Widespread Panic wrapped up another the scorching weekend at the Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Alabama on Sunday. With a new studio album on the way, the titans of swamp-rock debuted an original song, “We Walk Each Other Home”, for the second consecutive night following Saturday’s debut of “Little by Little”. A slew of other recent compositions were strung together throughout the three day run, heavily laden with explosive jams, arching segues, and introspective lyrics.
Rolling up their sleeves and getting down to business, the six members of Panic immediately blasted off into nearly forty minutes of unbroken music as an opening “Driving Song” sandwich lead the way. Halfway through, they parked the ol’ but reliable jalopy to watch a mesmerizing “Disco” meteor shower before traversing the backwoods dirt roads and returning safely home into the second half of the opener.
Without stopping, Dave Schools redirected the sound into a hard-hitting run through Tom Waits’ “Goin’ Out West”. Jimmy Herring plucked a carefree melody to toss a curveball of “Christmas Katie” that got even the best batters to swing and miss. Led by JoJo Hermann’s pristine piano, this song was far from dirty as Jimmy Herring tested the surrounding electric grid, redirecting nuclear energy into the atmosphere.
Still unfinished, Herring resembled a human lightning rod and shot pure electricity through his amplifiers during “Radio Child”, transforming the audience into dancing copies of Dr. Frankenstein’s monster. Duane Trucks’ crashing cymbals carried the energy into a zesty “Thought Sausage”. The cheeky vocalist John Bell brought out spices off the top shelf as he stirred his cauldron of goods, eventually declaring his gumbo ready with a hearty, “Come n’ Git it!”
After a brief pause, Trucks’ rolling drumbeat welcomed an uplifting “Pleas” into Sunday service. The sermon wandered into unfamiliar territory as the band let the spirit guide. The transition featured suave interplay between Herring’s dazzling off-the-cuff riffs and JoJo’s echoing organ.
Like a wave crashing on a beach, the momentum receded into a euphonious “Jack”. Ending the first frame, the Panics included an atypically inverted intro for a heavy “Halloween Face”, the first in Panic’s post-2020 crop of new tunes, on its 17th performance since its debut at 2021’s NOLAween.
The savvy cosmonauts of rock and roll walked back onstage and immediately accelerated down the runway and into the atmosphere during “Airplane”. The “Take Off” jam was frantic and turbulent in its cataclysmic tempo and energy, but the band soon landed smoothly into the well-known melody of “Wondering”.
To make this weekend even more incredible and pile on the pains of FOMO to those listening on couch tour, Widespread Panic then debuted the second new original in as days, the poignant “We Walk Each Other Home”, inspired by the concepts and spiritual teachings of Ram Dass.
Widespread Panic – “We Walk Each Other Home” (Debut) – 7/30/23
[Video: Michael Wilker]
To snap the audience out of the reverie of disbelief, Panic took flight into the second song sandwich of the evening as “Surprise Valley” descended into “Rock” with a nosedive. After achieving terminal velocity during a weighted “Drums” freefall, the band climbed back over the sheer cliffs of “Surprise Valley” before tumbling into a majestic cover of The Beatles’ “Dear Prudence” for only the 6th time ever.
Winding down the closing set of the weekend, Panic broke the silence by kicking down the doors of “Postcard”. The amphitheater’s foundations shook when the crowd shouted in unison with JB, “We cooked us up an ass-kickin’ time / this town is nuts / my kind of place / I don’t wanna leave!”
JoJo blazed the way through a bawdy roadhouse rendition of “Blackout Blues” before the six-piece band kicked their spurs into “Action Man” for a victory lap. Returning for the last time this weekend, JB thanked the crowd before picking up his mandolin to lead Widespread Panic through the cutting vocals of Bloodkin’s “End of the Show”. Not much time left, WSP topped off another mind-numbingly badass run with a euphoric “Ain’t Life Grand” to put a cheery cherry on the finale’s setlist.
Napa Valley, California and Wilmington, North Carolina are on deck to wrap up Widespread Panic consolidated summer tour. Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Savannah, Georgia will come shortly thereafter before the band rings in the New Year at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. For a full breakdown of dates and tickets, click here.
This band keeps bringing the heat and with new songs being written and recorded, the fervent excitement is at an all time high. Let it rip, boys. The Good People are thankful for all that you do. Until next time!
Click below to watch a selection of videos from Sunday night’s Widespread Panic finale in Huntsville, AL. Scroll down to check out the full setlist from the show.
Setlist [via PanicStream]: Widespread Panic | Orion Amphitheater | Huntsville, AL | 7/30/23
Set One: Driving Song > Disco > Driving Song > Goin’ Out West > Christmas Katie > Radio Child, Thought Sausage, Pleas > Jam > Jack, Halloween Face (67 mins)
Set Two: Airplane, Wondering, We Walk Each Other Home [1], Surprise Valley > Rock > Drums > Surprise Valley > Dear Prudence, Postcard, Blackout Blues, Action Man (79 mins)
Encore End of the Show*, Ain’t Life Grand* (10 mins)
Notes * JB on mandolin
[1] FTP ‘We Walk Each Other Home’ (new original)