Today”
    “Here for a Good Time”
    “She’ll Leave You with a Smile”
    “Wrapped”
    “You Take Me for Granted” (Merle Haggard cover)
    “Are the Good Times Really Over” (Merle Haggard cover)
    “Cold Beer Conversation”
    “Check Yes or No”
    “Arkansas Dave”
    “Give It Away”
    “Baby Blue”
    “Every Little Honky Tonk Bar”
    “Kicked Outta Country”
    “Ocean Front Property”
    “Old Violin”
    “The Weight of the Badge”
    “Codigo”
    “God and Country Music”
    “Amarillo By Morning”
    “The Chair”
    “The Fireman”
    “Run”
    “I’ll Always Remember You”
    “Troubadour”
    “Unwound”

    Encore
    “All My Exes Live in Texas”
    “I Cross My Heart”
    “You Wreck Me”
    “The Cowboy Rides Away”

    Strait's RodeoHouston appearance was one of the most anticipated shows of the year.

    George Strait RodeoHouston 2019
      
    Photo courtesy of RodeoHouston
    Strait's RodeoHouston appearance was one of the most anticipated shows of the year.
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