Like Julius Caesar returning to Rome after crossing the Rubicon, Widespread Panic retook its throne on the Riverside Theater stage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Friday night to begin a three-night stand. It’s no secret that Panic consistently crushes this annual run, easing into the realm of the weird before the coming Halloween chicanery consumes the soul of the sextet’s setlist.
WSP opened the first night of the “Milwookie” run with an extensive sequence of originals. The restorative waters of “Good People” flowed into an uplifting “Pleas” before rediscovering the multi-faceted gem, “The Last Straw”. Halfway through the song, guitarist Jimmy Herring kicked his spurs, accelerating the tempo until eventually spilling into a rough-and-tumble “All Time Low”.
After improvising heavily during a transitional jam, the group took a classic take on “Wondering” into the first of several Bloodkin covers of the evening, the brutally honest “Who Do You Belong To?”. An unusually placed “Cease Fire” made an early appearance next. Often paired with “Drums” in the second set, the tune ramped the energy up to levels of hysteria rivaling the local excitement of Damian Lillard‘s recent trade to the hometown Milwaukee Bucks.
Not wanting to burn out too soon, Panic reined in and segued into its most recent material, the 2023 original “Little By Little”, for its third appearance to date. Pausing to show the audience their appreciation, the six musicians stepped back into the proverbial batter’s box to slug out a set-closing “Love Tractor”.
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Widespread Panic emerged from set break and cracked open another round of originals. The lyrically complex “Tickle the Truth” blazed the way into “Big Wooly Mammoth” for a piano-laden lesson in evolution and mass extinction. Without stopping, a sprawling instrumental jam, “Party At Your Mama’s House”, rolled into the jaunty introduction to Robert Johnson’s “Stop Breaking Down Blues”. Like a clutch pitcher out of the bullpen, the second Bloodkin song of the night, “Trashy”, served up a strong inning of work, John Bell delivering the late Daniel Hutchens’ lyrics with all-star precision while Jimmy Herring waited patiently in the dugout, biding his time before swinging for the fences with a frozen rope of a solo.
The ensuing “Diner” gave the monsters of jam a chance to expand their signature sound. After Herring returned from his intergalactic overdrive, JoJo Hermann’s piano accompanied JB’s imaginative rap for a dazzling duet. Switching keyboards and dancing partners, JoJo do-si-doed with Jimmy Herring next, their interplay launching the band out of the diner, the theater, and the atmosphere alike. Drummer Duane Trucks held on to a weighted rhythm until the improvisation curtailed and descended into “Rock”. With JB on slide guitar, the six-piece band jelled into a chisel to cut this slab of “Rock” into a sculptural masterpiece.
Still unsatisfied, Panic closed out the second set with jaw-dropping combo of J.J. Cale’s “Ride Me High” and Parliament-Funkadelic’s “Red Hot Mama”, marking the first time that the band aligned the kindred acronyms RMH and RHM since the midpoint of 2020’s five-night pancake stack at New York’s Beacon Theatre.
For the first night’s encore, Widespread Panic paid homage to the late Daniel Hutchens once again in honor of what would have been his 59th birthday this weekend with the third Bloodkin cover of the night, “Can’t Get High”, before returning to newer original material with “We Walk Each Other Home”, yet another tune debuted this summer in Huntsville. Panic finally wrapped up the first night with “Chilly Water”, the song’s customary indoor, crowd-culled precipitation showered down on the theater’s orchestra section. The band incorporated several variations into this rendition to give it a re-energized feel, with JB stirring in the lyrics “Step by step by step by step” while Herring sprinkled snippets of the newer track’s guitar riff.
Widespread Panic will resume its conquest at the Riverside Theater on Saturday night. Hold on to your hats, folks, this run is sure to be a doozy. Pace yourself, look out for another, and give ‘em hell. Until tomorrow….
For a full list of upcoming Widespread Panic tour dates, head here. Scroll down to check out the setlist and a selection of fan-shot videos via Robbie Massengill from Friday night’s show.
Widespread Panic – “We Walk Each Other Home” – 10/20/23
Widespread Panic – “Stop Breaking Down Blues” (Robert Johnson) – 10/20/23
Widespread Panic – “Little by Little” – 10/20/23
Setlist [via PanicStream.com]: Widespread Panic | Riverside Theater | Milwaukee, WI | 10/20/23
Set One: Good People, Pleas, The Last Straw > All Time Low > Jam > Wondering, Who Do You Belong To?, Cease Fire > Little By Little, Love Tractor (67 mins)
Set Two: Tickle the Truth, Big Wooly Mammoth > Party At Your Mama’s House > Stop Breakin’ Down Blues, Trashy > Diner > Rock, Ride Me High > Red Hot Mama (89 mins)
Encore: Can’t Get High, We Walk Each Other Home, Chilly Water [1]
[1] with “Little by Little” lyric quotes (step by step by step…) and teases (from Jimmy)