Widespread Panic NolaWeen Recap (via Jambase)

Widespread Panic | 10.31 & 11.01 | NOLA

Words by: Frank Etheridge | Images by: Ian Rawn

Widespread Panic :: 10.31.08 & 11.01.08 :: University of New Orleans Lakefront Arena :: New Orleans, LA

JB - WSP :: 10.31 :: NOLA

Epiphanies can be a bit distracting during a show. But, they're also a crucial element of the experience.

A neurological tumbleweed bouncing about the synapses evolved into revelation at the two-minute mark in "Heroes," the third song of Widespread Panic's first set on the second night of its Nolaween run last weekend. After a rollicking "Ain't Life Grand" opener that flowed seamlessly into "Who Do You Belong To?," the band was clearly firing on all cylinders and building up steam for what would be a stellar show, exuding an energy and dialed-in groove that was a far cry from a somewhat disjointed effort on Halloween. The brilliant imagery and themes of "Heroes" - filled with baseball, old friends and lifetimes - must have spawned this tumbleweed and spun it along its meandering course through presidential politics, financial markets in turmoil, a world at war and existential angst over "Why I am doing this all over again?" into - BOOM! - the moment at hand.

And what a glorious moment it was. Panic was gearing up to dot the exclamation point on their triumphant return to New Orleans for Halloween, a cherished tradition that had been dormant since 2002. The two-night run found the fanbase and band in high spirits, the University of New Orleans Lakefront Arena teaming with an estimated 16,000 fans over two nights that were A) on the first night, a crazed costume party marked by excellent cover choices that were a tip of the hat to the host city, and B) on the second night, Panic at its best, a rhythm-and-riff frenzy interspersed around perfect poetry.

10.31.08

JoJo - WSP :: 10.31 :: NOLA

After opener Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, the Halloween celebration began with zombies chasing one another and a haunted/abandoned house as the stage backdrop. Keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann and frontman John "JB" Bell took top prizes for band costumes. JoJo was a stormtrooper from Star Wars, not removing his mask even during his singing parts. JB was an apparition of sorts, taking the form of what could be described as an angel or ghost with a flowing white gown accented with glow-sticks on his wrists. Guitarist Jimmy Herring donned a butcher's apron for a spell, and while drummer Todd Nance and percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz only briefly sported goofy hats, bassist Dave Schools allowed zombies to maul him at setbreak to join in the Halloween spirit.

Try as you might, but you'll never guess Panic's choices for its annual Halloween covers. However, many a fan has pined for a Credence Clearwater Revival cover, not only for the quality of the material but also similarities in the band's sounds and JB's sweet vocal growls being a pitch perfect match for John Fogerty. After a "Happy Halloween" greeting from Bell, the band launched into a solid cover of "Born on the Bayou," with Bell singing this first-time cover as if he'd been doing it for years.

"Born on the Bayou" proved to be the only cover of the first set, which was highlighted by a rocking "Worry" to close it out. Yet the band's energy seemed a bit subdued and even quintessential classics such as "Pigeons" and "Diner" never reached their typical high-water mark. The lack of continuity was evident by the silence after the instrumental "Disco," which usually serves as a launching pad for bigger tunes that follow.

Widespread Panic :: 10.31 :: NOLA

The second set kicked off with a double dose of the band's friend and frequent collaborator Vic Chesnutt with his "Protein Shake" > "Sewing Machine," one of the best additions to the WSP canon in recent years, a quirky, heavy and haunting tune perfect for the night with its line, "I wanna be a vampire on Halloween." Aerosmith's "Mama Kin" came next and was executed to full classic-rock glory. Muddy Water's "Baby Please Don't Go" and The Rolling Stones' "Time Waits For No One" soon followed. The encore consisted of Ike & Tina Turner's "Proud Mary" followed by the Stones' "Brown Sugar," an excellent ending song where the talented Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews expertly filled in the horn sections. Immediately afterward, the always-gracious JB gave a hug to Andrews, an early-twenties former prodigy that has seemed destined for the big stage ever since recently deceased New Orleans photographer Michael P. Smith famously captured him onstage at Jazz Fest as a little boy, Bo Diddley towering over him, his trombone twice his size (check the pic here).

As usual, Panic chose great covers to highlight its Halloween show, and for the most part played them perfectly. Perhaps it was due to the introduction of all this new material, but the band never truly seemed to jam their way down the rabbit hole to that magical, mad place where Panic thrives. But one look at the general-admission floor, which was a constantly gyrating throng of pink rabbits, purple dinosaurs and Cookie Monsters, and you knew the show was a damn fine time.

