Widespread Panic Fills Sunday Show In Milwaukee With Surprises

The marquee at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee read “Never Miss A Sunday Show” before Widespread Panic‘s finale at the venue last night and the warning served true. Panic dug deep into their repertoire to keep fans on their toes at their third and final Milwaukee show of 2018.

In a start straight out of their early days, WSP opened Sunday’s show with a run of “Conrad,” “Coconut” and “Stop-Go.” Last night’s “Coconut” was the first since October 28, 2017. Another surprise came soon thereafter when “Aunt Avis” led into a cover of Curtis Mayfield’s “Pusherman,” another 2018 debut. Bassist Dave Schools then led the group into an extended “Rebirtha” that Panic jammed into “Wondering” before wrapping the set with “Dyin’ Man” and “Pigeons.”

While nearly all of Widespread Panic’s Sunday night throwdown in Milwaukee focused on classic material, the band did lead off the second set with the more recent “Steven’s Cat.” A cover of JJ Cale’s “Travelin’ Light” was then followed by the return of “Dirty Business” after a nearly two-year layoff. The bulk of the set came as part of a wild “Surprise Valley” sequence that included a Schools-sung “All Along The Watchtower,” the poignant “Jack,” a “Drums” section, a Dave Schools and Jimmy Herring jam and Vic Chesnutt’s “Protein Drink/Sewing Machine” within. WSP last played “Watchtower” back on December 30, 2015. The band concluded the set with “Climb To Safety” and said farewell with a “Dream Song”/”Porch Song” encore. Watch a few videos captured by Mr. TopDogger:

All Along The Watchtower

Pusherman

Setlist (via Panicstream)

Set One: Conrad, Coconut, Stop-Go > Aunt Avis > Pusherman, Rebirtha > Jam > Wondering, Dyin’ Man, Pigeons (87 mins)

Set Two: Steven’s Cat, Arleen > Travelin’ Light, Dirty Business, Surprise Valley > All Along The Watchtower > Jack > Drums > Jam (w/ Jimmy & Dave) > Protein Drink / Sewing Machine > Surprise Valley > Climb To Safety (96 mins)

Encore: Dream Song, Porch Song (12 mins)

• ‘Coconut’ LTP 10/28/17 Vegas (FTP for Milwaukee)
• ‘Rebirtha’ with Dave solo tease/intro
• ‘Pusherman’ LTP 12/30/17 Atlanta
• ‘Dirty Business’ LTP 10/29/16 Broomfield (64 shows)
• ‘All Along The Watchtower’ LTP 12/30/15 Atlanta (141 shows)
• ‘Dream Song’ LTP 12/29/17 Atlanta