Three days after the release of their latest album Don't Tell The
Band, Georgia jammers Widespread Panic wheeled the bus into sunny Morrison,
Colorado for the bands' annual three night run at Red Rocks Amphitheater.

Friday 6/22/01

Friday night's show kicked off with crowd favorite "Little Kin", which
soon segued into "Ain't Life Grand". The set picked up the pace with a
noticeably tight "Junior"-> "L.A.". By this time, a definite theme was
beginning to surface in the song selection. Next came the rare gem "Raise the
Roof", followed by a smokin' "Fishwater" that had all of Red Rocks on their
feet. First set closer "Blackout Blues" cemented the thoughts of the
hardcore Spreadheads. To open up the weekend, Panic had just played their
1994 album Ain't Life Grand in its' entirety.

The second set roared to a start with "Action Man", marking the first
ever performance of the song with its' newly added lyrics. The song was
nailed, and only the crowds' reaction mirrored the intensity of the band.
After "Thought Sausage" and "Little Lilly", many thought the entire DTTB
album was on the way, but "Lilly" slid quietly into "Blue Indian", slowing a
few heart rates and ending all speculation. A ferocious, Red Rocks-sized
"Pigeons" came next. As the jam came to an end, Cody and Luther Dickinson of
(show openers) North Mississippi All-Stars joined the stage, and "Pigeons"
segued into John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillin" – a kind nod by the band to
the blues legends' passing earlier in the week. After relentless guitar
solos from all three guitarists, the song wound to an end and "Drums" began.
For this, Panic's dynamic percussive unit was joined by Cody Dickinson, who
lent the sound of his electric washboard, and Cecil Daniels on midi-horn.
Cecil Daniels (aka P-Nut) rejoined the band later for the shows' encore – a
chilling rendition of the classic "Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys". With one
night down and two to go, everyone at Red Rocks was all smiles.

6/22/01 Red Rocks – Morrison, CO

I: Little Kin-> Aint Life Grand, Can't Get High,
Heroes, Junior-> L.A., Raise the Roof,
Fishwater, Airplane, Jack-> Blackout Blues

II: Action Man, Thought Sausage, Little Lilly->
Blue Indian, Pigeons-> Boogie Chillin*->
Drums**-> Love Tractor-> Pilgrims, All Time
Low

E: Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys***

  • w/ Luther Dickinson on guitar/vocals

w/ Cody Dickinson on washboard

  • w/ Cody Dickinson on washboard

w/ Cecil Daniels (P-Nut) on percussion/horn

  • w/ Cecil Daniels on horn

6/23/01 Widespread Panic Red Rocks – Morrison, CO

After an intense "Radio Child" to open up the second night, the boys of
Panic set the tone with a nasty four song assault of "Machine"-> "Barstools
and Dreamers", "Ride Me High" -> "Tie Your Shoes". "TYS" featured an atypical
jam after the second verse where the band seemed to almost get lost before
slamming back in for the third verse. The set ambled on with a few slower
tunes, allowing time for fans to catch their breath before what would be the
highlight of the set. "Don't Tell The Band", the new albums' title track, was
served up next as the tasty set closer. This was the first ever performance
of the song, and it seemed to go perfectly. If the band was nervous, they
weren't showing it tonight.

"Disco" kicked off the second set festivities – driving the crowd into a
frenzy before segueing nicely into Jerry Joseph's "North". The true Panic
"heat" came a few songs later during a jam out of "Diner". The music peaked
endless times before falling into a strange, funk jam similar to "Boogie
Chillin'" from the previous night. As the thick groove continued into very
unfamiliar territory, keyboardist Jojo Herman lowered his mic and began
singing the lyrics to "Greta". He sang the entire first verse over the
strange, funk beat before the band rocked into the "Greta" music for the
second verse. After that, the song was played as usual – until the jam.
This jam wound up being a full-band jam of "All Along the Watchtower" for
several minutes before finally fizzling out into "Drums". Cecil Daniels
again made his way to the stage, and stayed for a nice run of "Drums"->
"Pusherman", "Pickin Up the Pieces". Then, Spreadheads were treated to a
frantic, straight up Panic "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature" to close the
second set. Luther Dickinson and his guitar appeared onstage for the encore,
where lead singer John "JB" Bell spread his vocal wings for a downright
scary version of "Me & The Devil Blues". Saturday night Panic anthem "Flat
Foot Flewzy" came next, and after a yummy "Turn on Your Lovelight" jam,
brought Saturday night's show to a screaming end.

