Widespread Panic Busts Out Rarities & Covers At The Beacon

Widespread Panic continued their Beacon Theatre residency on Friday night. WSP delivered several bust outs plus a The Band rarity for night two in New York City.

Panic kicked things off with a slew of classics beginning with “Wondering” and continuing with “C. Brown,” “Can’t Get High” and “All Time Low.” The latter saw WSP stretching their legs a bit before heading into more vintage material in “Junior” and “1 x 1.” The first, and biggest, bust out of the night came in the form of “Dark Day Program.” Panic dusted off the song for the first time since July 9, 2011 in Oakland for a total of 471 shows as per PanicStream. The Beacon performance also marked just the 16th time the Free Somehow cut graced a WSP setlist since its debut in April 2008 according to Everyday Companion. “You Got Yours” followed ahead of the set closer, Robert Johnson’s “Stop Breakin’ Down Blues,” which saw frontman John Bell nodding to another blues legend, Lightning Hopkins, with a “Give Me Back My Wig” rap.

Bassist Dave Schools got the second set underway with the “Jaws” theme before the band headed into “Sleeping Man” ahead of a two-song tribute to The Band with “Ophelia” and “The Shape I’m In,” the latter of which made a WSP appearance for just the 30th time since its debut in 1995. The rarity was played three times that year but then saw a 14-year gap. The fan-favorite “Surprise Valley” followed and segued into “Bear’s Gone Fishin” before returning to “Surprise Valley” via a frenetic jam led by guitarist Jimmy Herring. WSP then chugged right into another favorite, “Driving Song.” “Driving” would encompass a bust out of “E on a G” for the first time since October 22, 2017 (92 shows). The bust outs kept coming with “Don’t Wanna Lose You” for the first time since September 14, 2018 (62 shows). The classic “Chilly Water” then brought the house down to close out the second set. “Blue Indian” and “Jerry Joseph’s “Climb To Safety” served as the encore.

Check out video from the show captured by Fred Ramadan below:

Dark Day Program

Bear’s Gone Fishin’ > Surprise Valley

Chilly Water

Setlist (via PanicStream)

Set One: Wondering, C. Brown, Can’t Get High, All Time Low > Jam > Junior, 1 x 1, Dark Day Program, You Got Yours, Stop Breakin’ Down Blues (62 mins)

Set Two: Sleeping Man, Ophelia, The Shape I’m In, Surprise Valley > Bear’s Gone Fishin’ > Surprise Valley > Driving Song > E on a G > Driving Song, Don’t Wanna Lose You, Chilly Water (79 mins)

Encore: Blue Indian, Climb To Safety (12 mins)

Notes:

• ‘Dark Day Program’ LTP 7/09/2011 Oakland (471 shows)
• ‘Give Me Back My Wig’ rap by JB during ‘Stop Breakin’ Down Blues’
• ‘Jaws’ theme by Dave before ‘Sleeping Man’
• ‘E on a G’ LTP 10/22/2017 Milwaukee (92 shows)
• ‘Don’t Wanna Lose You’ LTP 9/14/2018 St Augustine (62 shows)