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Southeast
Regional Report
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Edited by Gil McLemore
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In
This Issue:
Ground Zero - Spartanburg, SC by Michael B. Smith (mbsmith@MINDSPRING.COM) O: Blind Man in the Dark, Bad Little Doggie, Lay Your Burden Down, Mule > I've Been Workin' > Woody's jam > Mule, She Said She Said > Day Tripper tease > Tomorrow Never Knows jam, Don't Step On The Grass Sam, Life Before Insanity, World Gone Wild, Rockin' Horse, Thorazine Shuffle, Mr. Big, End Of The Line E: Out Of The Rain The before party at Jim Brown's house was great. Dining on burgers, dogs, vegi chili and cold beverages was unbeatable, and we had a little impromptu jam session which is always fun. We made our way over to Ground Zero in Spartanburg, which is situated in one of the rougher sections of my old hometown. They usually bring in heavy metal and punk bands, so it was somewhat confusing that Gov't Mule had been slated to appear at a place where they don't allow ladies to bring their purses in for fear they might be packing a pig sticker. The club however was not going to hinder our enjoyment of the Mule, as Jill and I waded through smoke as thick as cream of mushroom soup, and made our way to the front of the soundboard where I copped us a couple of bar stools. I guess I'm just getting old, but these "seatless" venues wear me out. As much as I love to see the Mule jam with everyone from Chuck Leavell to Paul Riddle, it was actually refreshing to witness an entire evening of just Warren, Matt and Allen. The boys in the band proved once again that when it comes to driving the audience into a frenzy, they need no guests, no opening band (the opener didn't make it to the club), and no frills. Kicking things off with a low down and heavy bass line on "Blind Man in the Dark," the Mule proceeded to kick more ass than Stone Cold Steve Austin on Monday Night Nitro. While many bands save their current "hit" for the end of their set, or even as an encore, the Mule pulled out their "Bad Little Doggie" as the second song of the show, and the sweaty, packed house went ballistic. There was just something magic about the band tonight, and they could do no wrong. As many times as I've heard them do "Mule," it took on an intensity tonight like none I've ever laid ears on. It was smoldering, baby. Red-hot monkey-lovin' hunka-hunka burnin'-love hot! It may be the single best version of that old Mule chestnut I've ever heard. Ever! Allen Woody was dead-on thumpin' all night long, and "Matt Abts on the drums" was a war machine, like multiple machine guns plowing through the commie wasteland. Come to think of it, it kinda smelled like a commie wasteland inside that bar. And let's not even talk about Mr. Haynes. Although we heard from reliable sources that he has been having throat problems, it sure didn't sound like it. He sang his ass off as always, and played guitar like Jimi Hendrix down South jukin'! The show included power packed renditions of "She Said" (which went into a stellar jam on the Beatles "Tomorrow Never Knows"), "Don't Step On the Grass Sam," and "Mr. Big," which I had not heard the Mule do in a while. The guys rocked the rough Allman land with "End of the Line" and pulled out an encore of "Out of the Rain." Another stellar performance from the band that is almost single handedly keeping real rock and roll alive and well into the 21st century. Gritz: "Good Southern Music & Other Food for the Soul"
Review: Widespread Panic - 4/1/00 by Chip Schramm I: Action Man > Chilly Water > Pleas > Chilly Water, C. Brown*, Little Lilly, I'm Not Alone, One Arm Steve > Flat Foot Flewzy 2: Surprise Valley > Blight > Walkin', All Time Low, Mercy** > Ride Me High*** > Drums**** > Time Is Free***** > Climb To Safety****** E: Blue Indian******* [Only 'Action Man'] *w/ John Keane on pedal steel; **w/ Chuck Leavell (Rolling Stones/Allman Brothers Band) on keyboards, Randall Bramblett (Randall Bramblett Band) on saxophone; ***w/ Bill Berry (REM) on percussion, Charlie Pruet on percussion, Chuck Leavell (Rolling Stones/Allman Brothers Band) on keyboards, Count Mbutu on percussion, Dr. Arvin Scott (UGA professor) on percussion, Garrie Vereen on percussion, Peter Jackson on percussion, Randall Bramblett (Randall Bramblett Band) on saxophone, Yonrico Scott (Derek Trucks Band) on drums; **** w/ Bill Berry (REM) on percussion, Charlie Pruet on percussion, Count Mbutu on percussion, Dr. Arvin Scott (UGA professor) on percussion, Garrie Vereen on percussion, Peter Jackson on percussion, Yonrico