Widespread Panic Welcomes Steve Lopez In Florida

On Saturday night Widespread Panic hit the midway point of their three-night run at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre in St. Augustine, Florida. The Southern jam titans welcomed out crew member Steve Lopez for the second night in a row and offered up a double-dose of Talking Heads covers during their second set.

Panic got their evening going in the Sunshine State by pairing “Time Zones” from 2006’s Earth To America with Bloodkin’s “Who Do You Belong To?” delivering the former for just the second time this year, with latter being trotted out for just the fifth time since 2016. Party anthem “Tall Boy” followed as they segued into an extended open-ended jam. John Bell & Co. then reached back for a pair of old-school fan-favorites serving up “Walkin’ (For Your Love)” and “Pigeons.”

Next, Robert Johnson’s “Me And The Devil Blues” saw action for just the second time in 2018. “Sundown Betty,” which was debuted earlier this year at Panic En La Playa followed. Lopez emerged next on percussion as the band segued into WAR’s “Slippin’ Into Darkness” from the funk act’s 1971 release All Day Music before closing out the opening frame with “All Time Low.”

Widespread Panic got their second set of the night going with “Heaven.” It was the first time that the Talking Heads’ classic had been tapped to open a second set since March 30, 1995. The sextet then delivered a pair of setlist staples with “Ain’t Life Grand” and “Holden Oversoul.” Panic went back to the Talking Heads catalog next for “Life During Wartime.” “Papa’s Home” kicked off an improv-heavy stretch as the band dropped “Drums” in the middle of the track from Everyday before working their way into “Blue Indian.” JoJo Hermann stepped up to sing lead on “Big Wooly Mammoth,” with “North” bringing their fourth set of the run to a close.

Panic served up a two-song encore last night in St. Augustine with Murray McLauchlan’s “Honky Red” and “Climb To Safety” putting a cap on the evening.

Watch fan-shot video captured by Fred Ramadan below:

[Slippin’ Into Darkness]

[Life During Wartime]

Setlist (via PanicStream)

Set I: Time Zones > Who Do You Belong To?, Tall Boy > Jam, Walkin’ (For Your Love), Pigeons, Me and the Devil Blues, Sundown Betty > Slippin’ Into Darkness*, All Time Low (74 mins)

Set II: Heaven, Ain’t Life Grand, Holden Oversoul, Life During Wartime, Papa’s Home > Drums > Papa’s Home > Blue Indian, Big Wooly Mammoth > North (84 mins)

Encore: Honky Red, Climb To Safety (12 mins)