Widespread Panic Revives ‘There Is A Time’ On Old School Sunday At Red Rocks

Widespread Panic loaded the Sunday finale of the 2019 run at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado with old school favorites. The night came to a close with an encore that included a cover of “There Is A Time” by The Dillards, a song the band had only played once prior, way back on Halloween in 2015. Yesterday’s concert was the sextet’s 60th consecutive sellout at the venue.

Sunday was a special night right from the start as Panic opened with “Pilgrims” for the first time since December 31, 2015. Next up was “C. Brown,” one of the band’s oldest songs. Then, WSP split their own “Blackout Blues” and Neil Young’s “Vampire Blues” with a cover of “Goin’ Out West” by Tom Waits. The Georgia rockers kept the focus on older material by treating fans to the beloved “Driving Song” into “Disco” into “Driving Song” sequence before closing the frame with “Greta” and “North.” “Greta,” which was debuted over 23 years ago, was the newest original played in last night’s first set.

Panic had another rare opener to kick off the second set as “No Sugar Tonight”/”New Mother Nature” filled that slot for the first time since a 2011 concert at Red Rocks. The parade of oldies continued with “Conrad” as a lead-in to a seamless and improv-heavy conclusion to the closing stanza. John Dawson’s “Dirty Business” began the run and gave way to a jam that had hints of the Grateful Dead’s “The Other One” within before the band landed on “All Time Low.” A bit of transcendent, spacey and deliciously improv dubbed by PanicStream as “Zambi Jam” emerged out of “All Time Low” and featured bassist Dave Schools chanting a la the late Col. Bruce Hampton.

The action was far from done, as the wild “Zambi Jam” was followed by “Ride Me High” and the band’s beloved cover of Traffic’s “Low Spark Of High-Heeled Boys.” From there, WSP lit into “Impossible” and then performed “Cease Fire,” the lone original played on Sunday debuted by Panic this millennium. A fun romp through Talking Heads’ “Life During Wartime” brought the stellar set to a close. After beginning the encore with the aforementioned “There Is A Time,” Panic offered a variation on the usual “The Take Out” into “Porch Song” pairing. This time around, the six-piece fit only the second version of Michael Houser’s “The Waker” since the guitarist died between “The Take Out” and “Porch Song” to end another memorable Red Rocks run. Head to PanicStream to listen.

Pro-Shot Videos (via nugs.tv)

Pilgrims

No Sugar Tonight

Setlist (via PanicStream)

Set One: Pilgrims, C. Brown, Blackout Blues, Goin’ Out West > Vampire Blues, Driving Song > Disco > Driving Song, Greta > North (74 mins)

Set Two: No Sugar Tonight / New Mother Nature, Conrad, Dirty Business > Jam > All Time Low > Zambi Jam > Ride Me High > Low Spark of High Heeled Boys > Impossible > Cease Fire > Life During Wartime (98 mins)

Encore: There Is A Time, The Take Out > The Waker > Porch Song (18 mins)