Widespread Panic Brings Rock Revelry To Nashville With “Drums” Set Opener, Neil Young Closer On Night Two [Videos]

On Saturday night, Widespread Panic returned to Ascend Amphitheater and continued to shock and awe the spectators in the tight nook between the bridges, the river, and the downtown Nashville city skyline. As the southern rock behemoths reemerged from the shadows just as the sun was setting, their nonchalant shuffle back on stage gave no hint at the outstanding night of music that was about to unfold.

Panic opened the night with the instrumental “The Take Out”, which transitioned into the crowd-favorite “Porch Song”, following the natural progression of the songs on Space Wrangler. A lively, heartwarming “Ain’t Life Grand” got the riled audience in a frenzied shuffle before John Bell mystified on “Old Neighborhood”. JoJo Hermann took lead vocals for a stirring rendition of “Visiting Day” that harnessed energy off Jimmy Herring’s lightning bolt licks until the line “Just drive on up to Thacker Mountain… Up to TENNESSEE!” released all the stored potential into the universe in thrilling fashion.

A nod to fellow Georgian musicians followed with a cover of Bloodkin‘s “Makes Sense to Me”, a song of humble acceptance and sweet justice. Next, the band ripped into a psychedelic “Jack” for the first time since Trondossa Festival before breaking things down for a swingin’ “Little Lily” and, finally, closing the set with another uplifting jam, “Climb to Safety”. This song’s lyrics possess a call to brotherhood with the lines “We must grab each others collar, we must rise out of the water; ‘Cause you know as well as I do that it’s no fun to die alone,” and the crowd sang the last portion in unified, honest admittance.

When the band returned for their second set, percussionist Sonny Ortiz and drummer Duane Trucks were at the helm, delivering the first “Drums” set opener since 4/24/10 in Raleigh. Sonny and Duane’s percussive barrage morphed into an extended intro to “Barstools & Dreamers”, which included a much sought-after “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” rap. Dave Schools hammered out the jaunty rhythm of “Machine”, which led into a bass-heavy cover of J.J. Cale’s “Travellin’ Light”. The dance-inducing piano lines of “Cotton Was King” provided John Bell with a chance to display his vocal powers before JoJo retook the reins for a “Bust It Big” complete with a unique and noteworthy extended introduction. Schools squeezed his bass guitar like a chef trying to get all the juice out of a lemon during the hypnotizing rhythms of “Second Skin”, which featured a hint of “L.A. Woman” provided by JoJo on keys.

The subsequent transitional jam took on a story of its own before reemerging as “Pilgrims”—“if it feels good, we shake!” The music continued without a stop as the second set drew to a close with a violent segue into “Impossible”, which customarily comes directly after “Barstools”. The fervent energy continued with the bass-heavy “Imitation Leather Shoes”, Schools and John Bell in peak form as they fleshed out Kafka’s supernatural short story, “Metamorphisis”. The boys transitioned smoothly from there into a cover of Neil Young’s “Mr. Soul”, originally recorded with Buffalo Springfield in 1967, to close the set.

Returning for an encore, the band executed an appropriately feel-good cover of Talking Heads‘ “City of Dreams” (“Right where your standing, the dinosaurs did a dance…”). Finally, to cap their second of three nights in Nashville, the band dove into their homage to Vic Chestnutt with a fiery “Protein Drink / Sewing Machine”.

Widespread Panic injected a taste of southern swampy Georgia heat into the hustle and bustle of downtown Nashville’s music scene. No daisy dukes, no giant belt buckles, no cheesy gimmicks, no bullshit, just grit and boot-stompin’ musical annihilation. Widespread Panic returns to Ascend Amphitheater for a final performance tonight. Never miss a Sunday show. See y’all on the lawn!

Watch a selection of fan-shot videos from the show below, and listen to a full stream of the performance via PanicStream:

Widespread Panic – “Ain’t Life Grand” (partial)

Widespread Panic – “Old Neighborhood” (partial)

Widespread Panic – “Makes Sense To Me” (Bloodkin cover)

Widespread Panic – “Imitation Leather Shoes” (partial)

Setlist: Widespread Panic | Ascend Amphitheater | Nashville, TN | 9/1/31

Set 1: The Take Out > Porch Song, Ain’t Life Grand, Old Neighborhood, Visiting Day, Makes Sense To Me, Jack, Little Lilly > Climb To Safety (60 mins)

Set 2: Drums intro > Barstools & Dreamers^, Machine > Travelin’ Light, Cotton Was King, Bust It Big^^, Second Skin > Jam > Pilgrims > Impossible > Imitation Leather Shoes > Mr Soul (89 mins)

Encore: City of Dreams, Protein Drink / Sewing Machine (20 mins)

Notes: ^ w/ Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) rap; ^^ w/ extended JoJo solo piano intro

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