Widespread Panic returned to the Riverside Theater on Saturday night to rock the venue with extended scorchers and fan-favorite covers for the band’s second of three shows in Milwaukee. Sunshine and college game day in Brew Town ensured that most attendees were buzzing as they staggered toward the legendary theater. Like always, the six-headed monster from Athens, GA didn’t disappoint.
Getting down to business, Panic performed an emotional cover of Michael Stanley’s “Let’s Get The Show On The Road” as the audience joined in for the opening lines with passionate fervor. Though Panic played this tune at the D.C. run last month, it is just too damn good to be shelved. Jimmy Herring cut listeners to tatters with an early buzzsaw solo.
After giving the feral audience time to settle down, Duane Trucks and Sunny Ortiz introduced “Pleas”, then grabbed shovels to exhume Bloodkin’s “Henry Parsons Died” with unholy purpose. Another brief silence was broken by the opening notes of “Up All Night”, giving the band time and space to explore the cosmos together.
After pausing once more to temper the animals in the audience, the rolling percussions of “Shut Up and Drive” accelerated down the night’s highway. Jimmy Herring put the pedal to the floor and the tail lights disappeared over the horizon. Dave Schools picked up where Herring left off and steered the band into his bass opus, “Stop-Go”. This song got the extended treatment, too, as JoJo Hermann’s piano flourishes gave way to a rare interpolation of Leonard Cohen’s “That Don’t Make It Junk” from John Bell’s corner.
Panic’s tour manager, Steve Lopez, joined in next to add some extra percussion to a hair-raising cover of War’s “Slippin’ Into Darkness”. As a six-piece once again, the band honored late, founding drummer Todd Nance by plunging into his lasting composition, “Down”, before sneaking into the barn for a nocturnal joyride on a bouncing “Love Tractor” to end the first frame.
Widespread Panic returned from set break to defy gravity during “Porch Song”. The instrumental “Party At Your Mama’s House” blazed into an uninterrupted sequence of jams that first melted into a bass-heavy cut of Vic Chesnutt’s “Blight”. Dave Schools’s vocals shined (“Thru the blight of you”) and added “Just love each other… it isn’t that hard” into his traditional improvisation section.
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Without pause, a scorching “Flicker” was extinguished in the white water rapids of Schools’s bass deluge on “Bear’s Gone Fishin'”. Trucks and Ortiz carried those percussive rhythms into a thunderous “Cease Fire”. Jimmy Herring spoke a language outside of cultures and nations yet understood by all as he pleaded for the enemy to throw down their weapons and surrender.
An ethereal “Blue Indian” made its annual haunt next—with assistance from the raucous audience for the “We got a party goin’ on / Many spirits strong!” verse—to close out the stream of consecutive jams, then strapped the crowd in for the intergalactic rodeo of “Space Wrangler”. (“Knowing that he found the place that serves the coldest beer!”). Wrapping up the second set, JoJo led the band through another beer-soaked tale of debauchery with a bawdy “Blackout Blues.”
With a few minutes left on the clock, Widespread Panic returned to the stage for a two-song encore. First, Tom Petty‘s “Honey Bee” prompted howls from the crowd as JB sang the lyrics “I’m the king of Milwaukee!” To finish off Saturday night’s jubilee, WSP delivered a euphoric cover of Skip James’s “I’m So Glad”. The song was a longtime staple for for the band’s cosmic mentor, Col. Bruce Hampton, and fellow Aquarium Rescue Unit member, Jimmy Herring channeled his spirit with intention on guitar.
Widespread Panic rounds out this three-night stay at the Riverside Theater with a climactic Sunday show tonight. Things are bound to get weird, Milwaukee. Buckle up and have fun.
Stream a full audio recording of Widespread Panic’s Saturday night show in Milwaukee via the player below. For a complete list of the band’s upcoming tour dates, head here.
Widespread Panic – Milwaukee, WI – Full Audio – 10/22/22
Setlist [via PanicStream]: Widespread Panic | Riverside Theater | Milwaukee, WI | 10/22/22
Set One: Let’s Get The Show On The Road, Pleas > Henry Parsons Died, Up All Night, Shut Up And Drive > Stop-Go > Slippin’ Into Darkness*, Down, Love Tractor (75 mins)
Set Two: Porch Song, Party At Your Mama’s House > Blight > Flicker > Bear’s Gone Fishin’ > Cease Fire > Blue Indian, Goin’ Out West > Space Wrangler > Blackout Blues (85 mins)
Encore Honey Bee, I’m So Glad (13 mins)
Notes * w/ Steve Lopez on percussion
– ‘That Don’t Make It Junk’ rap during ‘Stop-Go’
– “Just love each other…it isn’t that hard.” DAS during ‘Blight’
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