Photo Credit: Josh Timmermans

Last night, Widespread Panic concluded their five-night residency at the renowned Beacon Theatre in New York City. The ensemble delivered two packed sets that included teases of the Lowell George standard “Spanish Moon” and The Beatles’ seminal number “Day Tripper.”  The Georgia natives went on to bust out Col. Bruce Hampton’s “Basically Frightening,” Black Sabbath’s “Fairies Wear Boots,” and David Bowie’s “Heroes” during their jam-packed encore performance, which marked their fourth-ever five-song encore that stretched on for 40-minutes. 

Widespread Panic’s Monday night concert got underway with a segued pairing of “Saint Ex” into “Hatfield.” For the following number, the band jammed through “Pilgrims” before jumping into “This Part of Town,” which featured refined instrumentals by the band. The first set continued with “Thought Sausage” before they covered Murry McLauchlan’s “Honky Red,” a tune that also appeared on their 2015 LP, Street Dogs. The band’s set came to a close with “Tie Your Shoes,” which included a tease of George’s “Spanish Moon,” before ending on “Blackout Blues.” 

After a set break, Widespread Panic returned to the stage to deliver the second half of their show, which began with an elaborate segued selection of songs that saw departures and returns to many of the set’s illustrious numbers. First, they started with “Disco,” which bled into “Big Wooly Mammoth.” Next, the uninterrupted performance flowed into “Chilly Water” and “Surprise Valley” before breaking into a cover of General Echo’s “Arlene.” The take on Echo’s tune was capped with the reemergence of both “Surprise Valley” and “Chilly Water” before the group moved to “Airplane,” with a “Day Tripper” tease and ended the set on “Postcard” and “Conrad.”

For their encore, Widespread Panic covered a range of songs by musicians close to their hearts. They also put particular thought into the selection, picking bands with B names as a homage to their esteemed location. The extended encore kicked off with a bust-out of Col. Bruce Hampton’s “Basically Frightened,” a tune that was last performed by the band on Nov. 2, 2019. Next, they moved through The Allman Brothers Band’s “Mountain Jam” before a take on BloodKin’s “End of the Show,” which saw John Bell step out on mandolin. 

The five-song encore persisted with a bust out of Black Sabbath’s “Fairies Wear Boots,” a tune the band had not played since Oct. 27, 2018. Finally, Widespread Panic covered David Bowie’s version of “Heroes” for the first time since their Sin City gig on Oct. 27, 2017, to conclude their five-night residency at The Beacon Theatre.

After last night’s monstrous display, the ensemble will take some time off the road before reemerging on Aug. 10 at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta. The band will participate in a four-night residency, stretching through the evening of Aug. 13. For more information on Widespread Panic’s forthcoming tour stops, visit their official website.

Widespread Panic 

The Beacon Theatre – New York City 

July 25, 2022 

Set I: Saint Ex > Hatfield,  Pilgrims, This Part of Town, Thought Sausage, Honky Red*, Tie Your Shoes$ > Blackout Blues 

Set II: Disco > Big Wooly Mammoth > Chilly Water > Surprise Valley > Alreen^ > Surprise Valley% > Chilly Water% > Airplane&, Postcard, Conrad 

Enc.: Basically Frightened#, Mountain Jam, End of the Show+, Fairies Wear Boots=, Heroes@

Notes: 

* Murray McLauchlan cover

$ “Spanish Moon” tease

^ General Echo cover 

% Reprise 

& “Day Tripper” tease John Herman 

# Bust out, last played on Nov. 2, 2019 

+ John Bell on mandolin 

= Bust out, last played on Oct. 27, 2018 

@ David Bowie version. Bust out, last played on Oct. 27, 2017

Setlist via PanicStream.com