Widespread Panic Attack in Milwaukee

WSP Opens its Tour as Spreadheads Descend from Across the Country

If a book was written about creating and maintaining a fanatic fanbase, one of the collaborators would have to be Widespread Panic. Amply demonstrated by these statistics—a record-setting 60 consecutive sold-out shows at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado, 20 sellouts at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, headlining most major US festivals, including Bonnaroo (8 times), Lollapalooza, and many others.

Widespread Panic’s 2021-2022 tour kicked off in Milwaukee last Thursday, October 21, with a four-night stand of sold-out shows at the historic Riverside Theater. This was the band’s 15^th year performing in Milwaukee. Since the band’s first Milwaukee show in 2006, the Riverside Theater has been an annual stop interrupted only by the Covid pandemic.

Widespread Panic no longer tours every major US city. Instead, they select a handful of cities where they will perform extended, multi-night runs. The band picks venues they enjoy playing in as well as cities their fans can travel to and feel welcome.

The Band

Widespread Panic began playing over 30 years ago. Founded by John Bell, Dave Schools, and the late Michael Houser in Athens, GA, while students at the University of Georgia, the band began playing in fraternities, bars, and clubs traveling through the South and Eastern US.

The band is a Southern rock band, showing influences of blues, progressive rock, funk, and hard rock. Most songs are original to the band, although they include a number of covers bearing their special style.

Widespread Panic is currently comprised of Jimmy Herring (lead guitar/vocals), John Bell (guitar/vocals), Dave Schools (bass/vocals), John “JoJo” Hermann (keyboards/vocals), Duane Trucks (drums), and Domingo “Sunny” Ortiz (percussion/vocals).

The band has released 12 studio and 11 live albums generating sales of over 3 million units, as well as over 4 million downloads over the past 30 years. Despite this success, the draw of Widespread Panic is truly in their live performances.

They are known for never playing the same show twice, typically choosing the setlist for a night shortly before the gig. And as they said repeatedly for the benefit of their fans, “never miss Sunday night!”

The Songs

For the uninitiated, there won’t be any big Widespread Panic hits to recognize. Since this is best described as a jam band, fans won’t be drawn necessarily because of hit songs. Instead, the draw will be the live performance experience.

Watching Widespread Panic live draws instant comparisons with the Grateful Dead. Their style is free-flowing, friendly, and intuitive. Because no live show is like another, fans never know quite what to expect, which only increases the attraction of the band for many.

The Thursday night show had a specific setlist of 20 songs, featuring tracks covering the band’s entire career. However, as was typical for the band, each song offered extended jams, improvisations, and blended transitions, which, at times, made one wonder where one song ended and the next began. The jams were free-flowing but often came around to tight riffs between the band members.

The show began shortly after 8:00 pm and the crowd roared as the band walked on stage, picked up their instruments, and launched into “Bust It Big.” No introductions were offered, nor were any needed.

The first set included a cover of James Taylor’s “Knockin’ Round the Zoo.” Other than the name, it’s unlikely much in the way of comparison exists between the original and Panic’s take on the song.

Duane Truck’s staccatos on the drums started off the song “Better Off” which evolved into the Panic classic “Pickin’ Up the Pieces.” Extended jams continued through the set with “Jaded Tourist,” “You Should Be Glad,” “Rebirtha” and “Let’s Get the Show on the Road.” John Bell’s vocals during “Let’s Get the Show on the Road” evoked a comparison with Dave Mason. The set ended with the hard-driving Junior Kimbrough cover, “Junior.”

The second set opened with “Surprise Valley,” a song starting with a long funky beat and showing off Jimmy Herring’s guitar wizardry.

This led into the beginning strains of “Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” by JoJo Hermann on the keyboard and John Bell belting out the lyrics. The band transitioned into an hour-long jam of “Shut Up and Drive,” “Impossible,” “Cease Fire,” and “Jamais Vu” before heading into reprises of “Low Spark” and “Surprise Valley.”

Each band member had the opportunity to shine through many solos and improv set pieces during the night. The second set included an extended Duane Trucks drum solo leading to a percussion showdown between Trucks and Domingo Ortiz on bongos.

