Jambands.com - Need We Say More?

Published: 2012/02/13

Widespread Panic played three of their final pre-hiatus shows at Denver, CO’s The Fillmore over the weekend. Part of the acoustic Wood Tour, the gigs brought Panic back to the region which hosted the band’s previous stripped-down anniversary run, 1996’s Sit & Ski Tour (which celebrated the band’s 10th anniversary).

Despite gearing up for an extended break, the members of Widespread Panic continue to introduce new covers and rework their extensive catalog of material. On Friday night, the band performed both “Chistmas Katie” and “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl” for the first time this tour, while on Saturday, the group debuted their version of Roger Miller’s 1960s country/western song “Dang Me” and jammed on segment of the Grateful Dead’s “Bird Song” (a number Panic covered in the 1980s). At the end of Saturday’s performance, the ensemble stripped down even further, with drummer Todd Nance switching to a five-gallon bucket and percussionist Sunny Ortiz moving over to bongos for the above-mentioned “Dang Me, “And it Stoned Me” ans “Mr. Soul.”

Last night, the group toyed around with the word time during their show, seguing “Time Waits for No One” into the first “Time Waits” since 2010 and “Time Zones.” Many fans saw the song selection as a subtle reference to the band’s upcoming hiatus. Never ones to be completely stuck in the past, Widespread Panic also introduced a new bit of music—listed as “Little Girl, Let’s Roll” on the fan bible Everyday Companion—during a jam out of “Contentment Blues.” They also brought back their early version of the original “Visiting Day.”

“I just started throwing some words in,” frontman John Bell told Relix/Jambands.com about the new number. “We were playing this bluesy vamp and it was running long so I started singing something. So no, it’s nothing real. I mean it’s real ‘cause it happened but it wasn’t [a new song]”

The show came to a powerful close with a three-song encore that moved from the appropriate “When You Coming Home” into “Many Rivers To Cross” and first-time cover of The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Widespread Panic’s final three shows for the indefinite future will take place at Aspen, CO’s Belly Up this weekend.

Additional reporting by Ariel Rosemberg