About 200 rock fans showed up at Hampton’s Power Plant Thursday, Feb. 3, to be part of a rare event on the Peninsula — an emo-rock acoustic lunch.

At Luckie’s Dueling Pianos, two members of the band Panic! At The Disco performed a brief, invitation-only concert organized as a promotional event by WROX-FM (96.1).

Singer-guitarist Brendon Urie and drummer Spencer Smith sat on bar stools and played three songs unplugged style for a mellow crowd well-armed with cameras, cell phones and video recorders.

The stripped down versions of “The Ballad of Mona Lisa,” “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” and “Nine In The Afternoon” kept the focus squarely on Urie’s strong, expressive vocals.

“It was amazing!” said Jay Dawson, a 21-year-old fan from Hampton who sat directly in front of the stage and scored a souvenir pick from the singer. His friend and fellow shipyard worker Jacob Sampley, 22, was also impressed. “It’s one thing to sound good on record. He sounds better live than in the studio. Amazing.”

The two musicians spent much more time signing post-performance autographs than playing music on Thursday. Plenty of young women seemed excited to be in such close proximity to rock semi-stardom.

Brittany Sawyer, 21, of Gloucester stepped up to the signing table and asked Urie to autograph a poster. She told him that she had seen the group at The NorVa several years ago. “Oh my God, I love The NorVa!” he said. “We’ll have to come back and play there again.”

Another fan, 22-year-old Chris Settles of Virginia Beach, stood outside on the Luckie’s patio smoking a cigarette.

“What, are they breaking up?” he asked, confused by the band’s abbreviated set. “I thought it was going to be more than that. The three songs were good, but we were expecting more.” He said his girlfriend was pretty disappointed. “It was free, so I can’t complain. But I wish it was more.”

Via Daily Press

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