Scott (Derek Trucks Band) on drums; *****w/ Bill Berry (REM) on percussion, Charlie Pruet on percussion, Col. Bruce Hampton (Col. Bruce Hampton and the Fiji Mariners) on vocals, Count Mbutu on percussion, Derek Trucks (Derek Trucks Band/Allman Brothers Band) on slide guitar, Dr. Arvin Scott (UGA professor) on percussion, Garrie Vereen on percussion, Peter Jackson on percussion, Yonrico Scott (Derek Trucks Band) on drums; ******w/ Bill Berry (REM) on percussion, Charlie Pruet on percussion, Count Mbutu on percussion, Derek Trucks (Derek Trucks Band/Allman Brothers Band) on slide guitar, Dr. Arvin Scott (UGA professor) on percussion, Garrie Vereen on percussion, Peter Jackson on percussion, Yonrico Scott (Derek Trucks Band) on drums; *******w/ Chuck Leavell (Rolling Stones/Allman Brothers Band) on keyboards, John Keane on pedal steel, Randall Bramblett (Randall Bramblett Band) on saxophone April Fool's Day was a remarkable day in the history of Widespread Panic. The band began Spring Tour in their hometown at the last indoor venue they had played there, albeit nearly five years ago! The success of their CD release party out in the middle of Washington St. in 1998 certainly opened the doors for them to play large venues all over the country, so the choice of the intimate Classic Center was almost ironic. Staying true to form, the boys in the band would do things their own way and play where they wanted. They even played the smaller theater side of the Center as opposed to the bigger warehouse side they played back in Halloween of 1995. The acoustics in the theater were impeccable, and there truly, honestly, wasn't a single bad seat in the house. Tickets were so limited in proportion to the demand that everyone inside each of the 3 nights in Athens enjoyed each note to the fullest. The schizophrenic nature of Classic Center security (some were seen dancing in the aisles, others throwing people out for smoking cigarettes) was the only notable detractor from the weekend. There wasn't much of a lot scene outside and ticketless fans were not encouraged to stick around once the shows had begun. But for those lucky enough to get inside, THE HEAT WAS ON. Panic had technically been on hiatus since their New Year's shows at Philips Arena in Atlanta. Meanwhile, they had all been pursuing various side projects and working hard in the studio on original material to shop for a new record label since their contract with Capricorn had expired. As Dave Schools confirmed in an interview a week before the shows, they had both new material and plenty of friends to join them onstage for the weekend run. To top it all off, the Classic Center run was being recorded by the band's new independent label, Widespread Records, for a live release in the very near future. Saturday night was the most highly anticipated show of the band's career. I didn't even see any scalpers out in front of the venue. There just weren't any tickets available, period. The band walked onto stage at 20 minutes after 8pm and got right to work. They opened the run with a brand new instrumental, "Action Man." While the song was clearly a work in progress (I think Dave Schools said "embryonic,") it was an upbeat, hard driving tune that brought the entire house to its feet and moving instantly. It had the same type of beat as "Glory," another Panic song, but was much wider open with plenty of room to explore and develop the jams. After hearing the new tune for the first time, one fan commented that it sounded similar to "Interstellar Overdrive" by Pink Floyd. The song's title describes itself very well, as it was an energetic way to open the show. The first segment of songs was definitely scripted and rehearsed meticulously, as the transition into "Chilly Water" was very smooth. JB and the boys used this opportunity to loosen both their instruments and vocals before segueing into the standard "Pleas" combo that so often comes inside a "Chilly." For a song that has been standard for so many years, Pleas it still a bread-winner, evidenced by the extended end-jam and tremendous momentum the band picked up before ripping back into "Chilly" to end the sequence. The end of Pleas was so long that I had forgotten we had one verse of "Chilly" yet to finish. The total length of the first 4 songs was 20 minutes. If there were any questions about whether the boys would be ready to play after a few months "off," they were settled right then and there. It didn't take long for the first special guest of the weekend to put in an appearance. John Keane joined the band onstage next for a very moving version of "C Brown" on pedal steel