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Southeast
Regional Report
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Edited by Gil McLemore
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For two Big Cypress reviews visit the Mid-Atlantic region, written by that section's regular contributors. In
This Issue:
Review: Widespread Panic by Jason Casey 12/30/99 - Philips Arena - Atlanta, GA I: One Arm Steve, Pigeons > Surprise Valley > Pigeons, C. Brown > Walkin', Blight, Greta, Travelin' Light II: Disco > Wondering > The Waker, Weight Of The World*, Christmas Katie* > Arlene* > Drums** > Drums & Bass**, Proving Ground*** > Big Woolly Mammoth > Proving Ground, Climb To Safety E1: Coconut*, Makes Sense To Me* E2: Let's Get The Show On The Road * with Dirty Dozen Brass Band on horn; ** with Count Mbutu (Col. Bruce Hampton and the Fiji Mariners) on percussion, Dirty Dozen Brass Band on horns, Dr. Scott on percussion, Guarav Maholtra on percussion, Terrence Higgins (Dirty Dozen Brass Band) on percussion; *** with Count Mbutu (Col. Bruce Hampton and the Fiji Mariners) on percussion, Dr. Scott on percussion, Guarav Maholtra on percussion [The Dirty Dozen Brass Band opened] Sunny, sparkling day surrounded the car as we drove through downtown to the embassy suites hotel near Phillips Arena in Atlanta. The crowd in the mid-afternoon streets were mostly Peach Bowl goers dressed in maroon or orange depending where their loyalties lied. We made it to the hotel and I left my Memphis friends to find a room with some others. Immediately I ran into some Widespread revelers in the lobby and then found my other friends in the hotel. We left the room to check out downtown and get some supplies for the weekend. Kids lined the streets and everyone was kind and polite and an interestingly familiar vibe was arching through the air. On one of the huge sliver of mirror skyscrapers in downtown Atlanta four workers were hanging from the roof cleaning the windows. This feat of bravery was a portend of what was to come when the boys hit the stage for the first night of the Widespread Panic new year's run. Getting on the floor of Phillip's Arena was about as easy as it could be. The arena is huge, easy to get around, and has plenty of treats, from smoothies to Guinness. The floor was pleasantly crowded and everyone had room to boogie. The boys opened with One Arm Steve. Not one of my favorites, but it got the place going in true down home southern fashion. Everyone gave the guys a special homecoming and the place started with a bang. After the song, the free for all was on as Mike's opening lick and Dave's supabass dropped the Pigeons on us welcoming the crowd into the seismic mind-bending power of this favorite. As the jam was set loose, it reared its beastly head to breathe a soothing Surprise Valley that amazed the kids until they startled us back into the almost forgotten Pigeons 'preach' of poking, and waking up, and the earth shaking to School's and Nance's ice-melting song and dance. The place was moving from front to back, and the C. Brown that followed cooled everyone down just enough to spread a little mellow in the place before the ever present Walkin'. The Blight that followed released said monster again and JoJo showed us how it was gonna be with that good 'ol gal Greta. Stretching keyboard solos and vocals with JB, and of course everything turned out fine as the Travelin' light closed the set and everyone got to yell, "ecstasy." Walking (around the venue) was one of the best parts of the day. Through the hotels, centennial park and CNN center there were only good feelings and happy times. It seemed as if everyone was there to make sure that everyone else was doing fine. Familiar and new faces came and went all day, and everyone was ready for a piece of the panic. The hotel was terrific, full of panic kids, and football friends all at the balconies cheering and having a good time during the pre-game and pre-show activities. I stood in line with two Clemson fans and they decided to go to the show instead of the peach bowl. Finally afternoon came and a Mardi Gras feel took over the hotel. People were cheering outside their rooms and the electricity filled the air like the summertime humidity. Second set was torched up nicely with the 'everyone kick off your shoes and dance awhile' Disco that rolled off the stage and swept us up in a whirlwind of groove. A very happy and up Wondering followed, then segued into the dark side with the Waker. After the horns came out and those bass and sousaphone bombs were dropped, the Dirty Dozen joined the Panic for