Panic on the Rocks: Bringing Back Your Old Stories
Article by Erika Rasmussen
Photographs by Jeff Fernandez
You know how you have those inside jokes with your friends? Especially friends that you have travelled around the country with, in search of great music? This past Panic Red Rocks weekend was a beautiful three-night example of that (June 22-24). We all have our own songs that we — or even our entire group of friends — are chasing (“Zoom… zoom… zoom…”). We all have those songs that we maaaaybe take a knee and catch our breath during. We all have those songs that we look knowingly at our friends with a teary eye throughout. And the same song could be any of these and more to anyone in the crowd. That is the beauty of it all. And after spending way more time looking at these setlist stats than I should have, I think Widespread Panic likes to rehash their old stories and jokes mid-show, too. Pull up a chair. This is pretty damn cool.
Friday night featured three songs debuted within a week of each other on a ’95 Southeast tour (“Glory,” “Happy” and “You Got Yours”). We also got two ’95 Midwest debutantes that appeared within two days of other (“Sleeping Man” and “1 X 1”). [Side note: if you do not know the backstory to “1 X 1,” please go learn about Sugarman.] And our beloved “Protein Drink/Sewing Machine” both rolled out originally at the NYE shows in ’01. And, no, they haven’t always been played together every single time (it’s 113:116). One of those good ole JB-isms spawned the line “…and the mushroom tasted like America in my mouth…” which got quite a howl out of the crowd as they kicked off the second set.
A crowd favorite of Friday was “Space Wrangler.” The LED backdrop featured the Space X Tesla floating in space. The band shared this image on social media and then Elon Musk retweeted it! Panic is everywhere. Also during “SW,” a little wrangler was born, literally, back home to a fan’s grandson. Guess what his nickname will be? This weekend also saw friends of ours get engaged and get married at Red Rocks. This is a special place to us, and this weekend saw the creation of many new, special inside jokes and stories.
A Night 1 highlight for this gal was the “Give Me Back My Wig” rap during “Stop Breakin’ Down Blues,” which he has done a handful of times before, the last being in ’16. This is from a 1971 tune by Hound Dog Taylor. Go give it a listen. After that “SBDB,” we went into the encore of “You Got Yours” and “Climb to Safety.” The crustiest amongst the tour veterans may roll their eyes at “CTS,” but you will always see the crowd find their special someone beside them and sing the “After all that I been through, you’re the only one that matters” bit. We all have our inside stories about all that we’ve been through, and we always connect on this line. Brah.
[06/22/18 1: Solid Rock, One Arm Steve > Glory, Contentment Blues > Sleeping Man > Jam > Driving Song > Space Wrangler > Driving Song, Travelin’ Light; 2: Protein Drink > Sewing Machine, 1 x 1, Happy > B of D > Love Tractor > Drums > I Walk on Guilded Splinters > Papa Legba, Stop Breaking Down Blues; E: You Got Yours, Climb to Safety]
[55th consecutive sold-out show at Red Rocks Amphitheater; JB sang lyrics to ‘Give Me Back My Wig’ during ‘Stop Breaking Down’]
Saturday’s first set featured “Tickle the Truth,” which is usually bound to make ’em happy. “Weight of the World” and “Tail Dragger” closed the first set and I think it’s notable that those were both introduced to us at Halloween shows (’90 and ’11). Curtis George of PanicStream.com mentioned to me that he noticed a kids’ theme in the first set (“Little Kin,” “Radio Child,” “C. Brown”). I didn’t catch that in the heat of the moment, but I love when CG points this stuff out online for us. And I love watching people frantically scramble for their phones to check his site when they wonder what’s going on. Curtis to the rescue!
The second set was cut short after “North,” “Sharon,” “Sell Sell,” and two tunes from ’05 Fox ATL (“Goodpeople” and “Second Skin”). After the crew took that shmancy LED screen down, we got a “third” set that included “Holden Oversoul” (now an inside joke with my friends) and THRILLED the crowd with “Puppy Sleeps.” Did you ever think you would catch that live when it has not been played in 16 years?!? Have you gotten that guitar riff out of your head since then?!? Nope. Its first time played was that same NYE when we first got “Protein Drink/Sewing Machine,” just so ya know. Apparently, “Puppy Sleeps” was added to the Red Rocks setlist during the wind break. All hail the gods of wind.
