Diner - Widespread Panic
11.09.2008 -Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, WI
You know Southerners, we’re a proud lot. It ain’t for naught, ‘cause we got a lot to be proud of. We are home to the finest foods in America. Seriously, we got shrimp ‘n grits, collard greens, rice and beans, pig pickin’, nanna puddin’ and the beloved Nectar - of – the – Gods…Sweet Tea. For those of you that don’t know what that is. It’s kind of like y’all do in other parts of the country with those little blue and pink sweetener packets, except our aunts and grandmas take all the labor out of it by adding 5 lbs. of sugar and mixing it down for us.
And it’s hot down here, and southern heat makes us a little crazy, not “batshit crazy ‘cause my trailer don’t have no A/C” crazy, but more like “I’m from LA (lower alabama) and I ain’t got no job since the tire factory shut down and my old lady is bitching ‘cause there ain’t no money to get that new fake Christmas tree with the white snow looking spray paint on it from the Wal-Mart store” crazy. Heck, one of my boys even once told me it’s so hot here, because the devil’s from the south. He may have been right, or just crazy…who knows? Or he may have just been dipping in the Sweet Tea Vodka that night.
Another thing we got is here in the South is arguably one of the finest hotbeds of live music in the country. Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Marshall Tucker Band, the Allman Brothers Band, The Black Crowes, Molly Hatchet, Atlanta Rhythm Section and now carrying the torch onward and upward, the North Mississippi Allstars, My Morning Jacket, Dead Confederate, Govt. Mule, Tishamingo, Kings of Leon, Drive-By Truckers, and the 6 - Headed Monster known as Widespread Panic.
Now, Widespread Panic’s Fall Tour is a tradition here in the Southeast. We’ve been their tour circuit since the early days of the Weymanda Court A-Frame in Athens, GA circa ’85. I even had my first encounter with them on a fall tour in Richmond, VA in ‘88 ( www.everydaycompanion.com/setlists/19881020a.asp ) when I was back in college. 130 plus shows later, they control my ears and my wallet. You see, we’re religious about Panic’s fall tour, we always show up and we come to get down. The worst thing about fall tour where I live is that it gets in the way of two very important southern traditions…. Deer Hunting and SEC Football, might I add the latter has never been too kind to the good people of South Carolina. Seems supposedly we got lots of talent on the Gamecock squad this year, except their talent lies in stealing computers and keying cars, rather than tossing downfield bombs. Seriously, we might just have the worst D1 QB’s in the nation. There, I said it. Now, hunting, hunting ain’t no problem. It’s a southern man mainstay. Nothing’s more fun than sporting your best camo, hopping in your truck on a frigid morning, climbing up in a deer stand, with the aim to kill a poor helpless animal, but damn, they taste good, when served with a little of Nana’s gravy. Did I mention starting work on your flask at 5 am? Hey, it’s cold out there. Guns and liquor…name a better combination. And if you time it right and don’t fall out of your tree stand, you just might catch one of those little suckers unexpectedly, get ‘em to the processor, and still make it to the lot in time to down some Maker’s Mark before first set.
Now, on to guitars. You see, things got a little dicey there over the last few years, but we came out of it firing on all cylinders again like a new Chevrolet pick up. We had a merry - go - round of lead guitar players with Keane, Holt, McConnell (bless his heart), and Herring. Finally, we got the heat in Jimmy Herring, a technical superstar, journeyman, avid fisherman, and true southern gentleman. This year marked a melding within the band. Finally, the Godson-of-Soul John Bell and the most crucial piece of the 6 Headed Monster bassist Dave Schools, could rest their aching backs from carrying the rest of the band for the past three years. And get back to what they do best….melting faces. It took Jimmy five or six tours to a grip around Mikey Houser’s (May he rest in Peace) intricate and untraditional lead lines. Now he’s got ‘em down cold, although light on the infamous lingering lead, and is ripping us new buttholes with every soaring solo. On top of that, we’re seeing old songs rejuvinated and new songs gain steam. We’re a tough fanbase to please. But honestly, this band is going places again, and it’s getting sick. Next year is going to damage a lot of brains. Mark it.
You see I’m kind of a stat guy, believe it or not. This is what Fall ’08 left us with.
Stats:
- 19 Shows
- 379 Songs Total
- 179 Unique Songs
- Average Songs per show: 19.947
- 64 One-timers
Shows by state:
- TX- 2
- OK- 1
- TN- 1
- GA- 3
- FL- 4
- SC- 2
- LA- 2
- IN- 1
- WI- 3
- 1 Night Runs: 6
- 2 Night Runs: 5
- 3 Night Runs: 1
Something Special:
- Supporting Acts including; Randall Bramblett and the Megablasters, DJ Logic, Los Lonely Boys, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk
- Shows starting close to on time
- Additional changes to the lighting rig
- Political rant from Jojo
- Show stopped temporarily during ‘Tie Your Shoes’ due to a crowd disturbance (10/26/2008)
- Crew dressed as Zombies (10/31/2008)
- Hope-filled post election show (11/05/2008)
- Set 2 ended early due to drum kit malfunction (11/07/08)
- Hiatus Buzz. Who knows?
- Heaven for Alex Yearick <image001.gif> (10/24/08)
Welcome Back:
- Dirty Business (12/30/07 Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA, LTP 57)
- Red Beans (12/30/07 Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA, LTP 60)
- Do What You Like (04/01/07 Palace Theater, Albany, NY, LTP 140)
- Good Morning Little School Girl (07/26/07 Harbor Center, Portsmouth, VA, LTP 100)
- Werewolves of London (11/03/07 North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, SC LTP 75)
- Hope In A Hopeless World(04/05/08 United Palace Theater, New York, NY LTP 66)
- L.a. (11/07/08 Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, WI LTP 135)
Nice To Meet You:
- Livin’ In The USA
- Mama Told Me Not To Come
- Born On The Bayou
- Mama Kin
- Baby, Please Don’t Go
- Time Waits For No One
- Proud Mary
- Brown Sugar
- Back In The USA
Props to Burnthday for his skilled stat tracking. We always look forward to his tour end notes. High five, buddy!
