WIDESPREAD PANIC | 11.10.01 | ASBURY PARK

SET II Papa Legba, You Got Yours, Thought Sausage, Low Rider> Hatfield> JB Rap> Henry Parson's Died> Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun Jam> Drums and Bass> Drums> Vacation> Help Me Somebody, Travelin' Light.

Encore
Bowlegged Woman
Flat Foot Flewzy

Let me begin by saying that the sound was horrible. Muddy and Booming. There were times that it cleared up, or got better, but for the most part, this venue is a blackhole for sound waves.

Second, The venue was great in every other way. Not crowded, no hassles by security. Wonderful view of the ocean rolling in.

Third, if I could have heard the show properly, it could have been one of the best shows I have ever been to.

Highlights included, the fantastic hotel room Lisa picked out with a bugged out view of the venue and the Atlantic Ocean, which was a nice touch. As for the show, it was solid for what I could hear of it. Good song selection, with a few that I haven't heard in a while. The weather was crisp, but not freezing. This venue has very ornate and scary architecture that draws your gaze upward. It has that abandoned amusement park/Scooby Doo mystery feel to it.

Back to the music, Other things worth mentioning, was the jam out of "Rebirtha." It was very very trippy and was unlike any other jam I have heard Panic do. It Made me want more. Much, much more. Good thing this was only the first show and I had more to go. I did call the "Down," in case anybody was wondering. It was nice to hear, but Todd was not loud enough. I love this song, and "Cynic" as well. I can't wait to finally hear that one live. Still, he tell's the truth, when he says to be careful of the things you want to say, cause your going to mean them. "Walk On" dropped like a bomb and blew the place up. I mean kid's were dancing like there was no tomorrow. The whole place was bobbing and weaving. It saved the first set from being mediocre.

The "Legba" to start the second set was super nice, one of the better versions I have heard of this song. It helped that the sound man had it dialed in by this time, but eventually he lost the battle again, whipped by the shit hole of a venue. JB cooked us up some "Sausage" after the "Legba" opener, and Mikey getting out more of his angst with "You Got Yours."

The "sausage" was cooked to a crisp, but the "YGY" sounded like it was being played from inside a wet blanket. "Low Rider" was nice, and one I have not heard in a while. Very tasty guitar work from Mikey and JB during this one. Intense jamming that led to this "Hatfield" from hell. Full on JB. We got ourselves a little JB rap, talking bout the pie's cooling on the window sill. JB was fired up, and it seemed the whiskey was doing the talking for a little bit. Wonderfully resonant notes that bend and whine at the appropriate times for the mood to be set.

While "Hatfield" ask's us to imagine what could be, if you loose your inhibitions and doubt, "Henry Parson's," shows us that without the love and kinship of people around you, nothing you have or do, before you part this plane will matter. Without knowing it, I summoned the "HPD" that was played for me on Saturday. Little hints have been popping up for weeks, and I should have seen the signs. Kaboom! "What is everybody gonna do?" "What is everybody gonna say?" I have been shown the light by Mr. Parson's error's.............. Never let it be said that Henry Parson's died in vain.

They called on the spirit of Rock and Roll, and "Legba" answered with a warning that he would get his way. He then cooked us up some "sausage," before taking us to see "Hatfield" in his "Low Rider." On the way to Hatfield's, we ran into this bum with holy wine stains on his shirt, who was trying to rid himself of the devil. Ol' "Papa Legba" was kind enough to try to help this poor lost soul and he
"SET THE CONTROLS FOR THE HEART OF THE SUN".............
The only place hot enough and with enough love to burn the devil out. With some choice low end rumblings to simulate takeoff, the ship departed for the uncharted territories. After fully integrating us into ancient rituals of Floyd, circa 1968, the Sunny/Todd monster opened a wormhole in space and time. A star chart appeared before me. I am in the Delta quadrant, and Lisa and I are about to depart for a little "Vacation"........... With her by my side, I'll get back alive, from my next one you know? Cause she came along, with a raft and a song, and I'm so glad that she made it!

And then with the power of music, song and dance the spirits were banished, the interstellar overdrive engines shut down and the Devil cried out for help. Can you hear him calling? It sounds like this........ Help me somebody!

Help me somebody! Please!
Help me somebody! Please!
Help me somebody!

Cause as a matter of fact, I'm getting real tired of your act, help me somebody! Sorry El Diablo, but Lisa and I need to "Travel Light," and there is no need for you perched on our shoulders. It's The Only Way To Fly!!!!

Now, the whole show could be summed up with the word, ENCORE. The sound man finally won the war with acoustic's of the godforsaken venue. This was full-tilt, in your face, balls to the wall, paint sucking, head splitting Widespread Fucking Panic!!!!! This encore was long, and hot. A double whammy of warning, to watch out for the trollops, whores, tricks, sluts, tarts, bitch's, and she-devil's that can tempt my clean and pure soul and fool me into straying off the path of righteousness. A good stern lecture always works, and if it doesn't, I always have the stern left hand of Lisa as it smacks me in the back of the head for staring at the cute little hippy sister with the toe ring and braids in her hair, the smell of patchouli, lights a spark of young lust in the back recess of my mind. Flowing dresses and the all mighty power of the female form "To grow Old, is to finally Realize, what you Had, while you were Young." JB wouldn't quit, at one point, Dave just gave up trying to follow any kind of formula for "Bowlegged," threw his hands up and stared at Mr. Bell. JB was growling howling and squealing. Plucking, picking and sliding. Oozing is also a good word. And they literally oozed into "Flat Foot Flewzy." I kinda sorta saw it coming, but not really. I had hoped for this double shot of lust and power, it happening once before for me.... Kudo's and a prize to the first person to guess when and where it went down.

What kind of message do the boys think they are sending us here? So the lights come up, and I smile and hug my girl. We walk out and down to the ocean. Standing, bathed in starlight, As one! Knowing that you have someone to share the world with is such a great feeling, sharing it feels even better. In the moment, the journey was surely the prize. My thought's were many. Happy to be alive and happy to just be. Proud to be an American, free to stand on the shore of my country and look outward without fear of border checks. Happy to be in love. Worry for the country and the world in the months and days ahead. Hopeful, that as a species our fate is not sealed and our time, not running out. Take nothing for granted, seek and decipher the signs that are there for us to find. A blueprint for living is encoded within us all, we only have to download it and run the program.

Ron "Big Woolly Mammoth" Crowell
JamBase | Jersey
Go See Live Music Evolutionary Reject/JamBase Reviewer