Widespread Panic

Acey68 Oct 31, 2023

The Wizard of Ozzy: Widespread Panic Merge ‘Wizard of Oz’ Motif with Black Sabbath Covers During Halloween Stand in Savannah

Over the weekend, Widespread Panic pulled into Savannah, Ga. for a two-night stand at the Enmarket Arena. During the initial evening, Friday, Oct. 27, the ensemble delivered a welcomed mix of originals and classic cover songs that have dotted their setlists over the years. As a follow-up, on Saturday, Oct. 28, the group set aside the expected, opting for a conceptual approach to the 1939 musical fantasy film The Wizard of Oz: Telling Dorthy’s story during the first set and entering The Emerald City–with a twist–during the later frame. Night one presented various material from across Widespread Panic’s discography, ranging from early cuts from 1988’s Space Wrangler to their 2010 LP, Dirty Side Down. The mix of tunes was a welcomed entry point for the band’s holiday stand, which presented favorites and frequented numbers prior to night two’s elaborate display of creativity derived from Oz.Complimenting the night’s approach, the members of Widespread Panic each embodied a character from The Wizard of Oz, with John Bell acting as the Apple Tree/ Dorothy Gale, Jimmy Herring as the Cowardly Lion, John “JoJo” Hermann as the Tin Man, Dave Schools posing as Ms. Almira Gulch, otherwise known as Auntie Em’s stern neighbor as well as the Wicked Witch, Sunny Ortiz as the Scarecrow and Duane Trucks as Glinda the Good Witch. Playing off the recognizable start of the film, the MGM lion’s iconic roar, the band replaced the entertainment company’s logo with their own brown cat iconography. Saturday night’s initial frame presented Dorothy’s story through the lens of Widespread Panic songs and cover material, beginning with Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here,” touching on the legend associated with Darkside of The Moon and the film’s synchronicity. The cover represented a bust out, ending a 207-show gap since its last play on Oct. 22, 2017. They continued by adding material that assisted in evoking the storyline, including live debuts of Harold Arlen’s “Over The Rainbow,” a Herring-led instrumental, in addition to Talking Heads, “This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)” and the Grateful Dead’s “The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion).” Continuing the theme, they dusted off Willie Dixon’s “Weak Brain, Narrow Mind,” followed by the Bell-penned “Life as a Tree” and Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold.” Set ender, “Puppy Sleep,” served as the night’s transition into Oz(z)… The poppy-induced slumber was counter-acted by snowfall that cascaded from the ceiling to start the second half of the night. The later frame was dubbed Blizzard of Ozz and served as wordplay off the flurries and Black Sabbath’s frontman Ozzy Osbourne. Aligned with the theme, set two started with a first-time cover of “Snowblind” off Sabbath’s 1972 Vol. 4 LP. They picked up Young’s “Walk On” next, which mingled with a “Turn on Your Love Light” jam. After a pair of originals, they dusted off another Sabbath song, this time, “Iron Man,” last played by Widespread on Oct. 29, 2016. Other highlights included a live debut of Sabbath’s “The Wizard” with Bell on harmonica during the intro, as well as the Osbourne-penned “Mr. Crowley,” representing another first-time cover. Widespread Panic’s 2001 cut “Action Man” served as the final song of the latter frame, which gave way to the night’s encore: A debut of Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” followed by a cover of Jerry Joseph’s “Climb to Safety,” a fitting end to the night’s theme and musical presentation.

Enmarket Arena – Savannah, Ga.October 28, 2023 Set I: Wish You Were Here, Jack, Better Off, Greta, Over The Rainbow > Tornado jam > Rebirtha, This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) > Wicked Witch jam > Walkin’ (For Your Love), The Golden Road, Weak Brain, Narrow Mind, Life As A Tree, Heart Of Gold, Tail Dragger, Puppy SleepsSet II: Snowblind, Walk On, Little By Little, King Baby, Iron Man, This Part Of Town, Postcard, The Wizard, Mercy, Mr. Crowley, Action ManEnc.: Crazy Train, Climb To SafetyNotes: – MGM Lion roar opened the show (the REAL Brown Cat)
– LTP ‘Wish You Were Here’ 10/22/17 Milwaukee (207 shows)
– FTP ‘Over the Rainbow’ (Jimmy-led instrumental)
– FTP ‘This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)’ (Talking Heads)
– FTP ‘The Golden Road’ (Grateful Dead)
– LTP ‘Weak Brain, Narrow Mind’ 9/18/22 Oxon Hill (50 shows)
– LTP ‘Life As A Tree’ 8/25/19 Nashville (134 shows)
– LTP ‘Heart Of Gold’ 6/24/21 Denver (112 shows)
– LTP ‘Puppy Sleeps’ 6/28/19 Red Rocks (144 shows)
– FTP ‘Snowblind’ (Black Sabbath)
– ‘Turn On Your Love Light’ jam during ‘Walk On’
– LTP ‘Iron Man’ 10/29/16 Broomfield (205 shows)
– FTP ‘The Wizard’ (Black Sabbath) – JB w/ harmonica for intro
– FTP ‘Mr. Crowley’ (Ozzy Osbourne)
– FTP ‘Crazy Train’ (Ozzy Osbourne)

