r/WidespreadPanic • u/That1GuyFromOhiosDad • 6d ago
Never seen panic
I’ve never seen them live before, but I love their music. I’m planning to find a show soon. My favorite tune is probably Arleen, I’m not alone or the one about “having a goood time”. (I think it’s called porch song)
1) what should I expect?
2) what’s the atmosphere like at the shows? It seems super rowdy. (Im pretty chill, and a lifelong deadhead)
3) give me ALL panic live show feedback. Where I should try to sit/groove. What upcoming show should I shoot for? I dunno. Guide me. I’m ready to check panic off my bucket list, but I’m afraid I’ll fall in love 😭.
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u/professor_shorthair 6d ago
It’s a whole mess of fun. And the crowd is just as giddy as you are. It’s fun as hell.
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u/Basic-Durian8875 6d ago
Like a dead concert but smaller and maybe a lil more fratty.
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u/afraidofcheesecake 5d ago edited 2d ago
Funny thing, I first saw Panic in Tuscaloosa at a bar across from my fraternity in 1989. Guess I have gone from frat boy at the show to old guy at the show. Honestly, I was in a fraternity but was never super fratty.
To answer your question, I saw a girl here on Reddit that said she goes to a lot of jam band shows and she feels most safe at a Panic show. Says a lot.
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u/snafu2u 6d ago
Is it still fratty? It for sure was when I was catching as many shows as I could in the mid/late 90s up until Mikey passed. The one Herring Panic show I went to in 17 or 18 was a much older crowd than Mikey shows. Probably because it was mostly the same crowd, just older.
I figured the college crowd had moved on from jam bands these days, outside of maybe Goose. Again, that’s just a wild guess. I’ve never been to a Goose show.
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u/Connect_Pea3577 6d ago
lots of frat guys still at panic, and at all the other jam band shows, but in my experience they are way more respectful and pleasant to be around than the frat guys at other jam band shows
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u/AuntAvis22 6d ago edited 6d ago
Completely depends on where you are seeing Panic at. SE still has some of that college fratty boy crowd, everywhere it's non existent.
Big difference between a show in say Birmingham vs. Milwaukee. Didn't see hardly any college aged people on West Coast tour.
But overall the crowd is a bunch older diehard Spreadheads that has seen the band from the Miley era onwards.
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u/Basic-Durian8875 5d ago
You know the last few years you are getting a lot of second generation fans. Im 44 and my friend who is 43 commented quite a few times in wilmington how shocked she was at all the young people(15-25) bc she had not seen them in 3.5 years.
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u/Own-Homework-1077 5d ago
man there were so many riding the rail this past show it was awesome to see the torch slowly being passed
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u/Familiar-Formal6723 6d ago
Kids are really getting back into them with Nick I’ve noticed. Much more panic blaring up and down Milledge frats than I’ve ever heard since living in Athens 2013. I’ve said this before and will say it again. Jimmy Herring is a fine, excellent guitarist. But he never meshed with them. They were great buds and that kept it rolling, but he played so many of the songs wrong just kind of doing his jazzy thing, and his solos never worked for me in the context of those layers I loved so damn much with Mike. Nick Johnson is a freak of nature. I have no idea how he’s gotten this good this fast, but Panic hasn’t touched this level of playing since Mikey passed. The guy is truly gifted.
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u/afraidofcheesecake 5d ago
Mikey era fans are coming back too. And I have no idea how Nick got good so fast. I assume he was just a fan and listened to a lot of Panic over the years. Herring is such a great guy and such a great guitarist but Nick plays so much more like Mikey. It is so great to hear those licks again.
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u/Warm_Succotash3813 1d ago
I went to goose once and blacked out. Thats me telling myself have fun and just get through the music. Panic was my first sober show. Post Mikey pre Jimmy. I found myself bounce walking back to my car after the show. I go see them for the music. It hits my soul that way.
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u/Familiar-Formal6723 6d ago
If you’re an older dude (presumably since you’re a deadhead), make sure you get a seat as close to behind the pit as you can. You can really dial in on the band when you don’t have all the chaos around you. If that’s your thing and you dig being in the heart of the beast, go for it, but my old ass legs would rather have a place to rest, sit down if I need to, and listen very closely without people walking all around me. Second, they’re a bit more dirty than the dead - this coming from a fellow Deadhead. If you get a chance, watch the Earth Will Swallow You documentary they produced back around 01 ish and listen to Jerry Joseph - he and Schools, panic’s bassist, met at a Dead show and Dave now lives in northern Cali. He talked about how Panic is different. Something like, “some folks want to go to a show and it’s sunny and bright and Bobby sings all the songs. Panic has that, but they have that deep underbelly that’s missing from every other band I’ve heard.” Frankly, they’re way different from the dead, but also inspired by them - if that makes sense. Like the Dead and Phish, Panic melded a sound that is entirely unique. No way to put them in a box, which is why they’ve played with everyone under the sun and covered tons of genres. A little Sturgill in that respect, who would be the closest comparison I can make seeing them both live. They’re an interesting bunch. You should expect rowdy at times and reverence at others. JB is the shit. Jojo is the shit. Dave is the shit. And Nick Johnson has been a Godsend. So good. You’ll feel the intensity the second they walk on stage and you’ll never look back. Have fun man.