guitar. In what seemed like an obvious tip of the hat to the late Charles Schultz, Keane shared some of the same magic that he brought to Panic's last record in his studio. The performance also brought back memories of the New Year's concert from 1997 when Keane also sat in, and the past Winter's New Year's shows when the band played "Pusherman" in honor of the late Curtis Mayfield. With so many new and old songs to cover in just 3 short days in Athens, one had to wonder which ones would be passed over and which ones would be brought back into the fold. Hearing the beginning guitar riffs for "Lilly Blue Snow" come from Mike Houser's fingers sent a chill up my spine. Potentially the best song that Panic plays, this would be the first full version since early November. Everyone in the house was pumped to hear it, but yet again, this one is also still in development. JB's timing on the very first verse just doesn't fit in with the rhythm of the rest of the band, and the "round and round and round she goes" line still needs work to flow more smoothly. On the upside, the chorus from the rest of the band was solid, and the newly added end refrain "it's only real if you believe" is a welcome addition. "Don't believe everything you see" seemed like a pretty good theme for April Fools Day, too. Regardless of the eventual name of the song (come on Dave, do you really think Little Lilly is the best one?) "Lilly Blue Snow" will inevitably grow into the showstopper with a little more work and fine-tuning. Jojo would next step up to sing his first song of the evening. Although a longer, somewhat more intricate lead-in was a new twist to "One Arm Steve," it was otherwise the same-old song. Considering the other new songs that were debuted in Athens, Mobile, and Huntsville, it was really a shame that Jojo didn't have one or two of his own to sing. The boys would end the first set with a rollicking rendition of "Flat Foot Flewzy," appropriate, as always, for a Saturday night. Dave Schools once again took the reins and dropped some massive bass bombs to accompany his usual humorous vocal rap in the middle of the song. The first set was only about 50 minutes total, but the uninterrupted opening segment carried the weight of the whole thing. The second set would pick up where the first left off, opening with a strong "Surprise Valley." Sunny set it up with the now fairly common conga intro and also got his own mini-solo in the middle similar to the timbale solo he takes on the album. Still as powerful as ever, "Surprise Valley" is a great song to open the second set. When the band is good and warmed up, they can really blow the jam wide open. This time they linked the jam straight into "Blight." That was as creepy as ever, with Jojo weaving a spooky little groove through the end of each measure on his organ. This also segued into "Walkin'", and the band followed the verses with another great end-jam. Next came a welcome surprise. JB picked up his wooden acoustic guitar and played a version of "All Time Low" nearly identical to the one from "'Til The Medicine Takes." They didn't have the gospel chorus to back them up like the did in Philips Arena, but there is no doubt that the song is much more melodic and not nearly as hard-edged when played this way. It also fits better in the middle of the setlist then before when it was a set-closer or encore. "All Time Low" fans, don't despair. The band has added several new hard-driving songs to the rotation, so they certainly aren't getting soft on us. At this point, it became obvious that the first set was cut short to leave more time for the special guests in the second set. They managed to squeeze two more songs in before drums, inviting Randall Bramblett and Chuck Leavell (both former members of Sea Level in the 70's) out to lend a hand on saxophone and keyboards, respectively. I'm not the biggest fan of "Mercy" by itself, but any song with these two talented musicians contributing to it is going to be good. It was also a good song to pick because there is plenty of open space in the middle for a sax solo as well as a keyboard duo from Leavell and Hermann. Leavell wasn't turned up in the mix at all, so it was hard to hear what he was playing, but I'm sure it will sound better when they release it on the live album. Next came something I have been screaming about for nearly two years. Despite the fact that Panic toured with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band for the lion's share of 1999, they never played a version of "Ride Me High" with horn accompaniment. Well, the rock gods must have heard me on this night because