JamBase

Acey68 Oct 31, 2023

Set 1: Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd), Jack, Better Off, Greta, Over the Rainbow (Harold Arlen, live debut), Rebirtha, This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (Talking Heads, live debut), Walkin’ (For Your Love), The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion) (Grateful Dead, live debut), Weak Brain, Narrow Mind (Willie Dixon), Life as a Tree (John Bell song), Heart of Gold (Neil Young), Tail Dragger (Howlin’ Wolf), Puppy Sleeps (brute.)

Set 2: Snowblind (Black Sabbath, live debut), Walk On (Neil Young), Little by Little, King Baby, Iron Man (Black Sabbath), This Part of Town, Postcard, The Wizard (Black Sabbath, live debut), Mercy, Mr. Crowley (Ozzy Osbourne, live debut), Action Man

Encore: Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne, live debut), Climb to Safety (Jerry Joseph)

Acey68 Oct 31, 2023

Widespread Panic Showcases 7 Debuts During Wizard of Ozzy Halloween in Savannah
Otis Sinclair | Monday, October 30th, 2023

The cunning and mischievous rockers, Widespread Panic, hid their fangs behind innocent smiles as they welcomed the crowd into the Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia last night. Visuals were on full display during a Wizard of Ozzy Halloween show full of tricks, treats, and seven debuts! WSP retold the well-known Wizard of Oz story through calculated song selection, lyrical easter eggs, and infused a heavier Black Sabbath tinge of darkness into the All Hallow’s Eve spooktacular.

The Panic gang walked onstage in Wizard of Oz attire—John Bell, Dave Schools, Jimmy Herring, JoJo Hermann, Duane Trucks, and Sunny Ortiz as an Apple Tree, the Wicked Witch, the Cowardly Lion, the Tinman, Glinda the Good Witch, and the Scarecrow, respectively.

The roar of the MGM Lion broke the silence before Panic opened the show with Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”. Last night marked the first time WSP covered the Floyd classic since 2017’s Milwaukee run. There is an urban legend that Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon is intended to sync with the Wizard of Oz film, though nothing was ever confirmed from the members of Floyd.

In honor of Dorothy’s dog, Toto, WSP unleashed “Jack” (“There’s one good dog sleeping filled with good ol’ dog dreams”). The song also references a “wizard in the corner” and contains a nod to the World Series of baseball, “Gone to pitch for the winning team.” The opening lyrics of a subsequent “Better Off” contribute to the theme as “Funnin’ around Grandpa’s farm” could be a slanted reference to Dorothy’s family farm.

“Mother Nature came to arms” as Dorothy and Toto got caught in the storm during “Greta” until Jimmy Herring cut through the clouds with his best Judy Garland impression during a serene instrumental take on “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. It goes without saying that this was the first time WSP ever brought this tune to the table. A wonky “Tornado Jam” landed into the funky rhythms of “Rebirtha”. The song’s lyrics reinforced the Oz theme coloring in between the lines of “Shaking loose out of Kansas / First twenty minutes in black-and-white.”

The debut of Talking Heads’ “This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)” echoed Dorothy’s longing for home until Schools–as the Wicked Witch of the West–snuffed out all feelings of warmth during an improvised jam that loosely resembled Howlin’ Wolf’s “Spoonful”. The roguish bassist dug his heels and redirected the music into “Walkin’ (For Your Love)”, symbolizing Dorothy’s journey on the Yellow Brick Road.

WSP trekked onward into Grateful Dead’s “The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)”, the second consecutive debut and third so far in the set. As Dorothy rambles down the Yellow Brick Road, Panic dedicated a trio of covers to the friends that she encounters. Willie Dixon’s “Weak Brain, Narrow Mind” for the Scarecrow, Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” for the Tin Man, and Willie Dixon’s “Tail Dragger” for the Cowardly Lion.

