Bluest Tape

A Fantabulous Final Four + An Interview with Marq Spusta We are super good at recording interviews - and episodes - weeks and/or months ago and dropping them on you all weeks and/or months later. You would think that during the pandemic we’d both have nothing to do but work and yell at people for not wearing masks, but that has not been the case. Life has been hectic, y’all! This week, Jeff and Harvey catch up on things, breakdown the Panic Final Four (chalk, chalk, chalk, and chalk), wax poetic about “Wednesday” shows, and present to you an interview Jeff did with renowned poster artist Marq Spusta, his lifelong friend, basketball teammate, and occasional concert companion. Learn about Marq’s career, his artwork, his inspiration, his time with Panic, that one time he met Solomon Burke, and some recommended listening for troubling times. Admittedly, we did this interview way back in March, but I’ll be damned if we still don’t have this pandemic going on. I guess we can’t just wish it away, can we? Please

The Elite 8 Unveiling + Jupiter Coyote Okay, we are down to the Elite 8 in our “A Panic Sweet 16 for the COVID-19” bracket to determine the “best” Panic show ever. We recap the results from the last matchups in the tourney and preview the monsters coming up, including the Battle for Alabama, Jeff’s best show ever vs. Harvey’s best show ever, NOLAWeen 2000 v Sit n Ski, and just maybe, quite possibly, the “best” Panic show ever from May 1999 v a classic NYE show. Whew! After the bracket breakdown, we share the long overdue interview Harvey conducted on NYE with the band Jupiter Coyote who, after well over 20 years in the game, are still making some great music and treating their fans to fantastic live shows. Stay tuned for the interview plus a super special treat that the band shared with us just for you. Enjoy! Please make your voice heard and help us pick the winner - vote on Facebook and on Twitter! T. Lavitz Bracket 1. 4/3/96 Hunstville AL 9. 7/29/01 Pelham AL Todd Nance Bracket 4. 5/7/97 Louisville K

A Panic Sweet 16 for the COVID-19: The George McConnell and The Danny the Angry Sound Man Brackets Here’s the right side of the Widespread Panic Sweet 16 bracket, eight killer shows that, if you haven’t heard them or don’t know about them, why are you reading this and listening to us? You must not get any of our terrible jokes, or any of our snarky references to “Dark Day Program,” “Coach,” and “Sparks Fly.” This is a recording of a Facebook Live we did a week or so ago, so apologies if our references are already dated. Enjoy! Please make your voice heard and help us pick the winner - vote on Facebook and on Twitter! George McConnell Bracket 6. 1/20/96 Boulder CO 11. 9/28/95 Knoxville TN 3. 10/28/00 New Orleans LA 14. 11/20/01 Johnson City TN Danny the Angry Sound Man Bracket 7. 12/31/97 Atlanta GA 10. 11/17/98 Northampton MA 2. 5/5/99 N. Myrtle Beach SC 15. 4/27/99 Jacksonville FL* = official band release 27 April 1999 - Jacksonville, FL - Moran Theater Driving > Weak Brain > Jam > Driv

A Panic Sweet 16 for the COVID-19 The Todd Nance Bracket As promised, here’s our Widespread Panic Sweet 16 bracket of what we and the band think are the “best” 16 shows in the band’s history (yes, we know, some of our choices are debatable, but take us to task on Twitter!). The 16 includes 11 shows officially released by the band and 5 at-large concerts from the years 1989 to 2001. We continue the tournament in the lower left part of the bracket - named for the band’s original drummer, Todd Nance - with the #4 v #13 and #5 v #12 matchups. Please make your voice heard and help us pick the winner - vote on Facebook and on Twitter! Todd Nance Bracket 5. 12/1/00 Carbondale IL - SIU Arena^ 12. 10/20/98 Colorado Springs CO - City Auditorium^ 4. 5/7/97 Louisville KY - The Palace Theater& 13. 4/8/89 Valdosta GA - The Armory^ ^ = official band release, automatic selection & = at-large bid 08 April 1989 - Valdosta, GA - The Armory Jam > Eliza’s Apt. > A of D > B of D > Impossible

A Panic Sweet 16 for the COVID-19 The T. Lavitz Bracket As promised, here’s our Widespread Panic Sweet 16 bracket of what we and the band think are the “best” 16 shows in the band’s history (yes, we know, some of our choices are debatable, but take us to task on Twitter!). The 16 includes 11 shows officially released by the band and 5 at-large concerts from the years 1989 to 2001. We get started off in the upper left part of the bracket - named for the first and shortest tenured keyboardist in the band’s history, T. Lavitz - with the #1 v #16 and #8 v #9 matchups. Please make your voice heard and help us pick the winner - vote on Facebook and on Twitter! T. Lavitz Bracket 1. 4/3/96 Huntsville AL - VBCC^ 16. 7/11/95 Columbia MO - The Blue Note^ 8. 9/8/97 Montreal QUE - Club Soda^ 9. 7/29/01 Pelham AL - Oak Mountain^ ^ = official band release, automatic selection 11 July 1995 - Columbia, MO - The Blue Note Radio Child > Maggot Brain > Heaven > Proving Ground  See acast.com/p

