On Friday night, in the wake of a three-night blowout at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheatre, Widespread Panic took the stage at St. Augustine Amphitheatre in St. Augustine FL, the oldest city in America. The city is known throughout the world for its historic landmarks and pirate mythology, including Ponce De Leon’s search for the fabled “Fountain of Youth.” Since Nashville, it appeared the boys had taken shelter in an abandoned pirate fortress and drank nothing but Caribbean rum, trading gold doubloons while shooting dice to pass time. Hurricane Florence knew better than to mess with St. Augustine this year, as many refugees from the Carolinas took shelter from the storm with the protection of Jimmy Herring’s six-stringed Neptune trident, John Bell’s mystical incantations, and Dave Schools‘ seismic pulses.
To kick off the first set in a classic “Panic in the Streets” style, the band nailed a lively “Disco” before following with a smooth “Wondering.” John Bell remained outstanding as the band picked up a fiery version of “Glory” featuring some sizzling organ provided by JoJo Hermann (“Anytime we dance takes us closer to glory!”). Jimmy Herring took the helm of this pirate ship’s one-way trip next, his electric sawblade cutting out the lightning riffs of “Action Man”, which recounts the tale of the legendary horse Man-O-War’s only defeat—to a horse appropriately named Upset.
Keeping the tone fiery with a hint of brimstone, the Panics executed a coup de grace with a nasty “Junior” (an ode to Junior Kimbrough) featuring an intensely built-up jam that transitioned softly into a sentimental “C. Brown”. (“And you can walk on home with me…You don’t even need to think a word. You don’t have to worry… “) The slow and steady instrumental “Party at Your Mama’s House” incorporated JoJo’s pristine piano playing, Jimmy Herring’s wizard fingers, and a percussive beatdown by Duane Trucks and Sonny Ortiz.
As the song wound down, John Bell stepped back to the microphone to destroy a modern take on Robert Johnson’s “Stop Breaking Down” before a murky wave full of “Fishwater” crashed over the Amphitheatre’s walls. At first, it seemed that Hurricane Florence was coming closer for a listen but, in truth, it was the band’s powerful music summoning the salty sea to churn in accompaniment to JoJo’s swirling synthesizer and Herring’s maelstrom guitar licks. The song descended through the depths of the ocean right through the gates of the underworld as each member of the band contributed to the musical mayhem. John Bell and Schools “Mo, Mo Mo’ed” in a whirlpool descent until finally hitting rock bottom and capsizing, at which point the boys temporarily abandoned ship and left the audience to tread water until their return.
The band of swashbucklers returned after set break aboard a commandeered galleon and busted out a beautiful tribute to fallen fan Pace Taylor with “Don’t Wanna Lose You”. The Ball original had not been played since Panic en la Playa Tres in 2014. The music continued straight into Jerry Joseph’s jagged reggae tune, “Chainsaw City”, Dave Schools backing Bell’s squawking vocal ad libs. Steve Lopez joined the stage to lend a percussive hand before another smooth segue marooned the festive audience on the island of Jorma Kaukoken’s “Genesis”.
The band took their only pause of the set before acing an extended “Up All Night” and taunting the passing Hurricane with a defiant “Hatfield”, the true story of the rainmaker who got paid ten grand by the city of Los Angeles to end a drought. John Bell dazzled with his off-the-cuff raps about Hatfield’s mama (“a big, beautiful German woman!”), “cold beer in the summertime,” “cowboys and Indians,” “Batman and Robin,” “apple pie smells coming from the window,” and “three-stringed banjos,” all culminating spectacularly with “rain for L.A.”
Widespread Panic played one for the bilge rats next with a heavy “You Got Yours”, buoyed by Herring’s sacrificial riffs to Poseidon and Schools’ thumpin’ and shadowing backup vocals. JoJo’s synthesizer lifted the band into J.J. Cale’s “Ride Me High”, which led into a lengthy and flexible jam. The band transitioned into a sexy “Tie Your Shoes” and, at some point during the weighty jam in between, it seemed the mythical Kraken was summoned from the briny deep to groove on some Panic tunes.
A mixed medley kept the audience (and the Kraken) guessing until the band finally settled into an appetizing “Contentment Blues”, with John Bell declaring proudly, “I Lerv mah Chicken!” To end the second set, Panic played a fiery tribute to Tom Petty with their third-ever rendition of “You Wreck Me” and their first since it capped this year’s three-night Red Rocks run.
For their encore, Widespread Panic reemerged from the shadows to nail a cover of Vic Chestnutt’s “Expiration Day”, with JoJo tinkering a forlorn piano line. As a grand finale, the boys brought the swampy Georgian farmland to the beaches of St. Augustine with stomping “Love Tractor”. The song featured some lively call and response, raucous “Yee-Haws!”, crashing percussion by Ortiz and Trucks, and a Herring solo that had everyone’s feet (and tentacles) swaying in jolted rhythms.
The boys dismounted from their musical positions and shuffled offstage, riding out of the amphitheatre, over the waves, and toward the horizon on the back of the high-seas tall tale they’d summoned with their weekend-opening performance. No need to worry, though. These swamp scoundrels are set to return to the shore today for their first of two remaining evenings in St. Augustine.
You can listen to an audio stream of Widespread Panic’s first night in St. Augustine via PanicStream here.
Below, check out a selection of crowd-shot videos from the performance:
Widespread Panic – “Fishwater”
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Widespread Panic – “Genesis” [Jorma Kaukonen cover]
[Video: Fred Ramadan]
Widespread Panic – “You Wreck Me” [Tom Petty cover]
[Video: rofred09]
Setlist: Widespread Panic | St. Augustine Amphitheatre | St. Augustine FL | 9/14/18
Set 1: Disco, Wondering, Glory, Action Man, Junior, C. Brown, Party At Your Mama’s House > Stop Breakin’ Down Blues, Fishwater (65 mins)
Set 2 Don’t Wanna Lose You^ > Chainsaw City* > Genesis, Up All Night > Hatfield️ > You Got Yours, Ride Me High > Jam > Tie Your Shoes > Contentment Blues > You Wreck Me (88 mins)
Encore: Expiration Day, Love Tractor (13 mins)
Notes * w/ Steve Lopez on percussion
^ LTP 3/17/14 Playa Tres (264 shows) ~ RIP Pace Taylor