Flashback to ten years ago. It was October 21, 2006. Widespread Panic was in the midst of their fall tour, when they stopped for one night in off-the-beaten-path Riverside Theater in Milwaukee. That one show blossomed into a deep and very fun relationship between the band and the venue.
Now, on the 10 year anniversary of Panic playing the Riverside, they return again but on slightly different terms. The shows sold out in a matter of minutes. The band has claimed that this will be their last full-fledged tour for a long time, if not forever. Night one of the Riverside run was everything that fans expected, a great way to mark 10 years of playing this incredible venue. Last night’s show brought another stellar performance.
Panic opened with “Pigeons” before a rocking “Cotton Was King” followed. “Ain’t No Use” allowed for bass player Dave Schools to let his fingers do some dancing on the frets of his bass. Following along his notes played for this song was fun. “Gradle” was great to see in the middle of the first set, and The Band’s “Ophelia” and “The Shape I’m In” got the crowd very excited once more. The set closed with a rousing version of “Henry Parsons Died.”
An energetic “Sell, Sell” opened the second set. The energy continued throughout the set, as did the good vibes. Anyone at the show knows that there were a lot of Cubs fans in attendance, and you didn’t have to look too hard to find people checking scores during the show. Even Schools noted this and mentioned how Harry Caray would be proud when the band clinched their World Series berth.
At that point the band really stretched out “Blight,” taking it to a spacier and more ambient jam. Keyboardist JoJo Hermann was striking some piercing notes on the keys before getting really dark, and then going into “Bear’s Gone Fishin.” It was a really good transition. After a great “Drumz” led by Duane Trucks and Sunny Ortiz, the band continued bringing fire. “Rebirtha” was a standout version, and “Space Wrangler” had some great visuals to go along with the music.
For the encore, the band again decided to dip into their rarely-played Black Sabbath covers for the second time in two nights. After playing “Me and the Devil Blues,” the band launched into a rocking version of “Sweet Leaf,” busted out for the first time since 2/23/16. The band had played “Fairies Wear Boots” on night one. It’s very possible there could be another Black Sabbath cover to end the Riverside weekend!
With one more show in the run, Panic is sure to bring it this Sunday night. Check out the full PanicStream setlist, below. A full gallery of images by Ojeda Photography appears below as well.
Setlist: Widespread Panic at Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, WI – 10/22/16
Set 1: Pigeons, Cotton Was King, Ain’t No Use, Tall Boy, Gradle, Ophelia > The Shape I’m In, 1 x 1, Henry Parsons Died (58 mins)
Set 2: Sell Sell, Thought Sausage, Radio Child, All Time Low, Blight > Bear’s Gone Fishin’ > Drumz > Second Skin > Rebirtha > Space Wrangler (94 mins)
Encore Me and The Devil Blues, Sweet Leaf* (13 mins)
Notes * LTP 2.23.16 Norfolk, Va