A Big Show for Unprecedented Times The Bluest Tape @ 100 Well, it took us almost three years, but we finally have made it to our 100th episode! Congrats to us and congrats to you all for sticking with us through all the talk about appliance repair, existential dread, whining about Kentucky basketball, Memphis-related conspiracy theories, and, perhaps most important, the pod’s evolution in how we think about Panic 3.0. So, episode 100 is a really big show. Not only did we do a live Facebook stream of our video chat, we drop some uncirculated Panic, an analog pull from deep inside the vault, aka “The Closet in Jeff’s Childhood Bedroom.” We also play two really incredible selections from May 23, 1995 in Santa Ana, CA, towards the end of a massive spring tour. The band is in tip-top shape here, and really pushes the limits with a killer first set “Astronomy Domine” (not making it up) and an intense “Chilly > Mr Soul > Chilly” closer. You’re gonna dig it. Then we announce the bracket for our “Sweet 16 for

We Fancied Rat Patrol: Beacon Residency 2020 Episode #99 hits at a particularly harrowing time in the recent history of our nation. The NBA is on hiatus. March Madness will be played in arenas in front of moms, dads, ballboys, and janitors, and no one else. Tom Hanks - FREAKING TOM HANKS - has the damn virus. End times? Nope. Just 2020, the best year ever. Well, despite the darkness, at least we still have some Widespread Panic to talk about. The band just completed its first five-nights-in-a-row RESIDENCY in many, many years - five nights, no repeats, and a return back to the 9 song first set, 9-10 song second, and 2 song encore format that served this band so well for so long. We discuss all five shows, but focus on the first and fifth nights. Harvey takes a deep dive in the 2nd set of night one for an old school combo kicking off with “Blight,” while Jeff waxes poetic about the 2nd set in night five, including a killer “Hatfield” with an all time JB rap about Hatfield’s mama and random TV shows and movi

Why Do We Even Exist? A Very Special, Existential Bluest Tape Yep, we ask this question and many more in this, our 98th episode of The Bluest Tape. What ostensibly began as an episode to discuss the recent Panic en la Playa Nueve turns into a discussion about washer/dryer repair and the very nature of this podcast that you are about to tune into. We go DEEP. But, we also talk about PELP, and another great PELP it was, really turning into a family reunion in some ways, not just for the fans, but the band as well, too. It was a very loose, very loose four show run, kicked off with an epic “Lawyers Guns & Money” opener and shutting it down with “Last Dance > Porch Song.” Take a ride with us through these four shows and stick around for a discussion best suited for your freshman year Philosophy 100 discussion section. Links below go to whole show streams from the good folks at Panicstream 24 January 2020 - Riviera Maya, MX - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lawyers, Guns, & Money > Chilly Water >

Everyone Gets A Second Chance 2020 Is Upon Us First time we’ve recorded in a while and so much has gone on, most notably, Panic concluding a strong three night run at the Fabulous Fox Theater in Atlanta over New Year’s. This episode, we recap the holidays, recap our illnesses, complain about football and basketball referees and the ridiculous amount of replays, and of course, end up talking about Panic. We give the 2019 run a good once over, and then we let Harvey wax poetic about NYE 94 and 95. No surprise, but some pretty good music here. Links below go to whole show streams from Panicstream 31 December 2019 - Atlanta, GA - Fabulous Fox Theater 31 December 1994 - Macon, GA - Macon City Auditorium 31 December 1995 - Macon, GA - Macon Coliseum  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nothing Lasts Forever in the Cold November Rain Montana, November 2000 We recorded this episode in the midst of a driving Memphis rain storm and a 25+ degree temperature drop on Veteran’s Day, so tipping our cap to the great W. Axl Rose and Stephanie Seymour seemed appropo. We dropped a new format for our Halloween 2019 recap and promptly cast it aside for a return to the old format. Sorry! This week, we have two great examples from Fall Tour 2000 - a couple of unheralded shows from the State of Montana. 11/10/00 finds at Montana State University in Bozeman for a killer trio of mid-first set songs. The next night (11/11/00), we head over to the University of Montana in Missoula for a smokin’, cover-laden encore that has a little bit of everything: killer sound, Schools’ bombs, engaged JB, and so much more. Absolutely love this segment! Along the way, we talk about spring 2020 tour, the Black Crowes reunion, the end of Matt Bevin, and the mess that the University of Memphis finds itself in. #freewiseman

