Widespread Panic rode into Austin, Texas yesterday to lay siege on The Moody Theater, performing six shows in eight days coinciding with frontman John Bell’s birthday. Like always, the band’s ragtag rodeo and music-loving tribe shlepped to see the veterans of blues rock. Panic connected beloved originals and hard-hitting covers with a spicy blend of improvised jams, maintaining a hellish fury until the very “End of the Show”, which the band capped with a two-song tribute to Texas’s own ZZ Top.
Kicking open the screen door “to the back porch, to the backlands,” Widespread opened with a rare “Holden Oversoul” sandwich, encapsulating the first Bloodkin cover of the night, “Makes Sense to Me”. Without stopping, Panic threw fistfuls of fire into the spontaneous segue until emerging into a reprise of “Holden Oversoul”.
The reggae rhythm of “Sleepy Monkey” swung gracefully into the Grateful Dead’s “Cream Puff War” as the drummers accelerated the tempo into a frenzied overdrive. A string of originals closed out the first set, beginning with a progressively building “Christmas Katie” to ruffle feathers—truly a dirty business!
WSP adjusted the frequency to tune in to an electrifying “Radio Child” before Jimmy Herring spread his wings during an expansive “Pilgrims” following a brief pause to let the musicians and their equipment cool off. The newly debuted original “Halloween Face” closed out the first frame for its 14th performance since its FTP on 2021’s NOLAween.
Dave Schools led the charge into the second set with a mind- and string-bending “Machine”, which overflowed into an intoxicating round of “Barstools and Dreamers”. A nourishing cover of Jorma Kaukoken’s “Genesis” opened the floodgates for another stream of unbroken jams that carried on for nearly an hour.
A scorching instrumental “Party at Your Mama’s House” tumbled into Delta bluesman Robert Johnson’s “Stop Breakin’ Down”. A saucy JB included a Lightning Hopkins-inspired “Gimme Back My Wig” rap before the band opened the floor for Duane Trucks and Sunny Ortiz to duel in an epic 15-minute showdown.
The drums rolled into an atypical second-set “Diner” to bookend the sequence of uninterrupted music. After basking in the light of the fan-favorite masterpiece, John Bell painted a vivid picture of hazy early-morning activities: “Put a little money in the jukebox / H…. 44…./ first time / ever I saw your face / you were sleeping… / and my soul felt something like a … / SURPRISE ATTACK! / on… my heart / Highway to Heaven…”
The birthday boy, JB, led the band and audience through the last original of the night, “May Your Glass Be Filled”, a celebratory toast to commemorate the historical residency. Like flipping a switch, JB traded his tone from heartwarming sincerity to grizzly, anguished vocals for Murray McLaughlin’s “Honky Red”. WSP closed out the second set with a rowdy rendition of Jerry Joseph’s “North.”
Sauntering out of the shadows, Widespread Panic returned to the stage for the final time of the evening to perform a triple selection of covers as an encore. First, Widespread Panic paid tribute to the Hall of Fame rockers from Texas, ZZ Top, with a pairing of “Waitin’ For The Bus” and “Jesus Just Left Chicago”. Last night marked the first time the two covers were played together since 2017’s Milwookie run.
Wrapping up the second show of the Austin residency, JB covered the second Bloodkin tune of the night and cut fans in the audience into emotional tatters along the way. Reverend John Bell concluded Sunday service and WSP’s spirited disciples filed out the door of the Moody Theater. Two more shows are around the bend, giving the band and the fans a day off before picking up where they left off on Tuesday.
Adios, muchachos. Sayonara, until tomorrow.
Click below to view fan-shot videos from Sunday’s Widespread Panic show in Austin from whereshaynes. Full show audio is available on PanicStream.
Widespread Panic – “Holden Oversoul” – 4/16/23
[Video: whereshaynes]
Setlist [via PanicStream]: Widespread Panic | The Moody Theater | Austin, TX | 4/16/23
8:23 CT
Night 2 of 6
Set 1: Holden Oversoul > Makes Sense To Me > Jam > Holden Oversoul, Sleepy Monkey > Cream Puff War (Grateful Dead), Christmas Katie > Radio Child, Pilgrims, Halloween Face (59 mins)
Set 2: Machine > Barstools and Dreamers, Genesis (Jorma Kaukonen) > Party At Your Mama’s House > Stop Breakin’ Down Blues (Robert Johnson) > Drums > Diner^, May Your Glass Be Filled, Honky Red (Murray McLauchlan), North (100 mins)
Encore: Waitin’ For The Bus (ZZ Top) > Jesus Just Left Chicago (ZZ Top), End of the Show (Bloodkin) (16 mins)
Notes ^ w/ ‘Highway To Heaven’ rap
– LTP ‘Waitin’ For The Bus’ 10/20/17 Milwaukee (183 shows)
– LTP ‘Jesus Just Left Chicago’ 7/13/19 Telluride (114 shows)