Widespread Panic offered their final show of five at New York's Beacon Theatre on Monday night, paying homage to two classic New York City bands - The Ramones and Talking Heads - as well as serving up some of their most sought-after originals like "The Waker."
Overall, the run was an impressive showcase of the band's endurance. They welcomed no guests, and shouldered all 10 sets themselves.
Yet, as exhibited by Monday night, the sextet remained light on their feet playing their first version of "I Wanna Be Sedated" since the band's 2016 Halloween run in NYC, before sinking into a rockin' "Travelin' Light." Adding even more celebratory vibes to the performance, March 2 was also lighting designer Paul Hoffman's 800th show with the band.
The band's ode to science fiction "Imitation Leather Shoes" came later, but the most rocking moment of the half arrived with their always-intense instrumental "Love Tractor," which closed the set after being jammed out of Ain't Life Grand's "Jack."
Set two wasted zero time, opening with the aforementioned version of "The Waker." (The Mikey Houser original was shelved for upwards of 15 years, but returned on 12/31/18, and has now been performed three additional times since.)
Another standout moment in WSP's fiery final frame was a massive "Hatfield"> "Impossible"> "Saint Ex"> "Tie Your Shoes" that bled into its own freeform "Jam."
And while the band completed their Beacon run with zero teases of the Allman Brothers, there were flickers of the band's rock forebearers in certain tunes, as they teased the Grateful Dead's "The Other One" in "Impossible" and The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" in "Saint Ex."
After a set-closing "North," Widespread Panic thanked New York City and celebrated their impressive run with a pairing of Talking Heads cuts - "City of Dreams" and "Life During Wartime" - before taking their final bow. (Note: Like "I Wanna Be Sedated," "Life During Wartime" was originally debuted at Widespread Panic's 2016 Halloween run in NYC.)
Check out the full setlist - as it appears in our Box Scores section - and watch clips of "The Waker" and "Life During Wartime" via YouTube below:
Widespread Panic
March 2, 2020
Beacon Theatre New York, NY
Set I: I Wanna Be Sedated*, Travelin’ Light, Old Neighborhood, Imitation Leather Shoes, The Last Straw > Pleas, Rock, Jack > Love Tractor
Set II: The Waker, Pigeons, Hatfield > Impossible^ > Saint Ex^^ > Tie Your Shoes > Jam, Nobody’s Loss, North
Enc: City of Dreams, Life During Wartime
Notes:
*Last time played 10/30/16
^The Other One tease after song
^^Won’t Get Fooled Again tease after song
Source: Panicstream.com
