On Tuesday, Widespread Panic gave fans at Panic En La Playa in Riviera Maya, Mexico one last night of revelry on international shores to close out the event’s tenth year.
Athens-based rockers Futurebirds and the eclectic DJ Logic livened up the daytime hours by the pool and lagoon, respectively. Night had fallen by the time WSP took the stage, and the courtyard was ready to embrace this last hurrah.
The crowd erupted when Widespread Panic walked onstage. John Bell was sporting a backwards cap (in Panic world, JB backwards cap means shit is about to go down) and approached the microphone to declare, “Alright, I think we’re gonna make it! Jury’s still out on JoJo… We’re gonna make it, and JoJo’s gonna get naked!”
Kicking the nest of yellow jackets, JoJo Hermann led the Panics through a “Greta” opener, riling up the buzzing audience before mellowing out the vibe for an uplifting “Pleas”. The first cover of the evening came in the form of Bloodkin’s “Makes Sense to Me”, the nightly homage to the band’s late comrade, Daniel Hutchens.
Widespread Panic – “Greta” – 1/25/22
[Video: MrTopdogger]
The band tipped caps to the crowd of international travelers by unleashing “Pilgrims”, allowing for Jimmy Herring to run unbridled. JB then manipulated his slide guitar for a lengthy instrumental appetizer, “Party At Your Mama’s House”, and followed with a tantalizing serving of “Ribs and Whiskey.”
Together, JoJo and JB delivered an emotionally charged duet, “Don’t Wanna Lose You”, in memory of their founding bandmate, Michael Houser, before closing the set with a scorching cover of Willie Dixon Lester Butler‘s blues composition, “Tail Dragger”.
View this post on Instagram
Not wasting any time at the start of set two, the band uncaged “Pigeons” for a psychedelic flight around the courtyard as JB called back to the night prior with some Neil Young “Last Dance” lyrics mixed in (“coffee cup is hot and the orange juice is cold, cold, cold”). To follow, JB belted out the lyrics to “Postcard” and voiced the sentiments of all with, “The air here / in Mexico / is fine, fine, fine / We cooked us up / Another ass-kicking time, time, time / This place is nuts! / My kind of Space / I don’t wanna leave / I never wanna leave!”
A euphoric “Chilly Water” depleted the crowd’s cups and canteens, but Panic gently reminded them to get rehydrated with the ecclesiastic blessing of “May Your Glass Be Filled.” Foreshadowing the dreadful day of traveling ahead for some many, Widespread then loaded up an “Airplane” and took off into “Impossible” with Dave Schools and Jimmy Herring in the cockpit.
Sunny Ortiz and Duane Trucks introduced a supernatural “Hatfield” as their dual beat slowly built into the song’s introduction. As is tradition, John Bell channeled the local spirits—this time calling upon the Aztec temples and tombs nearby—to deliver an improvisation that surely will land in the all-time upper echelon of “Hatfield” raps:
I remember Hatfield’s mama / beautiful, big lady / You could see her glowing / sometimes in a crowd/ at football games / some weird rally that we never did/ When we was home playing and it was hot in the summertime / Hatfield’s mama would bring us some nice homemade beer she learned from the home / she knew just that time when we were right almost done playing “Cops n Robbers” / we we’re looking at clouds / right before looking at girls / chip off the old block / Hatfield looked at the clouds and said ‘One day I’m gonna learn / to make it rain / It’s gonna cool us off right here where we lay’ / While we’re daydreaming / Hatfield’s mama come over / She trickle a little beer on us / said ‘I’ll make them dreams come true, boy!’ / We’d sit back / and let the spirits flow, inside!
After a brief pause, JB asked the production crew “Can we get Jimmy some light? Jimmy can’t see his fingers!” Winding down the second set, a bass-heavy “Papa’s Home” wound its way into Tom Petty’s “You Wreck Me”.
Widespread Panic returned for one final encore with Circles Around the Sun keyboardist Adam MacDougall in tow onstage for “another ditty”. Panic’s first and only guest of the run, MacDougall accompanied the band through its first-ever performance of The Doors’ “Roadhouse Blues”, to which JB affixed an improvised “Mama Rap”.
Widespread Panic w/ Adam MacDougall – “Roadhouse Blues” (The Doors) – 1/25/22
[Video: MrTopdogger]
MacDougall stuck around for a run through The Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” for the 15th time ever in the band’s extensive history. As with any of Panic’s other 14 renditions of the song, the crowd roared their appreciation when JB sang, “I was standing in line / with Mr. Jimmy!” Concluding the night with a classic original song, the MacDougall-augmented band wrapped up the Mexican getaway with a scorching “Ain’t Life Grand?”. Most of the night consisted of old-school classics (barring a few notable exceptions), as almost every original played (aside from “DWLY” & “MYGBF”) was debuted prior to 1997.
Galactic finished out PELP’s late-night roster with a nocturnal funk set, while JoJo and his piano played hosted surprise late-night solo set in the lobby. Needless to say, Panic en la Playa Diez was a huge success.
Widespread Panic tour rolls on with shows in Columbia, South Carolina on February 18th–20th shows, followed by March 2022 weekend runs in Las Vegas, NV (3/11–3/13) and St. Augustine, FL (3/25–3/27) Two weekends in March are scheduled in Las Vegas on March 11-13th and St. Augustine on March 25th-27th. For the full 2022 Widespread Panic tour schedule, click here. Scroll down to check out a gallery of photos from the full event.
Revisit Live For Live Music‘s full coverage of Panic En La Playa Diez: Night 1 | Night 2 | Night 3 | Night 4.
View this post on Instagram
Setlist [via PanicStream]: Widespread Panic | Panic En La Playa Diez | Hard Rock Hotel | Riviera Maya, MX | 1/25/22
Set One: Greta > Pleas, Makes Sense To Me, Pilgrims, Party At Your Mama’s House > Ribs & Whiskey, Don’t Wanna Lose You, Tail Dragger (67 mins)
Set Two: Pigeons, Postcard, Chilly Water, May Your Glass Be Filled, Airplane > Impossible > Hatfield, Papa’s Home, You Wreck Me (80 mins)
Encore: Roadhouse Blues*, You Can’t Always Get What You Want* > Ain’t Life Grand* (22 mins)
Notes: * w/ Adam MacDougall on keys (Circles Around the Sun); ‘Roadhouse Blues’ First Time Played (The Doors)
The post Widespread Panic Debuts The Doors Cover With Adam MacDougall At Panic En La Playa Finale [Photos/Videos] appeared first on L4LM.