11.01.08

Dave Schools - WSP :: 10.31 :: NOLA

Saturday night was the yin to Halloween's yang. While the first night was highlighted by the songs of others, Saturday night was full-on Panic, a solid showcase of old and new material. While the band seemed unable to make the connections necessary for improvisation par excellence on Halloween, on Saturday night, they rolled from start to finish.

After thanking opener Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, JB stated the obvious with "We love New Orleans." After the trio of songs mentioned at the beginning, Panic kicked into high gear with a thunderous intro into "Impossible," which segued flawlessly into "Radio Child," where Schools and Nance simply dominated. New tunes "Three Candles" and "Already Fried" followed and kept the energy high before the band turned to set staples "Holden Oversoul" into "Love Tractor" to close the set.

Like a heavyweight battling in a title bout, by the time JB drawled "Round 10" before the "Henry Parsons" second-set closer, you know Panic had given it their all. The second set opening "Walk on the Flood" was written by Bell in the wake of the tragedy of the Virginia Tech shootings, but its title and theme could apply to New Orleans and its recovery from Katrina (in fact, sales of this single benefit the band's eco-friendly housing initiative in the lower Ninth Ward). Ivan Neville took to the keys for War's "Slippin' Into Darkness," where he joined Bell for some excellent vocal harmonizing. During the second chorus of the "Red Hot Mama" that followed, Neville's frenetic play pushed the envelope and provided one of the best musical moments of the weekend. The remainder of the set was stellar, with "Chilly Water" sandwiched around Parliament's "Maggot Brain," which was marked by a spacey intro led by Herring.

Despite the mastery and muscle shown in both sets Saturday night, the encore that would complete this Nolaween run was a short, simple "Pilgrims." While a Panic classic with beautiful lyrics that encapsulate the bonds that bind fan to band, the selection of just this down-tempo number irked many in the audience, with audible groans coming after it was obvious the show was over.

In a dark, dive-y French Quarter bar, two Panic fans discussed the shows as dawn neared. One man harped on setlist selections and the "Pilgrims" encore, while the other's rebuttal consisted of ephemeral notions of vibe and connectivity. Panic is a band that produces passion and lives very close to their fans' hearts. They are "Heroes" to these "Pilgrims" who, in the wake of an experience that brought about a union of Panic, New Orleans and Halloween, will "never let a single memory fade away."

10.31.08 :: New Orleans, LA
Set One: Born On The Bayou, Pigeons, Time Zones, Disco, Diner > Greta > Christmas Katie > Her Dance Needs No Body, Worry
Set Two: Protein Drink > Sewing Machine, Mama Kin, Mercy > Baby, Please Don't Go, Time Waits For No One, Blight, Surprise Valley > Drums > Surprise Valley > Imitation Leather Shoes
E: Proud Mary, Brown Sugar*
* with Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews on trombone

11.01.08 :: New Orleans, LA
Set One: Ain't Life Grand > Who Do You Belong To?, Heroes > Impossible > Radio Child, Three Candles > Already Fried, Holden Oversoul > Love Tractor
Set Two: Walk On The Flood, Slippin' Into Darkness* > Red Hot Mama** > Hatfield, Machine > Barstools and Dreamers, You Should Be Glad, Chilly Water > Maggot Brain > Chilly Water, Henry Parsons Died
E: Pilgrims
* with Ivan Neville on keyboards, Steve Lopez on percussion
** with Ivan Neville on keyboards

Panic Webcast / Surprises are in store as Widespread Panic returns to New Orleans for Halloween

WSP Halloween Webcast

JB :: Halloween '07 by K. Quinn

As a special Halloween treat this year, Widespread Panic will be webcasting their Halloween October 31 show from UNO Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, LA in its entirety on iClips.net.

Check iClips.net starting at 7 p.m. CST.

Tonight's broadcast will utilize QuickTime. To ensure that the broadcast works properly for you, please make sure you have the most up-to-date version of the QuickTime Plugin.

If you are using Windows XP, ensure that you have Service Pack 2 installed before you update your QuickTime Plugin.

Posted by Keith Spera, Music writer, The Times-Picayune

Widespread Panic returns to New Orleans for Halloween for the first time since 2002.

However Widespread Panic vocalist John Bell costumes for his band's sold-out Halloween concert at the Lakefront Arena, it won't be as a chicken. Or Ignatius J. Reilly.

In 1997, the first year the Georgia jam band spent Halloween at the arena, Bell masked as the "A Confederacy of Dunces" hero, complete with hunting cap and pillow-enhanced belly. For Halloween '05 in Las Vegas, he wore a full-body chicken suit. Neither was conductive to singing and playing guitar for three hours under stage lights.

