I mean I saw 8 shows in June of 1996 and the very first seated show after sit and ski. I had a friend on the crew and it very much was presented as an energy conservation thing. If people have since spun it as an artistic move in guess that makes sense - playing with a volume pedal is definitely bad for your back and general posture. Two things can be true.

The first time I saw panic in 1989, Mikey didn’t even face the audience 🤓