a sick Weight of the World. The familiar da, da, da, da-da-da was augmented in true New Orleans fashion by those funky horns . As we toured the big easy, the band brought us to the friendlier part of town with a beautiful Christmas Katie, and everything was nice and safe until we turned the corner, you know the one deep in the french quarter where the tour books say not to go, and the Dirty Widespread Dozen Band's lead singer J.B. and Dave introed with, "Dream....dream.." The word echoed through Phillips Arena and the tension grew until Arlene shot off the stage. The horns and bass led this parade through the dark New Orleans's passages and alley ways, then coughed this tour out in front of St. Charles square where Todd, Sonny, and some other New Orleans musicians were playing drums for spare change. The show was great and the hat was almost full when Dave came out and pulled a bass solo that stretched the boundaries of rhythm and sound, as a wave of Dave crashed on the crowd. As the rest of the Panic took their places, another geologic event occurred as the Proving Ground erupted and we all stood watching the mighty Mississippi roll by. You could feel the southern New Orleans heat and see river boats going by as we "found out just how tall we were." The heat was alleviated by Mr. JoJo coming through reminding us that it was winter with an explosive Big Wooly Mammoth that had us all bootscooting until the boys took us back to the river and finished the Proving Ground. As we were sinking into the murky depths, J.B. stepped up, grabbed our collar, and helped us Climb to Safety. We were moving way too slow and the boys fixed that immediately with this super set closer. The kids were nuts and the place boiled over. The ice under the floor of the arena kept the temperature nice and comfortable and the security team was having as much fun as they could. The party atmosphere was a welcome change from most shows this size. The energy made this feel like a party at your mama's house, not a big arena show. The place was dark and cacophonous. People were eagerly awaiting the encore and none were disappointed as the Dirty Widespread Dozen came back out to do a ripping Coconuts. As the Panic played this definitive song, they brought us out of the french market and back to Bourbon Street, where they 'met a black man from Atlanta' and closed with the Makes Sense to Me. All done Atlanta style. The cheers subsided but the lights never came up. I thought of leaving but the dark kept me where I was. Most everyone was pretty amazed and wondering what the boys would do tomorrow. I was sure of only the Space Wrangler... A spotlight came on stage and J.B. told us they could do one more and then had to go to bed. J.B. started off and they played a beautiful Let's Get the Show on the Road. After we just got off of one crazy ride. It was a great way to put all us freaks to bed. Couldn't wait for tomorrow!
Review: Gov't Mule by 'Micky the fe-Mule' 12/31/99 - The Roxy - Atlanta, GA I: Bad Little Doggie> Lay Your Burden Down> Blind Man, Life Before Insanity, Larger Than Life> Towering Fool> Y2K countdown jam, 21st Century Schizoid Man+> We're Not Gonna Take It^+> Dazed And Confused+ II: When The Blues Come Knockin'*, My Dog And Me*+, Lump On Your Stump*, I Can't Quit You Baby*, It Hurts Me Too*. Blues Is Alright*, Is It My Body**> Power Of Soul**++, Helter Skelter**+, Sometimes Salvation**+, 30 Days In The Hole***, End Of The Line** E: Out Of The Rain****, I Shall Be Released*****, Simple Man****** *w/Little Milton on guitar & vocals, **w/Audley Freed on guitar, ***w/Audley on guitar & Robert Kearns on cow bell & vocals, ****w/Audley on guitar, Johnny Mosier on guitar & Mark Van Allen on pedal steel, *****w/Barry Richman on guitar, Robert on bass, Johnny on guitar, Mark on pedal steel, no Allen, Audley takes Warren guitar half way thru, ******w/Audley on guitar & Mark on pedal steel, +1st time played, ++1st time with vocals, We left Cleveland area to meet up with some concert buds from Grand Rapids, MI and Toledo, OH in Toledo and got to ride down to Atlanta in someone else's van, instead of us having to drive all the way (sweet). Drove all nite and got into Hotlanta at 8 am, had a laugh at the commuters on their way to work as we were starting our three days of non-stop music and fun. Mule was the meat in the middle of our musical sandwich - Bruce Hampton and Planet Zambee at the Brandy House on Thursday 12/30, then Mule at the Roxy on Friday 12/31, followed up by Gregg Allman and Friends at the Tabernacle on 1/1... I guess that means Bruce and Gregg were the buns! Anyway, back