Photos by Tim Dwenger
The Scene: The tradition of the Sunday afternoon matinee as a grand finale to Widespread Panic’s annual Red Rocks stand is damn near timeless and, this past Sunday, the band and their fans proved why yet again. Beach balls bounced around a hot and sweaty crowd that smelled like “ladies lying in the sun” due to all the sunscreen applied to fend off the baking mid-day sun, and there was a carefree, beach party attitude in the air. For a lot of folks, this show may be the only one of the run they attend these days, and for others it signals the official start of summer. However you look at it, Panic’s Sunday afternoon throwdown on The Rocks is always one hell of a good time.
Widespread Panic: With all the hoopla of their 50th consecutive sell-out behind them, JB and the boys came out of the gates charging with the instrumental “The Take Out” on Sunday afternoon and the feel good afternoon of music was upon us. After takes on “Blackout Blues” and “Lil Kin” the band lit into the first of several covers for the day. The pairing of “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl” and JJ Cale’s “Travelin’ Light” got even the casual fans singing along.
“Old Neighborhood” could have been construed as a nod to the band’s longstanding Red Rocks tenancy and devoted Colorado fanbase and then they went back to the early 90’s as they delivered a strong “Who Do You Belong To?” The covers continued with Jorma Kaukonen’s “Genesis” and then the boys dropped a pair of tunes debuted in the mid-2000’s with “Up All Night” and “You Should Be Glad.”
With setbreak upon us, fatigue was settling in for some who were already five sets deep for the weekend, but Panic picked up on the vibe and delivered a smokin’ second set that got off with a bang when they dropped into the brilliant pairing of “Disco” and Tom Waits’ “Going Out West.” While it was a strong start, they weren’t done yet as they kept us moving with “Bear’s Gone Fishing” and “Rock” before dropping the third pairing of The Band’s “Ophelia” and “The Shape I’m In” in the last three Red Rocks runs. There must be something about Morrison that makes these guys from Georgia want to pay tribute to The Band.
As the sun was dipping down behind the mountains “Ribs and Whiskey” whet our whistles for a pair of timely bust-outs: “Time Zones” and “Time Is Free.” Another fan favorite cover in Traffic’s “Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” followed before they wrapped up the sixth set of the weekend with “Love Tractor.”
The start to the encore got mixed reviews from my crew, with some voicing their disgust at JB tackling the venerable Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” but I for one thought the band handled it quite well and I frankly couldn’t really imagine another of today’s top Jambands doing any kind of justice to the tune – so kudo’s to the boys for having the balls to serve this one up before wrapping things up with two longtime favorites as they segued from “Postcard” into “Porch Song” to close out the run.
With the rumors swirling that Widespread Panic will stop touring after 2016, time will tell if Red Rocks will make the cut for 2017. If the Red Rocks stand makes the schedule again, tickets are sure to be even harder to come by than they have the past few years. Time to start banking your ticket karma!
Energy: A+
Musicianship: A
Sound: A
Stage Presence: B
Set/Light Show: N/A
Overall: A-
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