The band came out for an encore following the second set and ended the show with fan-favorite “Imitation Leather Shoes.”

At almost 4 hours long, the show ended with many ecstatic and exhausted fans.

The Fans

Widespread Panic seems to be as much of a phenomenon as they are a band, as evidenced through interactions with fans on the floor and throughout the auditorium. The insanely loyal fanbase instantly brings to mind Deadheads, Phish Heads (‘aphisianados’?), and DMB fans. Fans who latch onto a tour and devote a significant amount of time and money to following their idols.

Most of the sold-out crowd traveled to Milwaukee planning to attend all four nights. The show’s promoters claimed that all 48 continental states would be represented for the weekend.

As I made my way through the crowd in the pit before the show started, several people offered stickers of various shapes and sorts—from rainbow smiley faces to ‘you are beautiful’ to band stickers. Many ended up gracing my shirt.

When people learned that this was my first Panic show, the stories of their experiences flowed. Matt, a Georgia native who now lives in Colorado, said he has seen over 200 shows, including the last 13 years of shows in Milwaukee. Brian from Denver has been to about 250 shows, including over 50 at Red Rocks. Brian gave me a treasure—a beer koozie from a Panic Red Rocks show in 2013.

The list of marathon attendees goes on: Father and son, Clayton and Jarvis from Cedar Rapids, IA, have been to 65 and 40 shows, respectively. Amy from Sheboygan has been to 118. A ‘Hooker’ from Colorado (a married name, not a profession), estimated she has been to between 200-300 shows. Burns, who hails from Vail, CO, and came with a small group, said he has attended somewhere between 100-150 shows. He gave me a band pin, featuring a silhouetted Dave Schools on top of an outlined Harley-Davidson logo.

What motivates the loyalty of Spreadheads? Many will grasp the sound and contagious good energy vibes promoted, sought after, and achieved by the band members. After that, for most, it will also be the feeling of a close community. Lots of camaraderie, high-fives, and hugging were witnessed throughout the night. One fan told me she has made many lifelong friends through Widespread Panic. Another who planned to continue following the band for a few weeks on this tour expected to see a lot of the same faces at upcoming shows.

Jen from Colorado summed it up for me this way. “My parents were hippies and huge Deadheads. By the time I started going to shows, the Dead were a little past their prime. I started going to Panic shows in Ithaca, NY, in 1993 when they were a bar band and have followed them ever since.” Widespread Panic has been a significant part of Jen’s life: “I’ve grown up with them and have watched them evolve ever since those bar band days.”

The crowd at the theater was pretty evenly mixed as far as gender was concerned, with ages appearing mostly from the 20s to the 50s. Not a hugely diverse crowd from an ethnic standpoint. As the show progressed, the number of people swaying and dancing to the music increased, due perhaps in equal measures to the atmosphere, liquid lubrication, and bountiful recreational drugs present. I did politely decline one proffered gummy from a quite large guy on the balcony.

Milwaukee-area hotels, restaurants, bars, and other businesses were happy to have the Widespread Panic run at the Riverside. Gary Witt, co-owner and CEO of the Pabst Theater Group, estimated that the four-night run would generate at least $8.6 million in revenue for the city.

My new best friend, Burns, was very enthusiastic about his experiences in Milwaukee. He said: “Milwaukee is great, it’s clean, so easy to get around, and is so welcoming.” He contrasted this to New Orleans, his next destination on the Panic tour, where he expected 45-minute Uber rides, more urban grit, and congestion.

Widespread Panic’s tour continues on to New Orleans, Chicago, Atlanta, New York City, Riviera Maya, and Napa. For the list of tour dates, visit https://widespreadpanic.com/shows/.

All shows appear to be sold out, so you’ll have to try your best with ticket resellers!

As a postscript to the versatility and extensive catalog of Widespread Panic, the setlists for all four Milwaukee shows included 84 songs. No song was repeated twice!

Milwaukee Riverside Theater

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Setlist

Set 1:

Bust It Big

Knockin’ ‘Round The Zoo (James Taylor cover)

Better Off

Pickin’ Up the Pieces

Jaded Tourist

You Should Be Glad

Rebirtha

Let’s Get The Show On The Road (Michael Stanley Band cover)