to the review: we got to the venue at 6:30 and there was a decent size line already. Roxy has parking, for $20.00, so we told them no thanks and parked 5 feet away from their lot on the street for free (good start). Got in line and met up with a bunch of emulers and other assorted wonderful folks from all over. There were people from Finland there (and I thought we came far - 11 hour drive)... The doors opened a bit before 8, and we got to wait in a lobby area that had merchandise, bars, and tons of celebratory supplies (balloons, noise makers, stupid hats, and so on). I like to be in the front (holding the title to front row girl) and we had a taper with us, so we spread out thru the venue as soon as the sound check was over. No smoking inside the Roxy, but they have a patio off to one side that leads outdoors, which worked out perfect, kept the place easier to breathe in (and I'm a smoker). I got my spot in front of Warren (as opposed to my usual Woodshed stance), and jumped up and down for an hour in anticipation of what was to come. The opener, Blueground Undergrass, was really good. All the members had excellent talent and stage presence, they were fun to watch, and the crowd was receptive to the tunes. There were a lot of out-of-towners, so this wasn't just a home crowd response for an Atlanta band. They played for a solid hour, maybe more - been looking for their cd's ever since. Between their set and the mule's, I wandered a bit, trying to find Matt from HardHead (mule's mgmt. co) since we had talked on the phone and email so much and had agreed to make contact there. As I roamed looking for Matt, I ran into Kirk West! I stopped to talk to him (never having met him before) and introduced myself. To my greatest surprise, he knew who I was from my postings on emule. He was very sweet and this was a definite highlight for me. Kirk gave one of his opening ramblings about prophets and the mule taking us into the future (very moving and fun)... then the mule broke out with Bad Little Doggie, followed by Lay Your Burden Down. They did Blind Man, Life Before Insanity, Larger than Life, and Towering Fool as we approached the midnite hour. At the stroke of midnite, Warren did his countdown, but instead of your standard happy new year, he said happy 2000! They immediately tore up 21st Century Schizoid Man as part of a sweet medley that segued into the Who's The Overture... we were all in awe and the crowd went wild. One technical difficulty, the balloons that should have come tumbling down at midnite were obstinate in the extreme. Someone had to climb over the catwalk in an extremely precarious position to actually release them. Minor problem to say the least. They brought out Little Milton for a set as follows: Blues
Come Knockin' It was great to see Warren watching and interacting with Milton, he was grinnin' from ear to ear for the whole set. Allen Woody has said that Milton likes to mess with his head and he has to keep an eye on him, cuz' he never knows what to expect. All the mule have the greatest respect for Little Milton, and it carried over to the crowd. Milton got a fine reception indeed! Audley Freed, touring guitarist from The Black Crowes, came out for the next set which really rocked the house: Is
It My Body (Alice Cooper tune) This was the second set, and I just couldn't believe it would get any better! It did, though. The first encore was Out of the Rain, and I Shall Be Released... the crowd was totally into the show. The final encore, Simple Man, was incredible. Everyone who wasn't standing before sure was by this time, even though it was almost 4am! I did get to catch up with Matt from HardHead finally (he handed me the first set list from the stage but we didn't know each other at the time) and he gave me the set list for the second set, as well as a bonus calendar for my brother who couldn't make the trip. It was a superb evening, the crowd was decent (only a few really drunk idiots), the venue was great, the weather was optimal (62 and clear). We hung out afterwards to bond with the mule, they had passed out 2000 Calendars with a mule photo and reference to the Year of the Dragon, with a side note, "dragon my ass". This was great, cuz' we really were dragging our asses by this time, but got to have these limited edition items signed by our musical heroes, who were gracious as ever, even after a really long nite. We converted the DAT tapes from the show to cd's at about 7am, and passed out by 10am... mule also showed up at the G. Allman show (all three sat in for the encore, One Way Out)... another perfect end to a perfect trip. CD-R's from the show can be spun for the asking... Micky the fe-Mule by 'Micky the fe-Mule' (Qikmik@aol.com)
