Panic at the Disco discovered The Beatles two years ago. Actually, guitarist-songwriter Ryan Ross learned of the Fab Four’s melodic genius while on tour with his group in 2006.

“Ryan was blown away when he really sat down and listened to The Beatles,” says vocalist Brendan Urie. “He grew up on country. The rest of us knew how great The Beatles are. Ryan’s enthusiasm for them is pretty big.”

That’s not surprising after a spin of Panic at the Disco’s sophomore effort, “Pretty.Odd.” Symphonic pop and hook-laden tunes abound throughout the ambitious project.

“We broadened our range before we made this album,” Urie says while calling from Bridgeport, Conn. “We grew up a lot. I think a lot of people were surprised that we used horns and just changed things around a bit. We just realized that we could do a lot more than what we did on our first album.”

“A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out,” which dropped in 2005, is just another innocuous emo disc, but Panic at the Disco, which will co-headline with Dashboard Confessional Saturday at the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia, stepped it up the second time out.

“We felt more comfortable than ever with this album,” Urie says. “It feels like it’s been forever since we made our first album.”

The group’s live show hasn’t changed. Urie, the flamboyant frontman, continues to be a dynamic live performer and stylish provocateur.

“It’s more fun to (engage) the audience,” he says. “I don’t get bands who have no connection with the crowd.”

It can be a challenge to build a rapport with fans when acts graduate from theaters to arenas, but Urie isn’t worried about it.

“We can still be intimate even though we’re playing big places these days,” he says. “We still manage to make it personal. We approach these arena shows like we’re playing a club. Somehow it all works for us.”

Urie isn’t sure what the group’s next album will sound like but he’s confident it’ll be closer to the act’s latest album as opposed to the debut release.

“We’re a lot different than we were when we started this band,” he says. “When we made our first album, we were just coming out of high school and we were angry. We hated our jobs. We were ticked off at everything. When we made our last album, we were in a better place. We’re still in that place and it feels good.”

Source: phillyburbs.com

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2. Gig Review: Panic at the Disco in New Zealand
3. New Panic at the Disco Album Shaping Up On The Road
4. No Need To Panic, Disco Rocks
5. Panic at the Disco: Pretty Odd Indeed

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