Widespread Panic cracked open this year’s annual Halloween pregame at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin last night. Coinciding with the first game of the World Series (L.A. Dodgers vs. Toronto Blue Jays), Panic pitched a perfect game, utilizing a diverse selection of blazing fastballs, off-speed changeups, and well-timed curveballs to win over the hearts of the Home Team’s diehard fans. Coloring the setlist blue, WSP mixed in five covers, including two as encores, and a jam sandwich for each set.
John Bell turned the ignition, welcoming the rowdy crowd with a simple, “Howdy everybody,” before the slow roll of Duane Trucks’ drums, Jimmy Herring‘s mellow guitar and JoJo Hermann’s piano collaborated to introduce “Blue Indian”—possibly as an allusion to the dejected fans of the Atlanta Braves, who, like the Milwaukee Brewers, fell short of their championship aspirations. Unlike the Brewers, a team which held the best record in the National League before being swept by the L.A. Dodgers last week, the Atlanta Braves missed out in the postseason for the first time in eight years.
A finger-licking rendition of “Contentment Blues” chased the greasy aftertaste of fried chicken with church wine during the first cover of the night, Bloodkin’s “Henry Parson’s Died”. Jimmy Herring cut his teeth on the first solo of the evening before JoJo took the helm for an early “Good People” sandwich with a nefarious “Dark Bar” lurking inside.
The instrumental “Happy” made its rounds for the first time since the second night of 2024’s Panic en la Playa until JoJo careened off the highway and into the undertow of “1×1”’s swirling waters. Following a short pause, an explosive pairing of newer tunes “King Baby” and “Halloween Face” closed out the first frame with a percussive, high-voltage barrage.
The second set built off a slew of classic originals as JoJo unearthed an opening “Big Wooly Mammoth” before steamrolling into old-school originals, “Wondering” and “Walkin’ (For Your Love)”, in succession. Locking in and picking up speed, a peaceful trot soon raced lightning during “Space Wrangler” and the band began to gel.
JoJo seemed in the forefront for most of the first night and led the band through “Blue Carousel” until Dave Schools redirected the melody into “Rebirtha”. JB started grooving, clearly feeling saucy as he sang the apropos lyrics, “I know a town where real life’s a game / baseball’s all that’s real / every night the faces light up as the heroes take the hill.” Once Jimmy Herring touched down, JB cleaned up his vocals for “I’m Not Alone” and afterwards flipped the switch to dial into a gravelly cover of Murray McLauchlan’s “Honky Red”.
Winding down the set, WSP took flight into an expansive “Surprise Valley” sandwich which encapsulated a succinct drum section for Duane Trucks and Sunny Ortiz to strut their stuff. After returning into the second half of “Surprise Valley”, Panic closed out the second set with the third cover of the night, Calvin Carter and Bobby Rush’s “Bowlegged Woman”. The entire show was exceptional so far, however, JB made it extraordinary with a far-fetched rap that walked a thin line between genius and lunacy. It went something like this, “I know you since before / I know you look different but I recognize / …. / I know we’ve been down this road / so many, many times before / …. / Some get sucked in, it’s easy / Everybody lookin’ like a Squidbilly / What a way to enjoy the rapture / C’mon, Jesus, what about free love? / Granny squid just dangling from a rocking chair / C’mon kids, I know you want this / I said, ‘No’ / I do not think that would be a good idea for either…”
Picking up the pieces of the audience’s scattered brains, Widespread Panic encored two consecutive covers. First, JoJo continued to captain the ship by leading the six-piece band through NRBQ’s “Help Me Somebody” for the first time since 2020’s Beacon Theatre Leap Year 5-night “shortstack” in NYC. JB picked up his mandolin to punctuate the show with the second Bloodkin cover of the night, “End of the Show”. It was a poignant singalong and a most appropriate end to the first of three shows in Milwookie.
Click below to view photos courtesy of Daniel Ojeda and listen back to the entire show here.
Comin’ in hot tonight, Brew Crew, Round Two! You are the lucky ones this weekend.
Setlist: Widespread Panic | Riverside Theater | Milwaukee, WI | 10/24/25
Set 1: Blue Indian, Contentment Blues, Henry Parsons Died, Good People > Dark Bar > Good People, Happy > 1×1, King Baby > Halloween Face
Set 2: Big Wooly Mammoth > Wondering, Walkin’ (For Your Love), Space Wrangler, Blue Carousel, Rebirtha > I’m Not Alone, Honky Red > Surprise Valley > Drums > Surprise Valley, Bowlegged Woman
Encore: Help Me Somebody > End of the Show
Notes:
– LTP ‘Happy’ 4/15/24 Playa (39 shows)
– LTP ‘1×1’ 5/27/23 Brandon, MS (67 shows)
– LTP ‘Help Me Somebody’ 2/27/20 New York (166 shows)
