Widespread Panic Encored Grateful Dead after a Scorching Second Set in Las Vegas, Neva
After Friday’s scorching start, Widespread Panic kept the throttle engaged for the group’s second of three consecutive nights of debauchery on in Las Vegas, NV.
If the audience got any sleep, it was hard to tell; the ravenous enthusiasm of the crowd piling into The Theater at The Virgin Hotels Las Vegas seemed to carry over without respite from the previous night.
The first frame began as JoJo Hermann’s piano introduced a wild “Greta” before Dave Schools tamed the beat with a thumping cover of Calvin Carter and Bobby Rush’s “Bowlegged Woman”. John Bell added saucy improvisation to the mix, a bit pillow talk between two star-crossed lovers.
An extended “Bear’s Gone Fishing” gave Jimmy Herring room to race unbridled across the empty desert horizon only to return for a serene run-through of “Better Off.” Accelerating once more, Panic cruised into “Shut Up and Drive” with the pedal on the floor. The band started fiddled with the frequency dial for the joyride as Sunny Ortiz introduced “Radio Child”. Duane Trucks’ rolling drums pushed the gearshift up into J.J. Cale’s “Travelin’ Light”.
Widespread Panic – “Bear’s Gone Fishing” – 3/12/22
[Video: troop1042]
Closing out the first set, JB retook control of the radio tuner to lock and locked for a double-feature tribute to founding guitarist Michael Houser. The last song Mikey ever wrote, “Travelin’ Man”, blazed the way until the jam-rock vets performed “The Waker” to close the set in joyous revelry. Saturday night marked only the 6th time that “The Waker” was played in the twenty years since Houser’s passing.
When the Panics returned for set two, JB slid a massive cauldron of gumbo to the centerstage where he set the pot to simmer and toil, stirring and cackling all the while. The band launched into “Thought Sausage” while Bell took an occasional break from chopping ingredients and stirring in mystery flavors to brandish his ladle, admonishing, “Stuff ain’t ready yet!” Eventually, after a zesty breakdown and taste test, JB beckoned the audience to “Come N’ Git it!”
Widespread Panic – “Thought Sausage” – 3/12/22
[Video: MrTopdogger]
To honor Bloodkin for the first time this weekend, Panic transitioned into a classic cover of “Henry Parsons Died” before busting out “Dark Day Program” for the second time in the last ten years. Next, Duane Trucks and Sunny Ortiz jumped into the “middle of the river” with a heavy and relentless “Proving Ground”.
After a brief pause, Panic embarked on a half-hour journey of improvised jams meandering across the songs’ formal structures. A hard-hitting tribute to Tom Petty, “Honey Bee”, got the audience’s excitement buzzing before taking to the sky with a soaring “Surprise Valley”. The uninterrupted stream of mountain music was broken up by a behemoth “Drums” section.
Vic Chesnutt’s timeless pairing of “Protein Drink” and “Sewing Machine” maintained the intensity and set the stage for a triumphant finale: “Papa’s Home” coupled with Neil Young’s “Mr. Soul”, an emboldened exclamation mark for a fantastic performance. After a short hiatus, Widespread Panic returned to the stage for an emotionally charged performance of “Visiting Day” with JoJo at the vocal helm (“Why can’t we just take a look around us / and only see the things that make you smile?”).
To conclude the penultimate show of the Vegas run, Widespread Panic covered Grateful Dead’s “Cream Puff War” as an on-the-nose reflection on current global affairs.
Widespread Panic – “Cream Puff War” – 3/12/22
One final Sunday show remains for Vegas tonight. Do what you got to do to be there, awake, and ready for action—regardless of Daylight Savings Time. Otis’s predictions for tonight: “One Armed Steve”, “1×1”, and “Time Zones” with a long-shot call of the return of “Don’t Tell the Band.” Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show, everybody.
Listen to a full recording of the show via PanicStream.
Setlist: Widespread Panic | Virgin Hotels Las Vegas | Las Vegas, NV | 3/11/22
Set One: Greta, Bowlegged Woman, Bear’s Gone Fishin’, Better Off, Shut Up And Drive, Radio Child > Travelin’ Light, Travelin’ Man > The Waker (62 mins)
Set Two: Thought Sausage > Henry Parsons Died, Dark Day Program, Proving Ground, Honey Bee > Surprise Valley > Drums > Surprise Valley, Protein Drink / Sewing Machine, Papa’s Home > Mr Soul (89 mins)
Encore Visiting Day, Cream Puff War (11 mins)
Notes:
– ‘Travelin’ Man’ LTP 10/25/19 Milwaukee (54 shows)
– ‘Dark Day Program’ LTP 2/28/20 New York (39 shows)