The courtyard debauchery continued as Widespread Panic rolled into its third night at Panic En La Playa Once. Even the most experienced fans were overwhelmed by the never-ending supply of sunshine, refreshing Caribbean breezes, and unfailing hospitality provided by the Hard Rock Resort staff. A small army clad in new black Playa robes brazenly displayed their dedication to the event for surviving over five Panic En La Playa events—no small feat, mind you. Past the point of no return, Panic set sail with enough gumption to fuel the second half of PELP 11, beginning with a triumphant third night.
Getting down to business, Duane Trucks and Sunny Ortiz introduced a hard-hitting “Proving Ground”. After a soaring peak, Dave Schools redirected the rhythm to harvest the funky bassline of “Love Tractor”. The rowdy courtyard was eager to get in on the fun and made their presence felt during the two call-and-response sections, culminating in a boisterous “YEE HAW!” each time.
WSP finished the second half of PG before plucking through a meandering “Pickin’ Up The Pieces”, which featured a sizzling jam within its confines. Dancing was contagious as Schools steered into the “Old Neighborhood”. John Bell was a man possessed as his vocal zest pushed the performance to new peaks.
All six musicians on stage coordinated an acoustic assault to introduce “Impossible” with a frenzied bang. The stage lights glowed yellow as the white wizard, Jimmy Herring, translated the song’s structure into a cascading river of notes. After a quick tease of the Grateful Dead’s “The Other One”, another possible nod to Dead & Company‘s own Playing In The Sand party further down the beach, Schools plummeted through the murky depths of “Second Skin” with the barrage of bass notes.
Waiting for the last bass note to stop resounding around the courtyard, Schools barged into the distinct opening of “Rebirtha”. Slowly but surely, JoJo Hermann began to commandeer the music’s direction as his fingers danced along his piano for an inebriating round of “Blackout Blues” to end the first frame.
The six members of Widespread Panic shuffled on stage to don their instruments with their backs to the shimmering moonlight reflected across the Gulf of Mexico. Without wasting time, Duane Trucks and Sunny Ortiz once more got the set going with the rolling introduction of “Diner”.
JB brought the performance to a screeching halt when he became entranced after reading ancient Mayan hieroglyphics and channeled spirits from centuries long since passed. Spoken like a medium came the “Highway to Heaven” rap:
I know ’cause I got kicked off my bench this morning,
the light was on,
put a little money in the juke,
play something, something,
Eagles or something,
before all the respectable people come around,
change… is gonna come,
change… is gonna come,
highway to heaven!
you know, change is gonna come,
sunlight came across the roofs and through window,
keep my coffee cup a little warmer, a little longer,
sun bathing on the roof,
one day, one day.
Schools segued into Vic Chesnutt’s “Sleeping Man” to take up his traditional role on the lead vocals. Almost exactly four years since its debut at Panic en la Playa Siete in 2018, JB conjured up an extended “Sundown Betty” for the 20th time since.
Breaking it down for a lengthy instrumental run through “Party At Your Mama’s House” which gained momentum progressively until JB’s slide and saucy vocals blazed into a finger-licking “Ribs and Whiskey”. JoJo and Jimmy both slathered their jam sauce all over the slow-cooked meats. Behind the band, multi-colored triangles glowed like stained glass.
After pausing to catch their breath, JB locked into a bone-chilling performance of “Mercy” as JoJo affixed himself behind his organ keyboard. Without stopping, JoJo dug up a behemoth “Big Wooly Mammoth” using his jaunty piano and lively lyrics.
Briefly stepping aside, the band gave space for the drummers to beat their kits in cohesive chaos before wrapping up the second set with a combo of “Protein Drink”/”Sewing Machine”, from WSP’s collaborative project with Vic Chesnutt, brute. This time, it was JB who gestured to the sound booth, pointing to himself and then thrusting his finger in the air as the fans jumped around to the steady beat of wild mayhem.
Last night, WSP broke the pattern established by the first two nights and returned to play a two-song encore with the original “Dream Song” leading into Tom Petty’s “Running Down a Dream” for a flashback to Savannah’s dreamy Halloween show.
Playa Allstars kept patrons dancing through the night with a midnight show on the Stairway to Heaven stage. The band’s lineup consisted of several Playa vets including Eric Krasno, Ivan Neville, George Porter Jr., Jennifer Hartswick, Cochemea Gastelum, and Raymond Weber, but it didn’t take long for them to be joined by Kanika Moore of Doom Flamingo first for Stevie Wonder’s “Tell Me Something Good” and J.J. Cale’s “After Midnight”, and later for Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire”. Playa Allstars rolled through a taste of Neil Young’s “Ohio”, Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like an Eagle”, Janis Joplin‘s “Piece of My Heart”, and a festival reprise of War’s “Slippin’ Into Darkness”. The rapper Chali 2na joined the band for some funk-driven lyrical improvisations and assisted in closing out the third night with an exuberant encore.
Tonight marks the last night of Panic en la Playa Once, a bittersweet finale to a blue-skied weekend on the beach of Mexico—full of laughter, old friends, smiling eyes, the occasional sit-down dinner, watching sunsets, moonrises, sunrises, equipped with Yetis filled with chilled drinks, handfuls of margaritas, mojitos, pina coladas, and a diverse assortment of as many cocktails as one can possibly imagine.
Speaking of which, my headache has returned and I think the only cure would be a Bloody Mary and mas tequila. Last day here, let’s make the most of it, GoodPeople.
Widespread Panic – Hard Rock Resort – Riviera Maya, Mexico – 1/16/23 [Full Show Audio]
Widespread Panic – “Sleeping Man” (Vic Chesnutt) – 1/16/23
[Video: Michael Wilker]
Setlist: Widespread Panic | Panic en la Playa | Hard Rock Resort | Riviera Maya, Mexico | 1/16/23 8:11 ET
Noche Tres
Set 1: Proving Ground > Love Tractor > Proving Ground, Pickin’ Up The Pieces, Old Neighborhood, Impossible, Second Skin, Rebirtha, Blackout Blues (67 mins)
Set 2: Diner > Sleeping Man (Vic Chesnutt), Sundown Betty, Party At Your Mama’s House > Ribs and Whiskey, Mercy > Big Wooly Mammoth > Mini Drums > Protein Drink (brute.) / Sewing Machine (brute.) (87 mins)
Encore: Dream Song, Running Down A Dream (11 mins)
Notes – Last ‘Proving Ground’ opener 7/01/08 Kansas City, MO
– ‘Highway To Heaven’ rap during ‘Diner’
– Entire show with Edie Jackson (ASL interpreter)
After Playa Allstars