the boys broke out one of the nastiest versions to date, complete with Bramblett's sassy, saucy sax riffs throughout. Needless to say, I was in heaven along with the 1,999 other fans in the house. It brought back memories of their Spring shows at the Warfield in San Francisco in 1997 with Cecil Daniels on sax. By this point, the percussion section to Sunny's left had also expanded dramatically, as there were seven, count 'em, seven extra drummers onstage at one point or another. Most of them played through "Ride Me High" and the following drum solo as well. In no particular order they were: Bill Berry of REM, Dr. Arvin Scott from the UGA music department, Yonrico Scott from The Derek Trucks Band, Count M'butu from Atlanta, Garrie Vereen, Peter Jackson, and Charlie Pruet. The last three are also personal friends of the band. Vereen's voice should be familiar to tape collectors as he was the roadie and PA man that introduced them as "All the way from Athens G-A, Capricorn Recording Artists, Wide-Spread PANIC!!!" for many years. As the monster drum solo climaxed and then subsided, there would be more treats in store. International music icon turned movie star Col. Bruce Hampton and Zen master of the slide guitar Derek Trucks both walked onto stage with the rest of the band. Hampton provided the vocals for a wild and wooly "Time Is Free" while Trucks ripped up the guitar lines like a dog might worry a bone. I was very pleased to see that he was turned up much louder in the mix than his last appearance with Panic on December 29, 1998. At the same time, he justified his levels by virtually taking over the final song of the second set, "Climb To Safety." After swapping a few licks with Mike Houser, Trucks then battled it out with Jojo Hermann for control of the monster end jam. Jojo's work on the keyboard was balanced so precisely between the lines of Trucks' National guitar that it was hard to believe I was listening to live music. It was reminiscent of the sounds I heard in New Orleans on Halloween. Almost disco, not quite techno, definitely something that defies description. John Keane would make one more appearance for the encore, the most appropriate version of "Blue Indian" ever played. For one magical weekend, everything was just like home. Even traveling music fans such as myself couldn't help but feel a special type of kinship with everyone in Athens that weekend. Everywhere we went we were greeted with smiles and hugs, laughter and joy. The next two nights were every bit as good as the first, and the live CD that is released in May should be quite a treat. The band is on the road right now, so catch them coming to a town near you for a preview of the live album. Official Site and Tourdates are at widespreadpanic.com.
Review: Widespread Panic by John Lapelle ) 4/2/00 1: Porch Song* > Hatfield*, Tall Boy*, Machine > Barstools and Dreamers*, This Part Of Town**, Sleeping Man**, Radio Child, The Fake Out 2: Bear's Gone Fishin'*** > The Waker****, You'll Be Fine***, Big Woolly Mammoth > Driving Song > Love Tractor > Drums***** > Driving Song > Pigeons > Blackout Blues E1: Success Yourself******, End of the Show******* [First 'The Fake Out'; Slow 'Porch Song'; 'Satisfied' rap during 'Barstools and Dreamers'; 'Third Stone From The Sun' jam after 'Drums'; Last 'Success Yourself' - 10/30/95, 445 shows] *w/ Charlie Pruet on percussion; 4/3/00 1: Disco > Papa Legba, Greta > E on a G > Holden Oversoul > Pickin' Up The Pieces, Dying Man, Stop-Go* > Fishwater 2: Red Hot Mama** > Worry > Let's Get The Show On The Road, Low Rider*** > Rebirtha*** > Drums**, Old Joe, Sometimes, Travelin' Light E: Ain't Life Grand, Rockin' In The Free World**** [Only 'E on a G', Only 'Old Joe'; Last 'Rockin' In The Free World' - 11/6/96, 346 shows] *w/ John Keane on pedal steel; "Bring it on Home" Freaking-out could not describe the way everyone was feeling when the athens shows were announced, and then before we knew it one show had already slipped by and we were preparing for our second. After a pleasant morning trip in Watkinsville, we saddled up and made the pilgrimage into downtown to get our pre-game festivities on. I was so fired up from the night before that I was RESTLESS all day long. The "Action Man" debut from the night before was all I was talking about, that and the Mercy>Ride Me High>Drums>Time is Free... we're talking hardcore panic, "getting kicked while you are down" as Pat Arnold used to put it. The second night opened up with a majestic, slow "Porch" that got the crowd in sync with the band and lights early. The star backdrop was in full force 30 seconds into the