Widespread Panic keyboardist JoJo Hermann was casually seated at the piano at Nashville’s Purple Building for Episode 3 of his web series, “Shut Up and Play”, on Thursday night. In his low-key, humble way, JoJo gave backstories between songs and took requests from the active community’s discussion board. Benefitting Nuci’s Space, JoJo performed another hour-long setlist comprised mainly of Widespread Panic tunes in addition to a couple off of his solo albums and a pair of Professor Longhair covers.
While counting down to the performance, the venue was set up with just a lone upright piano onstage. With its exposed hammers, this instrument shows just why the piano falls into the “percussion” section as the hammers dance across the 88 strings. Old pictures of JoJo with Malcolm Rebennack Jr.—better known as the late, great Dr. John—and his Fat Possum record label cohort, Junior Kimbrough, were mixed in with a video of live crawfish squirming in a cooler and a picture of JoJo sitting at his piano with a protective mask on his face.
To begin, JoJo warmed up his piano before diving into a rowdy take on WSP’s “Blackout Blues”., “Mountain Hideaway”, a Smiling Assassin tune from his first solo album in 2001, was followed by some backstory about the song; although written in Colorado, it was inspired by the Appalachian Mountains.
Introducing a Professor Longhair song, JoJo performed “Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand” before pausing briefly and diving into another beloved WSP classic, “Jaded Tourist”. JoJo modified the traditional lyrics, singing “You kill the weakest and the herd grows strong / you kill the strongest and you kill the herd.” Starting with “Jaded Tourist”, JoJo worked his way through a stretch of five consecutive WSP cuts.
Shifting the rhythm, JoJo transitioned into a metamorphic “Greta”. A sweet breakdown allowed JoJo’s vocals to soar through the second verse before changing gears for a section of “Up All Night” that was sandwiched into the middle of the jam. Another breakdown gave JoJo acoustic space to nail the stripped-down conclusion of “Greta”, picking up speed until segueing into a scorching take on “All Time Low.”
Heeding the advice of friends and family and speaking directly into the camera, JoJo gave the backstory behind the next song, “Visiting Day”, which was played upon request from the digital audience. He reminisced about meeting the Pittsburgh Pirates‘ stud outfielder, Willie Stargell, as a “little kid in Florida” while showing off his Stargell bobblehead as well as a picture of his encounter with the esteemed baseball star and recalled how Willie replied to his autograph request with, “Why do you want my autograph? You should be asking for your teachers’, parents’, coaches’, doctors’ autograph instead?” So, the band wrote a line about Stargell donating food to The Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh.
Dedicated to Willie Stargell and requester David Green, JoJo cooked up a salacious “Visiting Day” before dancing into the melody of yet another classic Panic ripper, “1×1”. With JoJo at the helm, the infamous tale of Sugarman and the collapse of the Clear Creek Bridge was spun in a bare-bones style (“If disaster, strikes your town / Just pray that Sugarman’s around!”).
JoJo returned to his solo catalog next for a take on “Over Lubbock”, off 2004’s Just Ain’t Right. The soft-spoken Widespread Panic keyboardist explained how he wrote it in Lubbock, Texas while waiting for a delayed connecting flight in a smoking lounge in the airport. “Everybody looked at me all weird and stuff. I don’t smoke but that’s no reason to be rude. I wrote this song about flying. Flying is a very spiritual thing, goin’ up and you get over the clouds and look over the horizon… I find flying to be a spiritual experience.” JoJo dedicated the song to Sherman Ewing before talking about last year’s December tour with Sherman and Jerry Joseph in Colorado and hinting that a new acapella song about Oxford, Mississippi, co-written by Jerry Joseph, would debut on next week’s episode.
Rounding out his third “Shut Up and Play” set, JoJo performed the recently debuted “Blue Carousel”. The tune debuted three weeks ago on his first episode of “Shut Up and Play” during which JoJo spoke about the Nashville Zoo as the song’s inspiration. To close out the set in the same way as the first episode, JoJo’s fingers danced their merry way through Professor Longhair’s “Red Beans”.
The fourth and final episode of “Shut Up and Play” airs next Thursday 7/9, same time, same place. Wishing everyone a safe and happy 4th of July holiday weekend. Until next time, folks.
Jojo Hermann “Shut Up And Play” Ep. 03 | 07/02/20, The Purple Building, East Nashville, TN
[Video: Widespread Panic]
Setlist: JoJo Hermann | Shut Up and Play Ep. 3 | 7/2/20
Set: Blackout Blues, Mountain Hideaway, Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand, Jaded Tourist > Greta > All Time Low, Visiting Day > 1×1, Over Lubbock, Blue Carousel, Red Beans
Notes – ‘Up All Night’ interlude during ‘Greta’