I was talking with Edie Griffin Jackson, ASL interpreter, about how we view these shows differently, and she offered her perspective. “The gorgeous perspective from the Red Rocks stage upon the full-energy crowd of Colorado is always special, but this year more than ever I felt the connection between the deaf patrons and the band. John Bell himself knows a lot of American Sign Language, and in early years it was usually employed to sign ‘sorry’ to me when he’d throw me major curveballs. Now I see him using it in his lyrics (check out “Puppy Sleeps”). Maybe only a few of us out there notice… but they are highlights for sure. If it weren’t for that pesky guitar of his he could handle the interpreting job on his own…” So, while you and I are shooting sideglances at our buddy about the fact that one of you needs to go get more drinks, Edie and JB are up there on stage, getting through another day’s work with the most subtle of communication between the two of them. And now you can all go watch the video for JB’s signing handiwork.
This highlight rolled right into “Expiration Day,” then “Flat Foot Flewzy” (rocked as usual, and we have not heard it this year), and then encored with “Porch Song.” You can play that song as much as you want, especially after you give us gems of gold like the one they did.
[06/23/18 1: Rebirtha > Blackout Blues, Little Kin > Radio Child, C. Brown, Tickle The Truth, Stop Go > Weight of the World, Tail Dragger; 2: North, Sharon, Sell Sell, Good People, Second Skin; 3: Greta > Cease Fire > Blue Indian, Holden Oversoul, Puppy Sleeps, Expiration Day, Flat Foot Flewzy;
E: Porch Song]
[56th consecutive sold-out show at Red Rocks Amphitheater; Last ‘Puppy Sleeps’ April 22, 2002, 1,070 shows; ‘Fire on the Mountain’ teases during ‘Stop Go’; Weather/wind delay after ‘Second Skin’ to remove the LED screen behind the band, prompting a third set!]
Sunday saw “Let’s Get” openers for first and second set. “Let’s Get the Show on the Road” kicked it off to everyone’s delight. The first set featured “Weak Brain, Narrow Mind” as the rarest jewel. “Diner” featured ‘Highway to Heaven’ (done many times before) and ‘In the Garden’ (done once before in ’03 in “Stop-Go”) side bits by our favorite rapper, John Bell.
“Let’s Get Down to Business” had not been played this year, but we stomped our way into the second set with it. JoJo Hermann was then heard to bring back the original “I’ll be ya best friend if ya get me high!” in “Visiting Day.” How many of you saw a rainbow during “Surprise Valley?” And now it is an inside thing in your crew? “Goin’ Out West” wasn’t a surprising tune for Red Rocks, but did you know it debuted the same day as “Climb to Safety” in Boulder ’96? They just keep bringing it back to the same shows, and I wonder if they were reminiscing about these debuts while compiling the set list.
A very special moment for everyone, onsite and at home on couch, was when they broke into only the second-ever “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Sure, we all love Bill Withers and just about any song he touched. However, how can you not get excited about these bluesy gentlemen swaying through this amazing number? The band went right from “ANS” into “Four Cornered Room,” which has only been played three dozen times in their 32 official years and has been chased by soooo many people we all know. You probably thought they were going into “Slippin’ Into Darkness,” didn’t you? A lot of people did. And as much as I love that WAR song, we will take a “FCR” anytime we can get it. The encore was all about YOU: “You Should Be Glad” and “You Wreck Me” (only played once before, last October).
One thing we can all share, all jokes aside, is the standing ovation the crew received. They leave their mark on tour year after year, and it was amazing to get a chance to thank them a little.
Extra credit goes to Sweet Melissa for pointing out that we had a Brute-heavy weekend, which is a good thing. “PD/SM,” “Puppy Sleeps,” and “Let’s Get Down to Business” were all songs that they would play on that “side gig” of theirs.
This weekend, for me, was just full of so many kickass references and memories. Now we’ve all created so many more. How many of you are already making your next show plans right now, no matter how far away they are? That is why we all work so hard to get everything taken care of at home. So you can send your mind. Just for a weekend. And enjoy another night you will never remember with the people you will never forget.
[06/24/18
1: Let’s Get The Show On The Road, Bear’s Gone Fishin’ > Weak Brain, Narrow Mind, Cotton Was King, Old Neighborhood, Bust It Big, Diner > The Take Out, Pigeons; 2: Let’s Get Down To Business, Chainsaw City, Visiting Day, Up All Night > Drums > Surprise Valley > Goin’ Out West > Ain’t No Sunshine > Four Cornered Room, Ain’t Life Grand; E: You Should Be Glad, You Wreck Me]
[57th consecutive sold-out show at Red Rocks Amphitheater; ‘Highway to Heaven’ and ‘In The Garden’ raps during ‘Diner’]