show... "Porch" led into a nice jam that got everyone moving before winding down to the familiar drumbeat of "Hatfield". Schools took over in the middle during his bass solo, taking it out for a spin a little further than last time. JB's rap at the end was complete with many images: pies on windowsills, children, and I think he even said "Randall Bramblett" at some point, probably due to the fact that Randall definitely turned things up a notch the night before. "Tall Boy" came creeping at the end of a long jam out of "Hatfield" before taking off into a jam off it's own. This came winding down into big 'ol "Machine" that made everyone in the venue cross their fingers for what might possibly be coming... sure enough, knee-deep in the "Barstools" JB busts out the "some people think they know where it's at" line from the second verse of "Satisfied" and we knew it was on. He then proceeded to complete the second verse, (very reminiscent of the 10-30-95 version played on the same piece of property) before shifting gears and then doing the first verse second - A reverse slam dunk satisfied! Who knows how many times JB screamed "satisfied!" into the mic after he was done strutting. There were fireballs dripping from the ceiling and sparks flying off his slide. House crept in after that with "This Part of Town," I was pumped to hear it again having seen it debuted in Hampton the last night of fall '99. They changed a couple of the bridges and I love the both the background JB vocals and Houser's chill voice. Keane came out for a "Sleeping Man" that raged before dropping into a "Radio Child" complete with a cool drum intro. "Imitation Patent Leather Shoes" has big potential. And I had no clue it was an old Beanland tune at the time. Another debut, I'll take it. Second set started off with a nice spacey tune-up that dropped into BGF, which led into a nice "Waker" with back up vocals and Keane on the banjo. "You'll Be Fine" followed with Nance singing his first song in Athens ever live. A rowdy "Big Wooly" complete with too many lighters led way, way down into space before the familiar chords of "Driving" rang throughout the theater. A monstrous "Tractor" followed that led me on a mindbender course before eventually slamming my ass into yet another super, spacey drums. Schools was beautiful out of drums, hinting at "Third Stone" right and left before eventually winding back into "Driving" which then gave way to the bottom being dropped out of the theater during a stomping "Pigeons." This went through the theater like a hurricane. JB dropped a BBQ reference during the "Wake Up" rap at the end. Something like "another piece of chicken left out there on the BBQ." Totally awesome. Then "Blackout" was the blackout that it always is. Encores were cool, Danny and Eric came out for a "Success Yourself" which hasn't been played since Halloween '95 at the arena next door. Then they dropped into the predictable "End of the Show" with Danny taking the first verse and JB finishing strong. Then when you thought it was all over, they came back out and dropped a 10+ minute "Low Spark." JB switched up some verses which led to some cool improvisation. Round three was unreal as well. Tickets were scarce and many folks seemed ticketless and hounded by cops. But once inside, we were safe. The boys came out like they did this summer in Vegas with a "Disco>Legba" that really smoked. The "Legba" had a nice long intro with Sonny going bonkers. The debut of "E on a G" followed a nice, long "Greta" and then led into a big 'ol "Holden." "Holden" & "Stop/Go" in downtown athens, where they were written... completely unbelievable. The "Fishwater" that closed the set was huge! Second set started off with my little sister's first call of her panic career as the boys opened the second set with the unstoppable trio of "Red Hot Mama > Worryin' > LGTSOTR." This was absolute bliss. "Worryin'" didn't stop and had the sickest heavy metal jam out of it. LGTSOTR was pure magic. Props were given to our friend Big Zac Weil in a low key way during LGTSOTR. It was truly in touch. The "Old Joe" out of drums blew my mind since I had seen it in orlando at the JB and Friends show and listen to the song every day on the way to work. What a time to debut it! And then "Sometimes", come on. I was overwhelmed and I'd like to think that I have seen a lot of cool sh*t. So yes, my mind was blown. The quirky set list order and random songs that we love so much that are not on any album show you that they picked these songs especially for us to enjoy on a live album. I can't wait. Wish I could hear it right now... Who's got my Action Man?