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u/Familiar-Formal6723 6d ago
And if you like Arleen, give this Fishwater>Arleen from Wilmington a few weeks back a watch. https://youtu.be/cMQf8KOoxR0?is=wXlahREG8UZAwhoz
By the by, the Arleen from Red Rocks earlier this year was incredible. Dance party
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u/Familiar-Formal6723 5d ago
Better yet, watch this version done by the panic people - I hadn’t seen it yet
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u/That1GuyFromOhiosDad 5d ago
Plot twist. This was a social experiment of sorts. I’ve been to around 90 panic shows. By far my favorite band ever. I really made this post in hopes it could be a guide for anyone else out there! I can’t wait to read the rest of these comments. Y’all have proven once again that WE ARE THE GOOD PEOPLE.
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u/Own-Homework-1077 5d ago
was thinking it was suspicious a deadhead didn’t go to a panic show ha!
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u/That1GuyFromOhiosDad 5d ago
Even more suspicious that some fucker (me) listed Arleen as a fave, and hand on my heart, legitimately missed me that I posted it on 10/13. I deserve lashings.
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u/Own-Homework-1077 5d ago
hahahaha i don’t know the backstory behind it either so you’d have to educate me on it! i primarily listen to the til the medicine takes album, blue indian is pretty personal since i have a pappy, and lives ON the buffalo! (river that is) I heard a lot of rumblings and was so curious about it!
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u/Hugh-Jweener 6d ago
Welcome. For me, it’s almost a religious experience. Kinda like my church, if you will.
That being said: Have a ball. Don’t judge anyone. And remember…there’s no talking in church. Enjoy the show and talk about it afterwards. Just some friendly advice. 😉
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u/zitiztitz 6d ago
The crowd with definitely rowdy but respectful for the most part. I’d say hit up any show possible, these boys ain’t getting any younger. You will be a life long fan once you see them live. Just a tip, when chilly water gets played, don’t throw your beer around.
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u/Lobstah03 6d ago
I’ve gotten super into them the past year or so, especially since I got a job and have a couple coworkers that are big fans. Hit on NYE tickets for my first show and I am so fucking psyched!
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u/GardenOrca 5d ago
Can be a life changing event. Go and take a party favor if you’re into that kind of thing.
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u/Fancy_County4242 5d ago
Don't worry about what song they're playing; everyone else knows all the words, and the crowd will carry you along. A Panic show is always a good time.
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u/Feeling_Trip_5413 5d ago edited 5d ago
First GD show in 1989. I'm having more fun with Panic than I ever had on GD tour. You'll meet the most amazing people on the planet at a Panic show. Hell, I even met kids that go to Ole Miss and were cool!
Get your ass to NOLA for Halloween. See you there!
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u/Own-Homework-1077 5d ago
So having gone to my first panic show the other night, it’s very happy, it’s very friendly, people love to talk to you and you will find a ton of interesting people. I would definitely try and check out the lot for some sweet first concert memorabilia they have pretty nice prints and posters. I would definitely try and get up to the rail for the first set atleast. make sure you bring water and all that i’m sure you know the essentials. if it’s a outside show definitely keep a blanket or something to just lie out on. this upcoming UNO arena in New Orleans on halloween will be absolutely rocking. (it’s my mom’s 25th anniversary of seeing them!)
you will absolutely fall in love. they groove super hard. Try and manifest a song if you’d like, my top songs all came out when i did!
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u/HotHamNRolls 3d ago
You get to experience something I have been talking about for years. Panic in town and Milwaukee Brewers are in the World Series. 🎉🎉
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u/throbbing-orifice- 6d ago
best crowd in the jam scene. bit more of a drinking crowd but somehow that doesn’t lead to an excess of sloppiness, at least in my experience. super kind and outgoing. i just joined the team a few years ago and i feel like i found where i belong
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u/mule111 6d ago
We are known to get all flippy floppy
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u/That1GuyFromOhiosDad 5d ago
“Flippy floppy” wins the day. Spot on. We show up. JB & them show up. We pay them to “play”, and they return the favor 10 fold every time. It’s pretty much a shit show of love/ridiculousness/bonding/healing after the opener. #nickjohnsonfuckstho
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u/That1GuyFromOhiosDad 5d ago
“Doesn’t lead to an excess of sloppiness” is a big friggin stretch 😂☠️. Drinking crowd = accurate. Super kind = accurate. Proud to say some of my best friends are through Panic tour.
Proud to say panic has gotten me through some of the worst days. Honestly don’t know how my life would have shaped without them.
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u/Connect_Pea3577 6d ago
people party a lot, i saw someone OD and most likely die at RR this year. lots of drinking and blow. it’s a great time and people are nice. don’t let the amount of frat boys scare you off they don’t bother anyone for the most part
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u/AuntAvis22 6d ago
Favorite song is Arlene, and you post on 10/13, serendipitous!