Widespread Panic continued its ever-flowing stream of archival content on Friday with “Red Hot Mama” taken from the band’s 2/11/11 concert at The Classic Center in Athens, GA. This show came as night two of the band’s three-night 25th-anniversary run, which concluded on the 14th with a show at Atlanta’s Fox Theater.
The “Red Hot Mama” video comes as the latest in an ongoing series of clips pulled from Widespread Panic’s extensive archive of live concert footage. The band hit the ground running at the start of 2021 and has since released videos from its 2002 documentary, 25th anniversary run of shows, concert films, interviews, vintage TV appearances, and more.
This Funkadelic cover came in the three-slot of set one as the band was warmed up and red hot from the preceding night. All three shows of the 25th-anniversary run were jam-packed with fan-favorite live staples, with “Red Hot Mama” being no exception. Since debuting on Halloween 1998, Widespread Panic has played the song 180 times to date, with 2/11/11 coming in as number 117.
With Jimmy Herring coming in guns blazing with his wah-soaked leads, he quickly loses the effect and delivers a blistering solo. The song also provides ample space for JoJo Hermann to make a statement with the funky bounce of his clavinet. In a brief, six-minute runtime, Widespread Panic manages to stuff plenty of gunpowder into this “Red Hot Mama” before lighting the fuse to get the show off to an explosive start.
Watch Widespread Panic’s performance of “Red Hot Mama” taken from February 11th, 2011 at The Classic Center.
Widespread Panic – “Red Hot Mama” (Funkadelic) – Athens, GA – 2/11/11
[Video: Widespread Panic]