Widespread Panic | Halloween Review

Live in Denver

1stBank Center| Oct.31-Nov.2, 2014

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By Arthur Harwood

Widespread Panic returned to Colorado for the second time of 2014 to celebrate Halloween in Broomfield at First Bank Center. The band, from Athens Georgia, was in the Centennial State in June for their annual Red Rocks run; however this trip brought a new, but familiar, face in Duane Trucks, filling in for Todd Nance on drums. Despite this, the fans flocked from near and far with high expectations.

The first night began roughly thirty-five minutes after the 8pm show time with the fan favorite “Pigeons.” Mr. Trucks’ presence was almost immediately noticeable with a bit of a quicker pace to many classics; from my seat, the crowd and band both seemed to really feed off the change of pace. The first set continued in fairly standard fashion with “Old Neighborhood” followed by a nice rendition of “C. Brown.” Three songs in and every one – on and off stage – seemed to be settling in for the weekend. After a brief pause, the band took off into “Rebirtha” and really started to explore musically. This would be the first time of many throughout the weekend that the band seemed to go new places in old, familiar tunes. JoJo, dressed as John Denver, closed “Rebirtha” out with the spotlight and nod to “Rocky Mountain Way.” In what seemed to be a 180-degree turn around, the band tore right into Billy Joe Shaver’s “Chunk of Coal.” This is another one of those songs that always seems to ensure that no one is standing still.

Midway through the first set, the band dropped into a heavy version of “Weight of the World.” At this point I was briefly beginning to wonder where the Halloween covers were hiding before remembering how nice it is to just hear Panic play Panic. Sure enough though, the next song was Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” (an all-time personal favorite). I hope that everyone at some point gets to hear one of their favorite bands cover another one of their favorite songs. The rest of the first set returned to normalcy with very energetic versions of “Big Wooly Mammoth,” “Red Hot Mama,” and “Protein Drink/Sewing Machine.”

Second set immediately got going with Cream’s long requested “Strange Brew.” This set the mood for the second set and showcased John Bell’s vocal versatility. He once again proved that he can get it when he wants. Next, JoJo took over with a rocking version of Greta followed by some very fresh improvisation. Without stopping, the band rolled right into the ever melodious “Dirty Business,” another that really highlights JB’s voice. This version especially because it included a nice version of Johnny Cash’s “Big Bad John” with the Mine Shaft backdrop. “Dirty Business” took off into what got me hoping for full version of the “The Other One” but was only (sarcasm) a hard hitting jam. In a fairly smooth transition, Dave Schools led straight into the familiar “Imitation Leather Shoes.”

At this point, the concert began to take off with John Bell leading the way on Funkadelic’s “Hit It and Quit It.” This one had the entire First Bank Center moving, which led nicely to tenderness that is Zeppelin’s “D’yer Maker.” Not only does this version highlight JB’s vocal range yet again, it also showcasing the gentler side of Jimmy Herring. As JoJo slowly carried the tune out, Domingo “Sunny” Ortiz, led the way through 10+ minutes of drums and bass before dropping into “Arlene.” Following a smooth “Arlene” was “North,” which I thought may close the set.

Nope. Not even close. The band quickly ripped into Cheech and Chong’s “Eaarache My Eye,” which can only be described as fun. (note: Sonny and Duane were dressed as Cheech and Chong) Familiar or not with the song, every one in the building had a grin from ear to ear. Immediately following, we heard coughs. In that brief pause, you could have heard a pin drop before the band delivered the long anticipated return of Black Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf.” It was all that I had thought it would be and more. Thank goodness this one closed the second set because I’m not sure many could’ve continued dancing without a break.

Honestly, the encore really didn’t matter at this point. Not a soul would have been disappointed had the concert ended right then, but the band returned for three more. First, the old classic “Wishbone,” which returned a few Halloweens back, a typical “Action Man” followed before Bloodkin’s lullaby “End of the Show” ended the evening.

Overall, Halloween 2014 delivered everything one could ask for in an evening: Classic Widespread Panic originals, legendary covers, and an amazing cast of first time played songs.