Review: Widespread Panic by Chris Clough 12/31/99 - Philips Arena - Atlanta, GA I: Space Wrangler, Blue Indian, Blackout, Driving Song > Party At Your Mama's House > Driving Song, Pickin' Up The Pieces* II: Porch Song > Pilgrims, Love Tractor** > Dying Man** > Red Hot Mama***, Tall Boy**** > Testify**** > Tall Boy**** III: Wonderful World****, Ain't Life Grand****, Respect Yourself*****, Chilly Water****** > Barstools and Dreamers****** > Satisfied****** > Barstools and Dreamers****** > Chilly Water******, Pusherman****** > Drums****** > Drums & Bass****** > Papa's Home > Diner > Papa's Home E: All Time Low****, Feelin' Alright***** * with Kevin Harris (Dirty Dozen Brass Band) on saxophone, Roger Lewis (Dirty Dozen Brass Band) on baritone saxophone; ** with Colin Butler (Big Ass Truck) on turntables; *** with Dirty Dozen Brass Band on horns; **** with Dottie Peoples and the People's Choice Choir on vocals; ***** with Dirty Dozen Brass Band on horns, Dottie Peoples and the People's Choice Choir on vocals; ****** with Terrence Higgins (Dirty Dozen Brass Band) on percussion, Unknown on percussion [Only 'Respect Yourself', Only 'Testify', Only 'Wonderful World'; Jojo, Sunny & Todd on small kits for 'Space Wrangler', 'Blue Indian' and 'Blackout'] Not to be upstaged by a downtown-Atlanta Christian revival staged directly across the street from the Phillips Arena, on New Year's Eve Widespread Panic injected a strong dose of spirituality into their already tight performance. Panic, who has a propensity towards turning their stage into a block party with a steady stream of guests, once again shared their stage with many, most notably Dottie Peoples and the People's Choice Choir, who took the 20,000 fans in attendance at Atlanta's Phillips Arena to church. Dottie and her choir were featured throughout the second and third sets and in the encore. The choir, which also appears on WSP's seventh album, "Til The Medicine Takes," transformed a Widespread standard, "Tallboy", into a spiritual tour de force which threatened to raise the neon-lighted, corporate basketball arena off of its foundation. Ensnared within this monstrous Tallboy was the gospel "Testify" as well as some hints at the classic "Lovelight." Together, WSP and the choir cleverly returned to the Tallboy theme to close the second set and 1999. Other guests to the stage on New Year's Eve included the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, a perennial WSP opener and guest. With the Dirty Dozen, WSP performed the Funkadelic song, "Red Hot Mama," and Curtis Mayfield's "Pusherman," which Schools dedicated to the recently deceased funk icon. Big Ass Truck's DJ Colin Butler (who also appears on "Til The Medicine Takes") was featured for versions of "Love Tractor," and "Dying Man." After a subdued fireworks display behind the stage and a countdown led by WSP bassist David Schools and Ephraim Taylor of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, WSP returned with the choir to perform Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World," a song often heard by Panic fans on the P.A. system after shows. The beautiful vocal tradeoffs between WSP's John Bell and Dottie Peoples brought a tear to many eyes. The choice of this song as the first of the millennium seemed so appropriate as a message of hope and peace for the next 1000 years. WSP and the choir continued with a rousing rendition of "Ain't Life Grand," the Staples' "Respect Yourself," and returned for the encore for "All Time Low," and a rare gem "Feelin' Alright," which closed the show. The New Year's festivities lasted for about five hours, with WSP treating their fans to the once-a-year treat of a three set show. The first set, while only comprised of six songs, offered a very enjoyable down-home feel. Keyboardist JoJo Hermann, and percussionists Todd Nance and Sonny Ortiz each played mini kits, and frontman John Bell was "sitting down on the job" with his acoustic guitar. This short set was highlighted by the WSP classic "Space Wrangler," "Blue Indian," and an excellent "Driving Song" sandwiched around the instrumental "Party At Your Mama's House." At about 2 A.M. on January 1st, WSP sent its fans back into the Atlanta streets to mingle with the young Christian celebrants. The two seemed a perfect match, each uplifted by feelings of hope for the new millennium, and floating on a cloud of spirituality provided by their fellow New Year's revelers.
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