It has been a year and two days since Widespread Panic walked off the stage of Manhattan’s Beacon Theatre following their fifth consecutive sold-out show at the historic New York City venue–Bassist Dave Schools dubbed the run the “Pancake stack.” Since then, life in the Panic universe has been a hopeless string of cancellations with only the Sunday night livestreams and JoJo Hermann’s Shut Up And Play solo streams holding the scattered community together. Hermann’s voice and persona have been a much-needed medicine for the GoodPeople community, bringing the fans back to a time when they can interact and dance to the songs, albeit from the safety of their own homes.
The keyboardist from Widespread Panic divulged into his early roots in New Orleans jazz as he played bawdy covers and well-known originals from the open-faced piano in Todd Snider’s The Purple Building in East Nashville, Tennessee for the sixth and penultimate episode of his ongoing Shut Up and Play series on Thursday evening.
Viewer donations from Thursday night’s stream will go to benefit Nuçi’s Space, a resource center based in Panic’s hometown of Athens, GA that provides rehearsal/performance space for local musicians, along with support the well-being and overall mental health of folks within the regional music community
JoJo performed an hour-long setlist comprised of Widespread Panic tunes in addition to a couple of newly-written compositions and a slew of covers from Panic’s repertoire during Thursday’s stream. The pianist took requests as his fingers danced from tune to tune – often by melding them into a one-of-a-kind alloy – while he provided the backstory or inspiration behind some of the various songs he was performing.
After playing “Solace” to the opening credits, JoJo kicked the night off with back-to-back covers. Ray Charles’ “Mess Around” bled into NRBQ’s “Help Me Somebody”. Although “Mess Around” never appeared on a Widespread Panic setlist, the tune did emerge during the second episode of Shut Up and Play back on 6/25/20. As JoJo broke down the opening tunes, he explained between jazzy piano fills that although Ray Charles wrote the song, he performed the Professor Longhair version this time around.
Before taking a request from a fan named Mary Johnson and diving into the Panic original, “Greta”, JoJo wryly joked “The phones are ringing off the hook, even though we don’t have a phone.” He explained that the song was written in Taylor, Mississippi in Obi Shack near Old Man James Farm in a level and straight-faced way that the audience couldn’t differentiate between fact from fiction. JoJo sandwiched the introduction and verse melody on “Up All Night” into the mix without vocals – “All the pictures on the wall / Are falling to the ground / Trees bowing to the grass / In a silent hurricane” – before returning to finish “Greta”.
Another original followed as Hermann’s waterfall of notes cascaded into a riveting “All Time Low” from Widespread Panic’s 1999 Til The Medicine Takes album. JoJo explained the meaning of the line “Under a big, black sun” was influenced by X’s 1982 album by the same name (the album was produced by Ray Manzarek, the keyboardist of The Doors, and one of JoJo’s biggest influences).
JoJo went on to explain how “Shut Up and Play” was the perfect name for playing instrumentals while he subsequently burned through a couple of scorching sections of “Disco”. JoJo morphed the melody into J.J. Cale’s “Ride Me High” with a brief tease of “The Woman That Got Away” included in the early part of the transition. Both tunes come off Cale’s acclaimed 1976 Troubadour album. JoJo’s fingers danced back into “Disco” before moving on to “Almost Infinite”, the instrumental that he debuted during SUAP episode one. The emotional symphony juxtaposed a section that lifted spirits to the glory of heaven with another that put the fear of Judgment Day and stared directly into the deepest bowels of hell. Upon conclusion, JoJo stated that his intent was to release it as a single.
Before dishing out a Smiling Assassin solo original “Lazy Bum”, JoJo retold the story behind his first gig in New Orleans. The excitement that he had in actualizing his dream to play Professor Longhair and his jazz influences in New Orleans contrasted with the fact that nobody gave a damn and the bartender at the Heartbreak soon stopped him to replace the jukebox needle with Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive”.
Keeping the music flowing, JoJo transitioned seamlessly into the pitter-patter of “Squirrels in the Attic”, which he debuted and gave the backstory during episode four. Next, JoJo performed a rare cover of “Brown Sugar”. The Rolling Stones tune was played only once by Panic during NOLAween 2008 as the final encore of the night.
JoJo rolled the show to a tasty conclusion with more sugar and more hearty jams. First, “1×1” retold the infamous tale of Sugarman and the collapse of the Clear Creek Bridge with a gritty, barebones version of “1×1”. To end the show, Professor Longhair’s “Red Beans” cooked, bookending the evening in the same way it started. “Reptile Show” by JoJo’s side project Slim Wednesday thumped along as the credits rolled.
The final episode of Shut Up and Play will air next Thursday, March 11th. JoJo, who seems to get restless around Fat Tuesday, will embark out west for a brief run of shows with Jerry Joseph on March 12th-13th at Beaver Creek, CO’s Vilar Performing Arts Center. As always, stay well, all. Health is wealth, so take care of those bodies and mentals, until we can dance again.
Watch JoJo Hermann’s sixth episode of Shut Up And Play via the video player below.
JoJo Hermann – Shut Up And Play Episode Six – 3/4/21
[Video: Widespread Panic]
Setlist: JoJo Hermann Shut Up And Play Ep. Six | The Purple Building | East Nashville, TN | 3/4/21
Set: Mess Around (Ray Charles cover) > Help Me Somebody (NRBQ cover), Greta > Up All Night > Greta, All Time Low, Disco > Ride Me High (J.J. Cale cover) > Disco, Almost Infinite, Lazy Bum > Squirrels in the Attic, Brown Sugar (The Rolling Stones cover) > 1×1, Red Beans (Professor Longhair cover)