Widespread Panic

Widespread Panic’s Memphis, TN two-night stand at Mud Island Amphitheater was one of, if not the most anticipated run of the fall tour. Online message boards buzzed with posts as soon as the dates were released. Talk of how good past Mud Island shows had been, of how hard it would be to get tickets, and how inconvenient the mid-week placement would be for the traveling fan were all hot topics for months. When the dates finally arrived, Panic didn’t disappoint, delivering two solid performances in front of a packed house.

It had been nearly two years since the band had visited Memphis. In 2003, they were still trying to find their direction with then-new guitarist George McConnell, and the concert took place in the cold, open concrete monster, Mid-South Coliseum. This time through, they had settled into a nice groove and were playing fan-favorite venue, Mud Island Amphitheater. Following the recent tragic death of the band’s lighting director, Dino Derose, Widespread Panic remained focused and offered two powerful performances.

On Tuesday, the first of the two shows, Panic fired right out of the gate. The first set was perhaps the strongest of both nights. "Thought Sausage" was its usual raunchy self and "Bowlegged Woman" is always solid, but the set was capped off by "Vacation." As John Bell’s scratchy, sultry voice called out the first few words, the crowd went crazy.

The show, unfortunately, took somewhat of a nosedive after the first set. "Greta" was a rowdy way to start the second set, and after that, the band played three relatively new songs, which was a questionable decision. All bands need to play new songs, both to generate future album sales and to keep things fresh for both the band and fans, and while "Solid Rock," "Time Zone," and "You Should Be Glad" were all performed strongly - sure to be in the band’s rotation for many years to come - it may have been wiser to spread them out over the course of the show. They closed the second set with well-played versions of "Pilgrims" and "Fishwater," and the encore included a great "Barstools and Dreamers."

While the first set of Tuesday’s show was conceivably the best of the two days, as a whole from start to finish, Wednesday was the better show. After an outstanding "Slippin’ Into Darkness > Worry," acoustic instruments were brought on stage, and the band played a portion of the first set acoustic. After "Nobody’s Loss," they went back to electric, and picked right back up with a raucous "Action Man." The Rolling Stones’ "Let It Bleed," with McConnell on vocals, closed the first set.

The second set was as good as the first. "Driving Song" > "Papa’s Home" > "Driving Song" was as strong as ever. The highlight, though, was the gangsta rapping on "Junior" and "Red Hot Mama" by Cody Burnside, who took the stage along with Garry (guitar) and Cedric (percussion) Burnside. The whole band ate it up, although Bell did start to shoot bassist Dave Schools some looks as the rapping drew longer and longer during "Red Hot Mama." New tune "Second Skin," though, was a total pace-killer, drastically slowing the set down after the Burnsides had whipped the place into a frenzy. "Let Me Follow You Down" made its way into the repertoire for the first time to close out the encore and the night.