Review: Widespread Panic - 1: Little Kin > Heroes > Stop-Go > Galleon > One Arm Steve, Walk On, Fishwater, Nobody's Loss, Papa Legba 2: Mr. Soul > Surprise Valley, Papa's Home > Drums > Greta > Papa's Home, Love Tractor E: Use Me > Cream Puff War Something was "off" with Dave. Later someone told me DAS had lost his voice, which confirmed my feelings. It must have been pretty hard to belt out that scream he is so famous for in "Love Tractor," it must have taken a lot out of him and perhaps he shouldn't have now that I think of it, if indeed he had lost his voice... but in typical DAS form he was thinking of us, of making us happy. DAMN! What a guy! While in Athens, I mentioned to him the electronica arsenal he must have by now... he seemed enthusiastic when I told him that we would love to have him "give it up" - his eyes lit up. Later on he asked me "which would be [my] next show," I told him "Albany, GA." Little did I know we would finally get the HEAT. I knew we were in store for some heavy treats, I just had no idea it would be in Albany. This man sure looks after us. Anything DAS brings out and gives to us comes from his heart. Sunny was on fire tonight. The crowd went nuts several times during his performance. Smoke billowing from his set... we just kept saying "DAMN!" The setlist was incredible! One of the best this spring IMHO. I am so glad I took the drive from St. Petersburg to Albany, Stop & Go traffic all the way, but it was worth it... 'specially hearing "Stop & Go" that night as well :) While waiting for the show to start, I saw DAS's right hand man whip out the stand up bass. I said "Hell Yea!" Billy put his finger to his lips as to "keep a secret," but by then it was too late, DAS's Schoolschildren were already giving each other high fives all around the Zone. Not only did we get the stand up for "Nobody's Loss" and a totally incredible "Walk On," but after a fiery drums... for 20 or so minutes I was in a trance and in heaven. DAS did his thing. I was floating and at the point of bursting with tears of joy and pride. I took a look at my friends around me, we were all in awe. The sound crew stood in the sidelines checking us out with smiles on their faces. All I could say afterwards was "I knew it." It was incredible, spacey as Trance can and should be... Heaven in my honest opinion, something I have not felt since the days of the Grateful Dead. Schools has finally given me the "ITNESS" I have been craving since Jerry died. It was Wendy, Holly, Lauren, Karen, Hope, Stacey and me in the Zone's line of defense.... all the security guards working the front of the stage hung out in front of us :) They were the nicest bunch of guys, with names like "Bulldog" :) My friend Hope said she loved the kind scene in the lot and in the SchoolsZone in Albany. Cops playing hacky sac with us, friendly and polite, totally not what we had expected. We felt welcome. After the show, after we bid our beautiful friends good nite and safe travels, during breakfast at the Waffle House and while tucked in bed somewhere in Tifton, Lauren, Hope & I sang "Use Me" until we fell asleep... Hello to everyone jamming in the South - Just letting ya'll now of a little treat coming down your way - One of the tighter bands from up in the Midwest will be swinging down through Georgia and Florida (authors note... wish I was in Athens!) They are Brother Jed - just off a tour of Colorado and Arizona, and will be down south in mid-April. Come out and welcome these guys - the web-page is: 4/24 - Tobacco Road - Miami, FL |
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