6/23/01 Widespread Panic Red Rocks – Morrison, CO

I:Radio Child, Machine-> Barstools and Dreamers, Ride Me High-> Tie Your
Shoes->
I'm Not Alone, Dyin Man, Down, Don't Tell The Band

II: Disco-> North, Visiting Day-> Porch Song-> Diner-> Jam > Greta> Jam->
Drums*-> Pusherman**, Pickin Up the Pieces**, No Sugar Tonight/New Mother

Nature

E: Me & the Devil Blues***, Flat Foot Flewzy***

  • w/ Cody Dickinson on drums
    • w/ Cecil Daniels on saxophone
      • w/ Luther Dickinson on guitar

6/24/01 Widespread Panic Red Rocks – Morrison, CO

Perfect weather matched the mood at Red Rocks Sunday afternoon as close
to 10,000 fans milled around the lots awaiting the final day of Widespread
Panic's three night stand. Panic took the stage around 4:15, soaring into
"Pleas" while many people were still inching their way into the amphitheater.
This "Pleas" was a hot one, and soon fell into the new cruncher "Imitation
Leather Shoes". Bassist Dave Schools let loose with some thunderous bombs
that left both bodies and rocks trembling. Overall, it was a mellow, Sunday
afternoon-style first set, highlighted later by an absolutely flawless run of
"Trouble" > "Driving Song"> "Can't Find My Way Home"-> "Driving Song" that
almost caused tears.

For the second set, the boys shot out of the gate with "Let's Get Down To
Business" – a pretty senseless statement after the two previous nights of
great Panic. A couple tunes later, "Sleeping Man" marked the beginning of
the funk-filled set. The song was jammed nicely by all members of the band,
and after some sweet improvisation segued into the bouncing instrumental
"Happy". After "Drums" came "This Part of Town", whose lyric "Tell me
brother can you see the sun from where your standing now?" seemed almost too
fitting for the situation. As "TPOT" came to a close, Schools started in
with the bassline to the Talking Heads' "Swamp". This is a rare one in
Panicland, and proved to be one of the major highlights of Sunday afternoons'
show. "Swamp" raged to unbelievable "High, High, High, High, Highs!" before
Jojo led the intro to a "Climb to Safety" set closer. For the encore, we got
what one fan called "The nastiest encore ever!" – a sick "Papa's Home"->
"Surprise Valley"-> "Papa's Home" sandwich, followed by the always
appropriate Talking Heads' cover "City of Dreams".

With three more epic nights of Panic in the books, many were left simply
shaking their heads in disbelief. "The shows were so dirty," one fan shared,
"we're going to have to scrub extra hard to get all this dirt off!" I think
he said it best.

6/24/01 Red Rocks – Morrison, CO

I: Pleas-> Imitation Leather Shoes, Walkin'(For Your Love)-> C. Brown, Better
Off,
Trouble-> Driving Song-> Can't Find My Way Home-> Driving Song, Travelin
Light

II: Lets Get Down To Business, One Arm Steve, Old Joe, Sleeping Man-> Happy->
Bear's Gone Fishin-> Jam-> Drums*, This Part of Town, Swamp-> Climb to
Safety

E: Papa's Home-> Surprise Valley-> Papa's Home, City of Dreams

  • w/ Cecil Daniels (P-Nut) on percussion