I haven\'t heard it yet, but here is a review from last night\'s show. I haven\'t heard ANYONE with something negative to say about the show / Jimmy, which is pretty strange for Panic fans (at least for the last few years). It is not up yet, but
http://www.panicstream.com usually get\'s the shows up for stream pretty fast (a link to the show torrent is up, however). Did anyone from .info go to the show? I hope at least a few of you are planning to hit up the show in Wallingford...
OK, you know that old cliche "back to square 1." Well, Widespread
Panic completely redefined where square one exists for them last
night. Thursday night at the Radio City Music Hall, the band I\'ve
been seeing for as long as the Braves have been winning NL East titles
introduced us to a new era. Heck, let\'s not beat around the bush,
this was no "how do you do?" -- last night they introduced themselves
to the Jimmy Herring Era by sticking their fist into its virginal
orifice. Whatever happens from here on out, last night redefined the
new starting point and we can always go back and say: it was pure
sweetness on September 14th.
The first set was an all-out arousal of a foreplay. I knew when I
walked into the venue that the night had "special" written all over
it, and when the band walked on stage it was all over. It was the
*way* they walked on stage. The members of Widespread Panic as we\'ve
known them walked to their respective places and paused for a
perceptible *moment*. And then... oh, baby! And then... Jimmy
Herring walked out. Crowd goes wild, end of story, good night.
This band suffered a serious ailment several years ago and had one of
its vital organs removed. They tried a transplant, but the body kept
rejecting it. For a stretch of shows last tour they took that one out
and put themselves on rock and roll dialysis. Last night a new
miracle donor appeared, and when Jimmy Herring walked on stage, they
were whole again.
It took about 5 notes for me to know it was right. The intro to
"Pleas" was slightly extended and Herring took absolutely no time at
all -- nary a nanosecond -- to make his presence felt. Presence.
That\'s what it was all about. Jimmy was Jimmy, there was no doubt,
but he was channeling Michael Houser\'s spirit while maintaining what
it was to be Jimmy Herring at the same time. Your hypothetical
scenario about how good you hoped it would be were met within the
first measure of the introduction to "Pleas." It was the best of all
worlds, the worst of none.
It felt good, I shook. Pleas > Imitation Leather Shoes and I had a
big ass Panic-is-back smile on my face. When they started up Rebirtha
I could barely contain myself. Oh my, was this nailed. I wrote three
exclamation marks on my setlist and text-messaged Tanen: "Holy Shit."
That\'s all I needed to say. There were no training wheels to take
off, Jimmy was prepared.
The whole night was 100% cringe-free and trainwreck-free. When\'s the
last time you can say that happened? 100%. Actually, I did cringe --
when they started up Blackout Blues, but that had nothing to do with
the band, that song always makes me cringe, and last night it was as
flat and lifeless as ever. Put it on the shelf, please.
Second set. Good lord, that second set. Here\'s where Jimmy and the
rest of the band sent a message: get out your frequent flier miles,
prepare to sleep on hotel room floors, this band is worth
cross-country flights again. You Got Yours, You Should Be Glad >
Wondering > Bear\'s Gone Fishing > Arleen!!! What a dream, what a
dream. Each song, the intensity building, the comfort level rising,
the crowd taking it up a notch. The room was heaven last night and
this was the stairway. Jimmy\'s playing was perfectly tailored for
Panic and here\'s where it showed. It started during "Glad" where Jojo
was funking it out on the clavinet and Jimmy was soloing on top of him
and underneath him and never stepping on his toes. He was playing
*between* the notes and it was the way Panic was meant to be played.
I\'ve missed that. His one ball-drop was during Wondering, when,
during the 1st inter-verse solo he kind of spaced on the beginning,
and then he picked up so by the time it reached that short climax he
was sending Houser-chills through my body. Lemons meet lemonade, no
train wreck.
The jam in Wondering! Do I have space for that? Probably not,
because that Bear\'s Gone Fishing was quickly on its heels. Sinking
deep into a Phil-and-Friends-esque jam -- here\'s where Jimmy shows he
can also take control. The band was certainly willing to be both lead
and follow all night long and the crowd was along for the ride as they
sunk deep into WSPLand with nice segue jams, beautiful interplay and a
lot of intense rock and roll.
Arleen deserves its own essay, it was a thing of such staggering
awesomeness. By this point, Jimmy Herring *was* the lead guitarist
for Widespread Panic. You could watch him and realize that he was
communicating with everyone on stage, through his playing. He did
subtle intrajam call-and-response with Dave; he rode perfectly on the
wave that the drums rested on, surfing that thing to climax after
climax, he softened up to allow Sunny to pepper his solos with
percussion fills, he turned right into JB when he came close, nearly
kissing his guitar to Jimmy\'s sweet axe as they followed each other\'s
fingers and souls. It was a thing of beauty.
I heard a lot about how there were gonna be miscues and how the real
option for this band was Keane and Holt. Let me tell you, no offense,
that if you thought that, you\'re an idiot. If anyone was out of their
league last night, it was John Keane who kept popping up at intervals
last night. I think he\'s a fine player and definitely added some nice
stuff to the mix, particularly the vocals on "You Got Yours" and all
the pedal steel. But Jimmy needed no tutorial, and Keane was putting
the "super" in superfluous almost every time he strapped his guitar
on. I mean no disrespect, John Keane has meant a lot to this band and
was probably the most instrumental factor in keeping this band going.
He *was* the dialysis machine and no one would say that wasn\'t
indispensable. But Widespread Panic has a brand new replacement which
is taking just fine, I think. I cannot wait to see what they do next.
