Panic! At the Disco Rocks Shippensburg University

Nearly 3,000 people in Heiges Field House Photo provided by Jenna Kauffman

On Sat, Sept 12, Panic! at the Disco performed at Heiges Field House at Shippensburg University. Almost 3,000 tickets were sold, making it one of the largest concerts in the university’s recent history. According to Kurt Eisele, concert chair for Shippensburg’s Activities Program Board (APB), “[It was] probably one of the biggest we’ve ever had.”

Shippensburg University students choose their concerts by sending out a survey on campus. Panic! At the Disco was one of the choices on their last survey, ranking the second highest in popularity.

“When I found out they were going to be in the area for a show in Philly, I jumped on it,” Eisele states. “Panic! [at the Disco] was huge during my late middle school years and early high school years so I thought the throwback would be cool. Plus, they’ve really come back strong over the past few years.”

At least 40 people associated with the university helped set up the event held in Heiges Field House, which, according to the concert chair, has not held a concert in five years.

Prior to Panic! at the Disco’s performance, two bands opened for them: Allistair and 3 Shades of Blue. Allistair is a local band while 3 Shades of Blue was on this year’s season of America’s Got Talent. Both bands hyped up the crowd before the main act took the stage.

Many Wilson College students were at the show, along with current Shippensburg University students and other people from the area.

“I really liked the concert. It was super fun and relatively cheap,” Myah Quirin ‘17 from Wilson College states. The concert was $30 a ticket for non-students and $20 for Shippensburg University students. “Shippensburg did pretty good [with hosting]. I liked how they got on stage to pump the crowd up. Super cool.”

“Panic at the Disco has been one of my favorite bands since I was younger,” Danniele Fulmer ‘17 from Wilson College mentions. “The performance exceeded all of my expections! I was so happy to finally see the band live.”

Lesley Eichelberger ‘16 from Wilson College compliments the university on their choice of venue.

“Using the field house instead of the Luhrs Center was smart because the smaller space still had all the appeal of a concert hall, [such as] lighting, [a] large stage, ample seating and standing room, yet still felt intimate.” Eichelberger states. “The only thing that I think Ship could improve upon was their stage lighting. Many times, we were blinded by pulsating lights that were way too bright to be directed into the audience’s eyes. Also, at some points, the sound seemed muffled to us and it was difficult to understand lyrics or the performers’ speech.” Eichelberger goes on to say, , that this was her daughter’s first concert and thinks, “it was a great introduction for her into the world of live entertainment.”

The night was definitely something that every avid concert goer should have been a part of. To learn more about the event, check out Shippensburg University’s APB Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/shipAPB or contact the APB at apb@ship.edu.