I Want to Complicate You

During sound check the band and I stood in the wings and watched Panic go through a couple of their songs. Despite following along with their rise to fame, I actually never made it to a show. The closest thing to watching them live was watching videos on You Tube, but even then I did that rarely. I couldn’t stand hearing screams over them playing. So to finally get a chance to watch Brendon and Spencer perform, even if it was just for sound check was quite the experience.

Once the boys were done, we took our places. I was hoping that the butterflies in my stomach would settle when I walked onto stage but that was not the case. I looked over at Josh with wide eyes, silently telling him that I wasn’t quite ready for this. He motioned with his hands to take deep breath. I placed my hands on my mic and closed my eyes so I could fully focus on my breathing.

When it was my turn to do the solo check I opened my eyes and began to talk and sing so the cound tech made sure he could get the right levels for my voice. He then asked us to play a song or two and when the music started, I felt like I could have kissed Josh. He started playing the opening guitar rift to the song that always helped me calm down and really get into the performance instead of worrying about if I was going to mess up and make a fool of myself.

Mikey then came in on drums and a beat after Mitsy came in on her bass I began singing. As soon as I started singing the butterflies calmed down as they always do and I finally got into it. I didn’t even get nervous about the high note and didn’t back off like I usually do. I beamed over at Josh and mouthed thank you before we went into the next song.

When we walked back off stage, we were greeted by high fives from all the guys. “You guys sound awesome!” Dallon said.

“I can’t wait to watch the full set.” Ian commented.

“You two sound really good together It’s like your voices were meant for each other.” Spencer said.

Josh chuckled. “Thanks dude. You guys sound pretty awesome yourself. Can’t wait to watch the whole thing.”

“I knew you had some power on you Rose but damn.” Brendon said.

I couldn’t help but to laugh. “You heard me in the studio, Brendon.”

“Not the same thing, Rosie.”

I stuck my tongue out at him, which he easily returned.

At that moment Zack walked over. “Didn’t I tell you guys that they were rockin’?”

“So you’re the man who put us on their radar?” I asked.

Zack chuckled. “That would be men, yes.” He then stuck out his hand. “Zack Hall.”

I took his hand. “Rose Summers, pleasure.”

He then introduced himself to the rest of the band.

“Yeah, thanks for connecting us Zack. You also seemed to have found a long lost friend of mine and Spencer’s.” Brendon spoke up.

Zack looked over at him in slight shock. “Really? I though you didn’t know these guys.”

“That’s what we thought too until we met them.” Spencer said.

“Well, who is it then?” Zack asked.

I giggled and raised my hand, giving him a slight wave.

“Well, I’ll be damned. You know these losers?”

I laughed. “Yup. I grew up with Brendon, Spencer, Ryan and Brent. Before we started high school my family moved east and we lost touch. So thanks for the unexpected reunion.”

“Well, I think that calls for a celebratory lunch.”

“I couldn’t agree more. I’m starved.” Mikey piped up.

I laughed linking my arm with his. Then Mitsy and Josh joined in before we skipped towards catering. We began singing as loud as we could “We’re off to see the Wizard!” as we made our way down the hall. When we reached the careering section we unlinked our arms as we died laughing.

“You guys are nuts.” Dallon chuckled as he came up behind us. “At least we won’t have a dull moment during tour.”

We laughed again. “Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet.” I commented as I grabbed a plate and started filling it with food.

We all ate together like we were one big family. It was only the first day of tour and we hadn’t actually performed yet but I loved it all ready. Once we were finished eating, we were all ushered into our dressing rooms. Mikey brought out his portable speaker and Josh plugged in his phone, so our preshow play list could fill the room. We all were singing and dancing along as each of us got dressed in our concert attire.

Mikey wore a simple t-shirt and jeans. Josh had on ripped jeans and a flannel shirt over a tank that was rolled to his elbows. Both boys were lounging on the couch playing whatever it was they played on their phones. Mitsy and I were sharing the vanity mirror as we applied our make-up. She was dressed in a strapless crop top and skinny jeans. I had on a Blondie tee and tights under my high waisted shorts.

We never matched when we performed. We always wore what we felt comfortable in. The one time I remember us actually matching was for the album photo shoot. Once Mitsy and I were finished with our make-up, we turned off the music and stood in a circle. We always did a shake down before each show. We were all bouncing on the balls of our feet before Mikey raised his right hand, with us following suit. We then began to shake our hand as we counted down from ten.

Once the shake down was over we let out one big whoop right before a knock on our door and a voice called out. “Five minutes til show time. Please make your way to the left wing.”

“Let’s do this thing!” Mitsy yelled.

We high fived each other and made our way to the wing where we waited to be told to go on stage. We were all bouncing with energy, I could practically touch it. We were given the go ahead and Josh lead us out. We were met with screams and I thought my face was going to split with how wide I was smiling.

Mikey counted us off and off we went. We played song after song with me talking in between them ever so often. When we were down to the last two song of our set, I drank some water before speaking into the mic. “Thank you Philly for having us.” I was met with a wall of screams. “I hope you’ve had as much fun as we have! Now who’s ready for Panic! at the Disco?” Once more I was met with screams. “Well, we’ve got two more song for ya then you can have ‘em.” I giggled and once more Mikey counted us off.

We ended our set with the last two singles we had released. I was actually rather surprised that during our whole set I could hear the crowd singing along. When we were done, I introduced the band, thanked them all for coming and wished them a good night. We jogged off stage, passing the roadies who would set the stage for Panic’s part of the performance.

I grabbed a towel and another bottle of water before jogging around to the other side of stage. Josh, Mitsy, and Mikey had wanted to decompress after the show but they promised they would get around to watching Panic’s set. Zack saw me first and gave me a high five. “Nice job out there.”

I smiled, “Thanks.”

Dallon and Ina then took notice that I was there and expressed their praise. “Where are the others?” Ian asked.

“They wanted to decompress. They’ll watch your set later.” I replied.

He nodded at my answer. I was then blindsided as I was picked up and twirled around by Brendon. “You were fucking fantastic out there!”

I laughed as I was set down. “Thanks.”

“Never knew you could move like that.” He teased.

I giggled and poked him in the chest. “That’s because you only ever saw me in choir concerts with cheesy dance moves.”

He laughed. “You got me there.”

Spencer then came over and gave me a hug. “Lovely job, Rosie.”

I hugged him back. “Thanks Spence.”

“All right, I think we boosted her ego enough. You guys need to get ready to go on stage.” Zack piped up.

They all mock saluted him before lining up. I tapped Brendon on the shoulder and when he turned around to face me I gave him a big hug. “Break a leg, Bren.” I told him as he gave me a slight squeeze.

“Thanks, Rosie.”

As we pulled apart I gave him a kiss on the cheek without even thinking. He looked down at me with a wide smile and before I could process what was going on he was running out on stage.

From the moment they began performing, I was mesmerized. Watching them perform live was definitely so much better to watch in person than through You Tube videos. I was singing along to ever song and when Brendon was talking to the crowd I heard Zack chuckle beside me. I turned to face him and was just about to ask him what he was laughing at when he spoke. “All those teenagers out there tonight have nothing on you. I don’t care if you have friend status. There’s no doubt that you’re Panic’s number one fan. These songs have been barely released and yet you know every word.”

I blushed, which caused Zack to laugh even more. “It was the one thing I hated about moving. I missed those guys so much and following along with their career was the closes thing I could get to keeping in touch.” I said.

He smiled. “You’re secret is safe with me.”

I laughed. “Thank you for unknowingly getting us back in touch.”

He just shrugged. “Don’t mention it.”