Widespread Panic played until well after 1 a.m. at the first of two Pepsi Center shows — and that wasn’t even on New Year’s Eve. Photos by Candace Horgan.
They may be based out of Athens, Geo., but has certainly created a home away from home in Colorado. Earlier this year, the band celebrated their 32nd straight sellout at Red Rocks, a new record. To cap the year off, the band moved their annual New Year’s run from Atlanta to the Denver’s for two nights.
Nederland’s Yonder Mountain String Band opened the evening’s festivities on Tuesday, finding a groove early with “40 Miles from Denver.” Yonder’s high energy bluegrass might have seemed a strange fit for the cavernous confines of the Pepsi Center, but many fans came in early to hear the band, and they were rewarded with a set that shows that Yonder has grown somewhat from the need to deliver everything at a frenetic pace.
On “If You’re Ever in Oklahoma,” Jeff Austin and Ben Kaufmann sang perfect harmonies on the chorus while guitarist Adam Aijala played fills around them.
Yonder has always been willing to bring a rock edge to some of their sets, and a cool cover of the Talking Heads’ “Girlfriend is Better,” done in a cross between bluegrass and rock, got a roar from the crowd.
Yonder ended their set with a rollicking “Boatman’s Dance,” a song with irrepressible energy that seems made for dancing. Dave Johnston’s banjo rolls set a fast pace early, while Austin stepped up to the mic for rapid-fire mandolin leads and Aijala deftly riffed on the guitar.
By the time Panic came out, the arena was packed. People flew in from all over the country to hear them, and Panic wasted little time in pleasing them. With nary a word to the crowd, they launched into “Fishwater,” with Dave Schools’ powerful bass lines reverberating through the packed arena, then jammed into the bouncy “Walkin’ (for your Love).”
Panic generally keeps their stage show to a minimum. Fake clouds decorated the monitors, and a light show played out on a huge muslin background. Plants hung from overhead high in the rafters for no discernable reason, but other than that, the band eschewed any other accoutrements of a big arena show.
Much like a bluegrass band, Panic likes to create spaces in their songs for everyone to shine. During “Blight,” John Hermann played barrelhouse piano fills around Schools’ heavy bass lines, while John Bell, taking backing vocals to Schools, sang high harmonies on the chorus.
Lead guitarist Jimmy Herring took the band into interesting directions all night long, whether it was a raw, crunchy sound on the opening riffs of “Climb to Safety” or fiery leads during “Action Man,” which closed the first set.
Herring is a technically brilliant guitarist, and his playing for the most part compliments Panic’s sound. However, at times his heavy riffing could almost take away from the song, as on “Genesis,” played early in the second set, where Herring’s crunchy leads seemed a poor fit, especially after the second verse. “Christmas Katie,” a slower, funk-tinged song, certainly doesn’t need a Metallica-like solo at the end, although, as one fan commented, Herring only seems to know two speeds: fast and faster.
Panic gave the fans lots of special moments during the night. Late in the first set, they launched into the rarely played “Gimme” with itap line “Gimme a hand here Michael,” a reference to late guitarist and founding member Michael Houser. The song is one of Panic’s better ballads.
Before a nicely abbreviated drum solo by Todd Nance and Domingo Ortiz, the band riffed on the Grateful Dead song “The Other One.” Bell’s vocals and Hermann’s organ leads stood out on “Pigeons,” and the “Imitation Leather Shoes” that closed set two well after 1 a.m. showcased Herring’s overdriven leads to great effect.
Despite the lateness of the hour, Panic came back for a two-song encore, ending their show with a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Cream Puff War.” Fans would hardly have time to get enough rest before they’d be back for New Year’s Eve wanting more.
Candace Horgan is a writer and photographer from Denver and a regular contributor to Reverb.
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