Widespread Panic: Walnut Creek Ampitheater, Raleigh, NC 4/24/10

Widespread Panic have ruled the roost at Raleigh’s Walnut Creek Amphitheater for almost two decades, and the addition of Jimmy Herring’s guitar work has given the veteran band a much-needed shot of adrenaline for the last couple of years. But judging from the attendance at the band’s traditional late April shows in Raleigh, interest in WSP is on the wane. Whether the culprit is sluggish concert ticket sales as a whole or dwindling interest in the band, the reality of the situation was sobering. WSP isn’t quite the power it used to be.

Times have clearly changed among concertgoers. Many fans at this Saturday night show were nostalgic about the classic Walnut Creek shows of the last 15 years, when the Panic nation seemed plenty strong. Now, there are audible worries that the band may not be able to sustain the Southern success they’ve enjoyed for so long. The timing of this downturn is unfortunate, because the band has only given their fans more to love. Herring’s frequent moments of brilliance have rejuvenated the band’s sound, and the presentation is bigger and better than ever, with a towering light setup that dwarfs their previous rigs.
 
Saturday night – the second show of a two-night stand – drew a larger crowd than Friday, but still not enough to justify opening the venue’s expansive lawn. Around 6000 people filled the seats for a show that started with major promise. Despite some rough patches in the “Tall Boy” opener, a bumping “Holden Oversoul” benefited from the warm up, and Herring propelled the band into a satisfying open space that allowed him and keyboardist JoJo Hermann to work out a series of progressively heated solos. When the band landed gently into the loping strains of “Christmas Katie” and proceeded to follow that sequence with beloved, well-performed tunes like “Weight of the World,” “Bear’s Gone Fishin’,” “Aunt Avis,” and “Who Do You Belong To,” it seemed that the audience was in for another Walnut Creek classic. The band had hit their stride and Herring was expressing himself gorgeously in each song. After special guest Jerry Joseph joined in for a rendition of his own “North” to close the first set, the venue fairly buzzed with anticipation for the second set.

Panic drummers Todd Nance and Sunny Ortiz were joined by Wally Ingram for a foreboding drum segment to open set two, and bassist Dave Schools lumbered in to make a rumbling bouillabaisse out of the whole thing. Hermann emerged with a few ghostly organ chords to add more suspense. As Herring and front man John bell returned to the stage, there was much anticipation as to which song would emerge from the murk, and “Second Skin,” while deep and dark, was a bit of a letdown. I fully expected the band to unleash the setlist goodies after the meandering "Second Skin," but the next half-hour comprised the least enjoyable segment of any Panic show I’ve attended. The song selection was regrettable and lacked energy, demonstrated by the rarely welcome “Travelin’ Man,” the drowsy “Tickle the Truth,” and the unfortunately unremarkable debut of “Dirty Side Down.” "Sleeping Man" provided some entertainment, but the band seemed generally unwilling to push the song in an interesting direction.

Finally, a thundering Pink Floyd-style jam emerged from “Her Dance Needs No Body,” and business picked up as Herring unleashed a mind-boggling number of notes over the churning, sinister backdrop. The somewhat rare "Vampire Blues," featuring Ryan Monroe (from opening act Band of Horses) on piano, gave the setlist a little aesthetic firepower and was also the down-and-dirtiest moment of the night. I was stunned when "Makes Sense to Me" appeared next, because it signaled that the set was winding down, leaving the band little time to bounce back from the mostly forgettable previous sequence. At the same time, "Makes Sense to Me" was a spirited spectacle that allowed the lights and the band to show off. Subsequently, the familiar throb that begins "Chilly Water," an ultimate set-closer if there ever was one, told the tale. A couple of old favorites would round out this otherwise unremarkable set.

Panic loves to lob softballs in the encore spot (which they did on both nights in Raleigh), and there’s no better evidence of that than the combo of "Ain’t Life Grand" and "Love Tractor" that sealed the deal on this show. Rarely have I witnessed a weaker, more predictable ending to a show, especially after a start that was well above average. Any band that takes chances during live performances and draws from a well of material as deep as Panic does is going to have an occasional bum night. But the timing of this show couldn’t have been worse, with Raleigh’s longtime Panic love affair already fizzling. If this trend continues, we could be seeing WSP at the 7000 capacity Koka Booth Amphitheater in nearby Cary sooner than later, which might not be a bad thing anyway.

Setlist

Set 1:

Tall Boy > Holden Oversoul > Christmas Katie, Weight Of The World, Dyin’ Man, Bear’s Gone Fishin’, Aunt Avis, Who Do You Belong To? > North*

Set 2:

Drums** > Jam > Second Skin > Tickle the Truth, Sleeping Man, Dirty Side Down, Travelin’ Man, Her Dance Needs No Body > Vampire Blues***, Makes Sense To Me > Chilly Water

Encore:

Ain’t Life Grand, Love Tractor

Related Content

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter