Widespread Panic Concludes Austin Residency with 4 Belly Buster Sandwiches and Tribute to Texas Bluesman Stevie Ray Vaughan on Sixth and Final Night
The jam-rock kings of Widespread Panic, entered the ACL Live at the Moody Theater on Saturday night for the sixth and final show of their Austin, TX residency. Holding nothing back, Panic built four song sandwiches throughout a setlist full of filthy jams, multiple J.J. Cale and Neil Young covers, and an encore bust-out with a notable Austin history.
Bringing the heat early on, the band kicked off the first set with an esoteric “Blue Indian” (“We got a party goin’ on / many spirits strong!”) before cracking open a rowdy “Tall Boy”. Shifting gears, the rhythmic duo of drummer Duane Trucks and percussionist Sunny Ortiz spread their wings to take flight during J.J. Cale’s “Travelin’ Light”.
After barely a second’s pause, guitarist Jimmy Herring dragged the cauldron out and put it on the campfire as John Bell grabbed his apron and his sharpest knife to chop up the ingredients for his world-renowned “Thought Sausage” gumbo in all its zesty righteousness. Like a storm brewing in the distance, bassist Dave Schools‘ thundering bass announced the advent of Vic Chesnutt’s “Aunt Avis” (“How to continue when I feel I really shouldn’t!”).
A triumphant jam soon descended into a funky “Rebirtha” led by a thumping Schools behind the wheel. For the first of four sandwiches of the night, a filthy “Fishwater” moved into Neil Young’s “Mr. Soul” before ending the first frame back where it began. The sold-out audience was left wanting “Mo’, Mo’, Mo!” as the band left the stage for the intermission.
Widespread Panic – “Fishwater” > “Mr. Soul” (Neil Young) > “Fishwater” – 4/22/23
[Video: MrTopdogger]
All gas and no brakes, Widespread Panic pounced back onstage ready to rumble and ripped into the first half of “Chilly Water” to begin a monster second set sandwich. A spacey jam fell out of orbit and onto the park bench of “Contentment Blues” from there with a tasty bucket of swamp-rock fried chicken.
Building another sandwich within the other, the segued into a soaring first half of “Surprise Valley”, then moved along to the second J.J. Cale cover of the night—a frenzied “Ride Me High”—before winding back through “Surprise Valley” and on into the evening’s second Neil Young tune, the beloved “Don’t Be Denied”.
The music flowed unbroken until the end of the set as a serene “Down” picked up speed into “Impossible”. Next, a psychedelic, Pink Floyd-inspired “Astronomy Domine” jam careened into Bobby Rush and Calvin Carter’s “Bowlegged Woman” with “a little excitement on the side!”
It would be hard to top the performance from last year’s Mempho Music Festival rendition, which featured a sit-in by Bobby Rush himself, but Jimmy Herring layered blistering guitar peaks onto this version with fierce determination. JB added an improvised rap in the style of a sweet-talking suitor “Baby, I got a better idea / why don’t we take the party outside? / look at the stars …”
Without missing a beat, the rhythm section rolled back into the second half of “Chilly Water”, completing a sandwich that engulfed the entire second set. There have been bigger sandwiches (like the five-day sandwich that WSP constructed during 2022’s Beacon Run that started and ended with “Heroes”) but this second set emerged as a flawless victory and an outstanding ending to wild week in Austin.
Widespread Panic returned to the stage for the last time of the Austin residency as Sunny’s wind chimes introduced the fourth and final sandwich of the night. This time, a classic cruise through “Driving Song” parked into a bust-out cover of “Little Wing”. While the song was written by Jimi Hendrix and further popularized by Derek and the Dominos, one couldn’t help but think of the beloved instrumental rendition by late Texas bluesman Stevie Ray Vaughan as JB sang the song on the Austin stage for its first Panic go-around since 2007, a gap of 897 shows.
Widespread Panic – “Little Wing” (Jimi Hendrix) – 4/22/23
[Video: MrTopdogger]
Still unsatisfied, Widespread Panic closed out the colossal residency with a euphoric “Ain’t Life Grand”. To all in attendance, the question was rhetorical.
To those who stood tall throughout six Widespread shows over eight days, please accept my humble kudos and congrats. Even experiencing a sliver of the greatness that is WSP is nourishment to the soul and spirit—sometimes, just enough to get you through the latest or next patch of reality. In the meantime, cheers to a long burn for your post-run afterglow.
A double-dose of two-night runs are on deck in Charleston, SC and Brandon, MS in May ahead of the band’s highly anticipated return to Red Rocks Amphitheatre in June. For the full schedule of Widespread Panic’s upcoming tour dates, click here.
Revisit Live For Live Music‘s complete coverage of Widespread Panic’s six-night Austin residency: Night 1 | Night 2 | Night 3 | Night 4 | Night 5 | Night 6 (above).
Setlist [via PanicStream]: Widespread Panic | ACL Live at the Moody Theater | Austin, TX | 4/21/23
Set One: Blue Indian > Tall Boy > Travelin’ Light, Thought Sausage, Aunt Avis > Rebirtha > Fishwater > Mr Soul > Fishwater (57 mins)
Set Two: Chilly Water > Contentment Blues > Surprise Valley > Ride Me High > Surprise Valley, Don’t Be Denied > Down > Impossible > Bowlegged Woman > Chilly Water (80 mins)
Encore: Driving Song > Little Wing > Driving Song, Ain’t Life Grand (21 mins)
Notes – LTP ‘Little Wing’ 3/30/07 Carbondale (897 shows)
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