Get Your Hot Takes! Halloween 2019 Recap What a great three night run in New Orleans! Wow! Excellent performances on all three nights, some BIG surprises, great covers, and killer setlists all around. Obviously, the talk of the run was the tribute to Andy Kaufman on Halloween night that ended in a bizarre piece of performance art to the tune of "Volare" and “Tacos are Cheap.” I hope they book Tony Clifton as an opener for Panic en la Playa in 2021. Trying a new format this week. We talk about the shows, sure, but we also play just some selected snippets from each show. Please check out the links below to listen to each show. We hope you like it! Links below go to whole show streams from Panicstream 31 October 2019 - New Orleans, LA - UNO Lakefront Arena 01 November 2019 - New Orleans, LA - UNO Lakefront Arena 02 November 2019 - New Orleans, LA - UNO Lakefront Arena  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

“‘Millioke,’ which is Algonquin for “The Good Land” Panic Returns to the Cream City! This weekend, the boys hit the Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for what will likely be another excellent run of three shows. The band has made the Riverside its exclusive Milwaukee home since 2006, but before that, they played all over “The United States of Milwaukee,” from Shank Hall and the Modjeska to the Eagles Ballroom and Summerfest. We get things started with the band’s first trip to the Cream City in 1992, follow it up with their first set at Summerfest in 1995, and close it out with the epic 1996 show from the Modjeska, and a damn fine Fall 1998 show from the Eagles Ballroom. In between the music, Jeff tries to remember his Milwaukee geography and recall some of his favorite haunts from when he worked in the city in 2012-13. His memory is not as sharp as it used to be though, so he probably made some mistakes. He also forgot to recommend his actual favorite places: Sobelman’s (burgers!), Soup Brothers

Back to the Mother Church Ryman 2019 If you are a regular listener to the Pod, you’d swear that we have turned this in a Billy Strings podcast! Lots of Billy Strings talk again this week - we unveil his previously unknown, completely secret REAL last name (dramatic enough for you?) - as Harvey waxes poetic about Billy’s role in the three night acoustic run at the “Mother Church of Country Music,” the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. These acoustic shows mark a giant leap forward for the band from the days of Sit n Ski (amazing, but not really acoustic other than the first 3 nights) and the Wood Tour (too processed, too planned out for us). They are incredibly well played; tight, yet loose; transcendent jams, concise country-soul brilliance; you can tell this band is having fun and really pushing all the right buttons. This week, Harvey shares his experience at the 2nd night of the Ryman and attending the two Sam Holt Band post-shows (more quality Sam Holt!), plus the usual beer talk, pop culture talk, da

By the Time We Got to Woodstock This week, we take a trip back to the 1969 Aquarian Exposition, aka, the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair, held in Bethel, NY. Through three days of rain, mud, bad trips, no food, traffic jams, and more mud, nearly a half million young people from all over the US made their way to this legendary festival. One such person was Jeff’s father-in-law, Larry, who hitched his way from New York City on Saturday morning, arriving just in time for the day’s music. In this episode, we learn all about Larry’s experience and memory of this incredible event in a special ‘setbreak’ interview. Since this is a Widespread Panic podcast, though, we chose Panic’s versions of nine songs that were performed at the festival. From Joe Cocker and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band to Creedence and The Band, we got it all. Enjoy! Links below go to the tracks from Relisten (just this one time, we promise!). 27 April 1997 - Burlington, VT - Memorial Auditorium Jingo Jam 10 August 1993 - Antioch, TN -

"The Music Is Running Itself and They're Just Hanging On" A Conversation with Sam Holt Harvey is joined again by friend of the podcast, Sam Holt. They dig deep into the archives and play some of Sam faves from shows in 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, and 2001. They discuss Sam's upcoming Remembering Mikey event in Atlanta on August 10, 2019 at Terminal West and also his late night shows in Nashville after Ryman Panic on 8/23 and 8/24. Links below go to whole show streams from Panicstream. 31 October 1990 - Athens, GA - Georgia Theatre Dog Song Source: Shure SM57s >D6 by Sam Holt 30 October 1992 - Athens, GA - Georgia Theatre Machine > Barstools Source: Nakamichi CM-300/CP1 > DAT by J.T. Lucchesi 27 July 1994 - Pensacola, FL - Bayfront Arena Analyze > Fishwater Source: SBD > DA-P20 28 June 1996 - Oak Mountain - Pelham, AL Space Wrangler > Disco Source: FOB EV-RE20 > SBM-1 > D8 by Michael Wilker 22 July 2000 - Brewery District Pavillion - Columbus, OH The Waker > Rock, This Part of Town, Chilly Water >

