Widespread Panic & Army of Spreadheads return to Milwaukee’s Riverside Theater
[All photos are from Friday’s show.]
Milwaukee is a never-miss for the diehard Spreadheads’ pilgrimage to see the the Six-Headed Monster from Athens, Georgia. Widespread Panic delivered three power-packed performances in the Cream City this past weekend. “Wookie” (Milwaukee’s Riverside Theater, arguably the best indoor venue on the tour) continues to roll out the red carpet for the Widespread Panic entourage, with block parties, late-night events, and some of the best hospitality anywhere. WSP pulled several long-loved songs off the shelf, bust-outs, new songs from their latest released albums, covers, and plenty of old school favorites, bringing the heat and delivering everlasting memories each and every night.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24
Day 1: “Blue Indian” kicked off the Wookie weekend into “Contentment Blues” and “Henry Parsons Died,” and the lucky 2500+ were getting their dancing shoes, grooving moves, and sing along vocals bringing the party to full force.. “Good People> Dark Bar > Goodpeople” and our first instrumental, “Happy > 1X1 > King Baby,” closing out the first set with heavy Dave Schools and Jimmy Herring guitars in “Halloween Face,” and set one is done.
Set 2. “Big Wooly Mammoth > Wondering > Walking > Space Wrangler” with the energy at peak levels. “Blue Carousel > Rebertha > Honkey Red,” and during the transition Sunny Ortiz pulled out the recently MIA whistle and was making it seem that this would be “Fishwater”; nope, “Surprise Valley > Drums” with Duane Trucks and Ortiz giving everyone the sweet rhythms and percussions we love so much, back into “Surprise Valley” and closing the set with a pounding-bass “Bowlegged Woman” for the books with John Bell on a Squid Billy rap, letting everyone ponder for few minutes and then…
Encore: Bust out “Help Me Somebody” – 177 shows since last time played (Beacon 02-27-20), JoJo Hermann and the band giving us the fire into an ever-appropriate Bloodkin song “End of the Show” with John Bell playing the “Tiny Guitar” mandolin sending everyone out happy and ready for more!
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25
Day 2: Opened with instrumental “B of D > Driving Song > Porch Song > Driving Song > We Walk Each Other Home > OG Classics Christmas Katy > Radio Child >Don’t Wanna Lose You” and then the set-ender “Flat Foot Floozy” with a Dave Schools Repoman-UFO-Time Machine rap that would give him best Rap of the run, topping JB’s Squidbilly from earlier. Saturday night and the band is on Fire!!
Set 2: “From The Cradle > Down > Holden Oversoul” with Jimmy Herring leading the way into “Mercy > Machine > Barstools and Dreamers > Vacation > Pigeons > Action Man.”
Encore: “Little Wing (Jimi Hendrix) > Ain’t Life Grand”
That’s a show folks… one more to go…
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26
Day 3: Sunday Service in Wookie, and the masses are ready for their annual invocation. and the Crème De La Crème is in store for all the lucky ones today in Cream City. After two days, the best band in the land has one more night of magic for Milwaukee, and the army of Spreadheads are the same ole rowdy crowd back again for more, more, more.
Set 1: JB comes out with the backwards hat, and its show time opening with almost all OG Panic; the temperature is already rising in the Pabst Riverside Theatre. “Airplane > Pleas > Old Neighborhood” and then from their latest “Small Town > Visiting Day > Up All Night > Fishing,” transitioning to the instrumental “A of D” and closing out the first set with crowd favorite and heavy Schools bass cover of “Mr. Soul” (Buffalo Springfield).
Set 2: The momentum and energy heading towards peak levels, JB and the band returned for one more set, opening with “Little Kin > Dirty Business > Blight (no Dave rap). This nicely transitioned into a crowd dance party with “Papa’s Home,” quietly sliding into full-blown drums with only Sunny Ortiz and Duane Trucks on the stage, treating all of us to one incredible performance of percussion, with Sunny’s blow-you-out-of-your-seat percussions and with Duane’s heavy duty explosive kicks and punchy booms crashing over us all… YES… give us more of this… Dave came back on stage first, giving us a lovely bass jam that, to the delight of every person inside and on the couch went, into “Sharon” (David Bromberg) > Jamais Vu > Gimme,” slowly into a speeding up powerful JoJo Herman-led “Ride Me High (J. J. Cale) > Fishwater,” ending the second set.
Encore: “Cosmic Confidante > Soul Kitchen (The Doors). After a few minutes the band came back with “Love Tractor”!
Wow! Thank You Widespread Panic, The Crew, Bandit Lites, Paul Hoffman, the associates inside the Riverside Theatre, Milwaukee, and everyone else who helps to make this possible year after year… See ya in 2026! Next up Savanah, Georgia 10/31 & 11/01..