Widespread Panic opened their three-night Red Rocks run on a rainy Friday night in Colorado. The all-original setlist saw Panic delivering back-to-back bust outs in the second frame.
Widespread Panic — guitarists John Bell and Jimmy Herring, bassist Dave Schools, keyboardist JoJo Hermann, percussionist Domingo “Sunny” Ortiz and drummer Duane Trucks — kicked things off in the rain with the classic “I’m Not Alone.” JB led the band through the first verses and choruses before Jimmy took over with some hot licks on the song’s instrumental section. A slow version of the vintage “Porch Song” followed and headed into “Disco,” which really got the Red Rocks crowd moving. “Rebirtha” emerged from “Disco” to close out the three-song seamless section.
Up next, JoJo sang lead on “Blackout Blues” followed by the instrumental “Happy.” “Good People” would then encompass “Dark Bar,” which has seen a resurgence of late after a seven-year absence between 2012 and 2015, as per Everyday Companion. The band returned to classic material with “Pigeons” to close out the set.
Panic would “Bust It Big” to get get the second set underway. JoJo led the band through the song before Jimmy hit a quick solo ahead of Sunny taking his turn in the spotlight. Jojo then ramped things up with a wild piano solo before dropping back into the song. “Little Lilly” followed before the band jammed their way into “Pilgrims.”
WSP then reeled off standalone versions of “Saint Ex,” “All Time Low” and “Jack” before busting out “Give,” which was last played on April 24, 2016 for a total of 172 shows, as per Panic Stream. WSP then dusted off “Down” for the first time since September 17, 2014 at LOCKN’. The RR 2021 performance of “Down” marked the first time WSP played the song without founding drummer Todd Nance, who usually sang the tune along with JB. Nance sadly died in 2020 and “Down” served a tribute to Todd. Both “Give” and “Down” appear on Widespread Panic’s 2001 album, Don’t Tell The Band.
“May Your Glass Be Filled” counted as the penultimate song of the set followed by closer, the beloved Michael Houser-penned number “Space Wrangler.” Panic retook the stage for a fitting and always rowdy, especially at Red Rocks in the rain, “Chilly Water” to bring the rainy evening to a close.
Watch pro-shot video of “I’m Not Alone,” “Porch Song” and “Bust It Big” below via the JamBase Live Video Archive:
Setlist (via Panic Stream)
Set One: I’m Not Alone, Porch Song > Disco > Rebirtha, Blackout Blues, Happy, Good People > Dark Bar > Good People, Pigeons
Set Two: Bust It Big, Little Lilly > Jam > Pilgrims, Saint Ex, All Time Low, Jack, Give, Down, May Your Glass Be Filled, Space Wrangler
Encore: Chilly Water
Notes:
– slow ‘Porch Song’
– ‘Give’ LTP 4/25/2016 Knoxville (171 shows)
– ‘Down’ LTP 9/17/2014 Lockn’ Festival (293 shows) RIP Todd
– All originals setlist
– Entire show with Edie Jackson, ASL interpreter
Rest easy, Yogi Berra Smith
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