On the Road with Harvey, Jeff, and the DDBB Another Joyous Occasion, Vol. 2 For all your first times or long times out there, we have a landmark first in this episode of the Bluest Tape. Whilst driving up I-75 to the Tedeschi Trucks Band in Cincinnati, Jeff and Harvey actually recorded an episode in the SAME place at the SAME time, this time, in Jeff’s Honda Pilot! Harvey does most of the nuts and bolts this time around so Jeff could keep his eyes on the road, but the discussion goes back and forth about the Summer 1999 tour with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Red Rocks 2019, the 4848 Festival, Bobby Womack, the Pontiac Silverdome, and how we still don’t like “Christmas Katie.” The content this week takes us back 20 years (stunning!) to the glory days of the Panic + DDBB collaboration. Some great, non-Another Joyous Occasion live Panic included inside - enjoy! Links below go to whole show streams from Panicstream. 27 July 1999 - New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom Ophelia > Swamp Source: FOB Schoeps Mk4

Unexpected, Graceful, Not Forced Red Rocks 2019 Jeff is still in the fog of newborn parenthood, so we'll give him a pass for not finding time to join us on the podcast this week, but we are lucky enough to call in an ace reliever in the form of Ted Rockwell. Ted attended the most recent Panic three night run at Red Rocks, and as we learn, has attended all of the 60 consecutive WSP sell outs at Red Rocks, dating back to that fantastic show on May 31, 1996 (of course it was fantastic, it was 1996). But these 2019 shows are pretty darn stellar in their own right. Some great bustouts, but as is common at Red Rocks, the setlist doesn't tell the whole story. Some inspired playing and some magical meteorological moments made for yet another memorable Red Rocks run. One that was full of unexpected, graceful, and not forced musical moments. Plus, Jimmy's yellow guitar!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Babies Only Care What the People Feel Well, we stay true to our element with some more 1996 heat, this time to celebrate the arrival of the Kollath progeny. “Little Wrangler” Ellison Liron Kollath arrived on Tuesday, June 4, weighing a robust 8lb, 7oz. Mom and baby are doing well and dad is trying to figure out how to go hide at work and not offend anyone. In his short time on Earth, Baby Ellison has shown a keen interest in “Take Off Jam” - no, I’m not making that up - it is amazing what you find out at 230am with a 5 day old. Anyway, the music - we decided to celebrate with some “baby” songs - when you hear ‘em, you’ll know what we mean. Some excellent playing here again, getting started with another gem from spring/summer 1996 from The Backyard in Bee Cave, TX, and closing it out with some first set heat from October 1996 in Gainesville, GA. Heat! Links below go to whole show streams from Panicstream. 13 June 1996 - Bee Cave, TX - The Backyard Holden Oversoul > Jam > Gradle, Junior > Space Wrangl

Getting Back to Our Roots: A Return to 1996 Since it had been SO long since we dropped a new episode on you all, we thought it best to go back to our roots and play some serious, super sleeper, spring/summer 1996 heat. We head all the way out west to Tacoma, Washington where we find Panic inhabiting the Temple Theater for a smoking two setter that is oftentimes overlooked because of what comes before (5/31 through 6/2) and after (6/5). 6/4 is a special day for the Bluest Tape since, unless nature intervenes, will be the birthday for the newest Kollath child - updates on that to come in the next episode. Anyway, we celebrate all of our good news with the back half of the first set, starting with a killer “It Ain’t No Use” and closing out with a great “(Slow) Porch Song > Mr. Soul.” The middle of the second set here, though, is the fire, especially the first “Do What You Like” since 1991. What a show! Link below go to whole show streams from Panicstream. 04 June 1996 - Tacoma, WA - Temple Theater Set

Late for the Future Spring 2019 Sometimes we have the best of intentions. Sometimes we record two episodes at once. Sometimes we plan on putting out episodes in back to back weeks. Sometimes life intervenes. Sometimes Jeff forgets to write the liner notes. Sometimes we feel bad about all of this. Here it is, a review of the early and middle part of the Spring 2019 Panic tour. We recorded the show just before the Sweetwater 420 and Trondossa Festivals so we don’t have anything from those four shows, but there is a pretty good smattering of tracks from DC, Port Chester, and Durham. As many of you may know, the band is really playing well right now, so enjoy this episode and don’t hate us for the tardiness. It isn’t personal. We swear. Links below go to whole show streams from Panicstream. 17 March 2019 - Washington, DC - The Theatre at MGM National Harbor Sell Sell > Sharon Source: FOB Schoeps MK4V’S>CMC6>Lunatec V2>Sound Devices 722 (24/44.1) 65′ From Stage, 8 1/2′ High by Z-Man 24 March 2019 - P