"Hopefully it won't be something that's too uncomfortable," Bell said of his costume during a recent phone interview. "I've had a few choices that kept me pretty hot and bothered."

If past years are any indication, the jam-packed Lakefront Arena will be plenty humid as Panic fans from around the country celebrate one of the most anticipated events on their calendar.

In 2002, the band played three consecutive sold-out nights at the Lakefront Arena for Halloween. Since then, the annual blowout has moved to other cities, in part because Hurricane Katrina rendered the Lakefront Arena unusable until this summer.

"Suffice it to say, we're happy to get back," Bell said. "We missed our city. Even though we're not native to it, New Orleans has been really good to us over the years."

Halloween concerts demand not just costumes, but surprise cover songs as well. In 2002, Panic rendered Nelly's "Hot in Herre."

"I forget who introduced that to us," Bell said. "I wasn't listening to much radio, so I wasn't familiar with it until somebody brought it up. Knowing his mischievous nature, it was probably JoJo (Hermann, the band's keyboardist).

"It was fun. There are a lot of words in there; I skipped over a few. And the kids, they knew the song. I'm just an old fuddy-duddy."

What they'll unveil this weekend is a closely guarded secret. Fans meticulously chronicle set lists and cross-reference songs by when they were last played. The musicians tune all that out when constructing a set list.

"Pretty much that's our territory. People can have their wishes, but it's enough of a task just trying to please ourselves. To try to run around chasing the tail of the audience, as far as what we might think they want. . . . It's like bringing gum to class. If you're going to be fair about it, you need to take requests from everybody."

"Suffice it to say, we're happy to get back," John Bell said of Widespread Panic's return to New Orleans for Halloween. "We missed our city. Even though we're not native to it, New Orleans has been really good to us over the years."

Panic's long affiliation with New Orleans includes a periodic creative partnership with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and support for other local bands. Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue opens for Panic tonight; Ivan Neville's DumpstaPhunk is on the bill for Saturday's show, for which tickets are still available.

Widespread Panic is also in regular rotation at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Panic's 2½-hour show was the longest of the 2008 Jazzfest.

"Which some people like, some people don't," Bell said. "That's born out of what we do as Widespread Panic. We play three, 3½ hours. When we go to festivals, whether it's Bonnaroo or Jazzfest . . . the kids who jump in front of the stage to see Widespread Panic are expecting a little longer performance time.

"In no way do we want to screw with tradition or think we're more deserving of attention than anybody else. We want to be able to deliver to some extent what the expectations of a Widespread Panic show might be. For a festival, 2½ hours feels about right to really get our ya-ya's out."

Panic left more than memories in New Orleans. The band sponsored a house in Brad Pitt's Make It Right redevelopment in the Lower 9th Ward; Panic fans are also collecting money for an additional house.

"It's really a hip project," Bell said. "They've got a team in there helping folks with finances as far as being able to maintain these houses, and how to work all the eco-friendly systems. It's helping to build the community, not just the structures."

During the 2002 Halloween stand at the Lakefront Arena, unofficial parking lot entrepreneurs peddled photos of founding Widespread Panic guitarist Michael "Mikey" Houser alongside the usual assortment of quesadillas and glass pipes. Houser had died of pancreatic cancer that summer. Fans still harbor fond memories of him.

"You can feel it when you're doing some of his songs," Bell said. "And there is a Neil Young song we do that has a reference, 'Met a friend who plays guitar.' You can hear the kids give a little whoop out in the audience. I'm fairly certain that's in memory of Mikey."

Initially, the band recruited longtime friend George McConnell to step in for Houser. More recently, Panic installed North Carolina guitarist Jimmy Herring as lead guitarist.

He and Houser "are different personalities, just the way you carry on a conversation," Bell said. "Mikey would flip the switch and was gone, non-stop from the beginning of the set to the end. We'd play alongside each other, but I'd be moving in and out and riding on that wave.

"There's a little more obvious two-way give and take with Jimmy. But as it spreads out throughout the whole band, the ebbs and flows and the momentum and harmonies and energy swells, it's palpable. Jimmy really knows what's going on."

Looking ahead, the band anticipates a lighter touring schedule in 2009. But they don't intend to take a yearlong hiatus, as in 2004.

"It felt weird," Bell said of that break. "When you do something repetitively for almost 20 years, and then curtail that activity, you lose a little bit of rhythm. I felt a little bit lost. I had a lot of fun, but it was a strange experience.

"It helped remind you of how much fun it really was to be in a band, and not take it for granted. You do something for that long, it's easy to go, 'That's just what we do. It's no big deal.' Then when you don't do it for a while, you're like, 'Wow, I really miss playing.' "