Before the Neil Young cover, JB, resembling the talking apple trees in the Wizard of Oz film, belted out “Life As a Tree” for only the second time ever. The tune debuted during 2019’s acoustic Ryman run in Nashville. Closing out the set, Panic busted out Vic Chesnutt’s “Puppy Sleeps” for the first time since 2019’s Red Rocks run. With the Wicked Witch (Schools) on lead vocals, the song drew an unmistakable parallel to Dorothy falling asleep in the poppy field. (Poppy Sleeps / Puppy Sleeps).

Back for the second act, Dorothy awakens in the poppy field to a snowstorm. Meanwhile, Panic blew the roof off the venue by opening next set with the fourth debut of the night, Black Sabbath’s “Snowblind”. Black Sabbath’s catalog would remain open as the nefarious pranksters reinvented the classic L. Frank Baum tale with a heavy metal Wizard of Ozzy rock opera. Snow fell from the ceiling during the entire second set in a quite literal Blizzard of Ozz.

Neil Young’s “Walk On” followed, reflecting Dorothy’s party resuming their quest down the Yellow Brick Road. Widespread Panic’s “Little by Little” fit the same motif, trudging along (“step by step”), and marked the song’s fourth time played. Fitting WSP’s new material with the Oz theme, “King Baby” resonated for only the fifth time ever and drew comparisons to The Cowardly Lion’s “If I Were King of the Forest” song.

Invoking his roguish humor, Schools introduced Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” with a twist to the opening words, “I AM IRONING!” The homage to the Tin Man melded into a pristine piano intro of “This Part of Town”. Just like the subsequent “Postcard”, these two originals reflect Dorothy’s group discovering Emerald City. “Postcard” also contains the Halloween appropriate lyrics, “I see you / in a thousand costumes”.

To imitate Dorothy Gale’s quartet meeting the Wizard of Oz, Panic unearthed Black Sabbath’s “The Wizard” for the first time in the band’s long and storied history. JB donned a harmonica for the song’s jam-heavy beginning. Instead of the scene where Dorothy begs the Wicked Witch of the West to return her dog Toto, JB wailed a bone-chilling rendition of “Mercy”.

For the sixth debut of the show and the first track off Ozzy Osborne’s first solo album, 1980’s Blizzard of Ozz, Panic showcased “Mr. Crowley”. The otherworldly organ, ecclesiastic vocals, and high-octane guitar riffs embody a song written about “The Wickedest Man Alive” and practitioner of black magic, Aleister Crowley.

In terms of last night’s theme, the music and lyrics seem to be directed toward the Wicked Witch of the West after she melts. To close out the second set, Panic galloped “Action Man” down the final stretch in honor of the Cowardly Lion finally finding his courage.

JB, still wearing his ruby colored boots, and Widespread Panic remerged onstage with only a trick or two left up their sleeves. The sound of a train chugging down the tracks was interrupted by a raucous shout (“ALL ABOARD!”) and a blast of laughter from Ozzy Osbourne over the house speakers. Without further ado, Panic served up the 7th debut of the evening and second song off Blizzard of Ozz, “Crazy Train”.

And finally, after a long and arduous journey, our heroes disembark the locomotive to reach the terminus. Widespread Panic closed the night with a fan-favorite cover of Jerry Joseph and Glenn Esparza’s “Climb to Safety”. The train reference from the first encore selection carried over into the second as well as the Cowardly-Lion-reminiscent lyrics, “Go to grab your nerve and find that it’s been missing.” Despite her newfound friends and magical world, Dorothy still wants to return home. Cue: “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” walk-out music from the P.A.

Just like all in attendance, the Halloween spell had lifted as the crowd shuffled out the doors to inevitably return home—past an actual hot air balloon glowing in the parking lot. The magic displayed by our favorite band lingers for as long as we cherish the memory of last night.

The gags, blending The Wizard of Oz with Black Sabbath, the costumes, the deliberately crafted setlist with SEVEN debuts, these are the lengths that Panic goes to to keep us on our toes and to keep us ALWAYS wanting MO’, MO’, MO’! Ya never know what’s around the next bend, Dorothy, but when you listen with an open mind, it’s possible to leave Kansas, Savannah, or anywhere else through the magical power of music.

Next stop, Atlanta for a New Year’s Eve celebration at the Fox Theatre. Until next time, Good People, safe travels home on the Yellow Brick Road.