Photos by Tim Dwenger
The Scene: As we rolled into Red Rocks on Friday it was a familiar scene of roving vendors and tailgate parties as the anticipation in the crowd built for Widespread Panic to kick off their annual three night run on our hallowed home court. The evening started with John Bell (JB) saying a few words about the Special Olympics before the four Colorado athletes competing this summer in Los Angeles were introduced on stage as torchbearers displayed the flame which was making it’s way through Colorado enroute to Los Angeles where the games will open on July 25th.
Widespread Panic: Widespread Panic kicked off their 46th consecutive sold-out show at Red Rocks on Friday night with “Pilgrims” from their 1993 release Everyday. Though the song has a bit of a loping feel, it gave the crowd a chance to settle in with an old favorite before the band tore into “Pigeons” and the place came unhinged as JoJo laid into his clavinet. Sticking with early 90’s material, “Wondering” came next and as I looked around the rocks, it seemed like everyone was in a blissful state as they sang along in the fading evening sun.
Being a huge fan of The Band myself, I was thrilled to hear the first notes of “Ophelia” ring out, and ecstatic when the boys followed it up with “The Shape I’m In” just as they had during last year’s Sunday show [Editor’s Note: Read that review here]. I was secretly hoping for the intro to “Chest Fever” to rear it’s beautiful head as it had last year, but alas that wasn’t to be again. Instead the band served up a “Proving Ground” sandwich that featured crowd favorite “Chilly Water” as the meat. And meaty it was! As is the custom at Panic shows, the air was filled with “chilly wet water” as fans went wild for the Space Wrangler classic. “Pickin’ Up The Pieces” and Jerry Joseph’s “North” rounded out the strong set and the band headed to the wings for a break.
After kicking the second stanza off with “Makes Sense To Me;” “Dyin’ Man,” “Conrad” and “Shut Up and Drive” proved to be a raging three song segment that let the capacity crowd blow off a little steam as darkness fully enveloped us. A ten minute take on “Blight” foreshadowed a little bit of the spacey direction the set was heading in, but not before the band showcased one of their signature covers with a typically raging take on The Talking Heads “Life During Wartime”.
What followed was a big surprise for many in the crowd when JB announced that our own (on loan to New Orleans indefinitely) CR Gruver (Polytoxic, New Orleans Suspects) would be joining them on keys. CR emerged with a big grin on his face and took a seat with JoJo at the keyboard rig as the band launched into “It Ain’t No Use”. CR made his presence known on The Meters’ gem as he and JoJo took over midway through the tune and sparred on a long solo that Herring pushed to a nice peak with a building guitar line. The band yielded the stage to Sunny and Duane after a little while for a drum duel, but that wasn’t the last we saw of CR as he returned for a jam that led into the key heavy “Ribs & Whiskey”. Again, he made the Denver faithful proud as he kept up with JoJo and maybe even taught him a thing or two as his fingers danced on the ivories.
CR tipped his hat to the crowd and slipped into the darkness and the band closed the show with the pairing of Neil Young’s “Walk On” and their own seminal “Ain’t Life Grand.” While the encore featured two new tunes in “Cease Fire” and “Jamais Vu” which sapped a little bit of energy from the crowd, JB and company kicked things into high gear with “Going Out West” to wrap up the 25 minute encore and close out the first of three nights on the rocks.
Energy: A
Musicianship: A-
Sound: A-
Stage Presence: B
Set / Light Show: B+
Overall: B+
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