Bluest Tape

It’s Mempho Time! 

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The 2021 Mempho Festival is FINALLY here! What a couple of months since the last Panic shows - the Wilmington shows were epic, the Asheville shows serviceable, and then Napa and NYC got canceled, and JB got COVID. But, everyone is healthy and the fans are ready for the Memphis heat! Aside from the Panic, the festival lineup is pretty great, with the Avetts, Nathaniel Rateliff, Black Pumas, Liz Brasher, City Champs, and more gracing the stages at the Memphis Botanic Gardens. We are so excited to have you come to town! Check out this episode for a Mempho preview, some setlist wishcasting, and Jeff’s very extensive dining, drinking, doing, and watching recommendations to keep you and yours occupied during a busy SEC Saturday. Go visit that Stax Museum of American Soul Music, too! 

Even though Harvey only listens to JRAD these days, Jeff has a couple of Panic show recommendations for you from fall 94 and 99 - enjoy! 

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*Links below go to whole show streams from Relisten powered by Panicstream*

27 September 1994 - Jacksonville, FL - Memorial Auditorium

Maggot Brain > Chilly Water

26 September 1999 - Clemson, SC - Littlejohn Coliseum

Papa Legba > PAYMH > Pleas > Conrad

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Harvey and Jeff get the band back together for a in-depth Red Rocks + Tunes for Tots preview and lay down some not-so-hot takes and predictions for the shows ahead. Special guests Jay Strasberg and Ted Rockwell bring their love of Panic and their excitement for the weekend ahead to the pod, and preview the incredible vibe that awaits the 10,000+ fans headed to Colorado. And yes, to stay to the original inspiration for the Bluest Tape, Jeff drops some solid recommendations from 96 and 98 that you can see below. 

13 June 1996 - Bee Cave, TX - The Backyard

Porch Song > Rebirtha > Papa Legba

18 June 1998 - Strasbourg, FRA - Le Laiterie

Space Wrangler > Diner

25 June 2000 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks

Driving > Stop-Go > Driving

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Good Lord, we certainly take our time between episodes, don’t we?

Episode 112 features a massive spring 1996 recap and breakdown (with recs below), plus some Panic 3.0 news and tour dates, along with sound financial advice from Harvey. If you have listened to our pod before, spring 1996 holds a special place in our collective heart - take a listen to any of the shows and you will certainly see why. From the “Little Rock” in North Little Rock on 3/22/96 to he “Fishwater > Help Me Somebody” encore in Charlottesville on 4/28/96, the tour has some of the highest highs that the band ever reached. Plus, we are less than FOUR months away from Panic 3.0 retaking the stage - we can’t wait!

Top 5 Spring 1996 Recommendations:

3/28 Johnson City: Vacation > Rebirtha > Porch Song

3/29 Columbia: Cream Puff War > Hatfield > Arleen

4/1 Augusta: A true greatest hits setlist plus a David Blackmon sit-in

4/3 Huntsville: The #1 all-time Panic show according to The Bluest Tape

4/4 Statesboro: Driving > Chunk of Coal > Driving > Dream Song > Knockin’ Around the Zoo

This week's musical selection:

21 April 1996 - Tussey Mountain Amp., Boalsburg, PA

Driving Song > Hope in a Hopeless World > Driving Song > Breathing Slow

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JFC, can y’all believe - Sit n Ski was 25 YEARS AGO!

A truly monumental event in the history of the band, it was really a pivot point for what the band would become in 1996 and the remainder of the Houser years. The tour started off with a unique format of solo performances by JB and Houser, new songs and covers, along with a heavy dose of David Blackmon on fiddle, but eventually settled into a groove of stomping, hard-driving Panic with the chairs and acoustics cast aside more often than not.

While we have talked about the tour a bunch, and played several selections over the years (episodes 42 and 43 from 2018), we will take you through the tour on a show-by-show basis, offering up our respective top five tour moments (only one overlap) and delving into such important issues as insurrection, inauguration, Justin Timberlake, and Raisin’ Cane’s chicken strips.

11 February 1996 - Steamboat Springs, CO - Sheraton Ballroom
The Take Out > Proving Ground > Orange Blossom Special > Proving Ground > Porch Song
(with David Blackmon on fiddle)

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We’ve Been a Long Time Gone

My lands, we were gone a long time, weren’t we?

Great to see you all again, everyone. Harvey and Jeff play a little catchup on life, Panic, politics, and such, and then sit down with Scott Whiddon, a Professor of Writing at Transylvania University in Lexington, who also happens to be a damn fine musician. On December 27, Scott will release his new single, “The Ballad of Chris Bell,” about the Big Star founder and Memphis-born singer-songwriter who died way too young in 1978. The guys talk about Scott’s new record and talk a lot about Panic, using Scott’s first show, 12/30/95 in Spartanburg, SC as the jumping off point. While NYE 1995 deservedly gets a ton of praise, the night before is damn fine as well, featuring a lengthy sit-in by John Keane, and some darkness before the New Year’s joy of the next night in Macon, GA.

We promise to see more of you in 2021, but until then, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Buy Scott's music and hear more here

30 December 1995 - Spartanburg, SC - Memorial Auditorium
West Virginia > You Got Yours > Stop-Go (w/John Keane), A of D, Wondering, Maggot Brain (w/John Keane) > Chilly Water

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Jeff and Harvey discuss the return of the NFL (a few weeks late - time stands still in the quarantine). And then Sam Holt comes back to the podcast to play some scorching hot tunes and also discuss HOME TEAM and what it means. We also talk some more about Todd Nance and discuss his classic tune "Check Me Out (with a Cheeseburger).

We would include a song list, but it's too damn long. Just know it's all top-notch.

You've waited a long time for this episode - it's a long one, enjoy it.

Home Team is a feeling. It is a mindset. We have it,and we like to share it. It is knowing and being proud of who you are, and where you come from. It's what you represent. It is where you are now, and where you are going from here.

Home Team is as universal as love, music or art, transcending boundaries of language and vocal expression. Something Home Team is not is a f**k you, negative attitude while walking through this life. Home Team represents moving forward and being positive. Not to the side, not backward, not negative...you help yourself; move forward.

We are aware of speed bumps in this life, but at these times your mind, heart, spirit and soul continue to expand forward; representing Home Team. Ask yourself this question; If you don't have Home Team, what do you have? And remember in your answer, YOU are Home Team as WE are Home Team.

You may call it useless propaganda, you may take it to heart. If you doubt it, let it go without being a detractor. If you embrace it, take the ball and move forward for the Team, and be positive along the way. But no matter what... don't rip us off. Be a part of us as we are a part of you. Look for us as we look for you.

Make things happen. Live. Love. Get up. Get down. Be. Be music. Be art. Be positive. Be conscious. Be alert. Be aware. Be balanced. Be heard. Act. React. Construct. Know. Do. Think. Achieve. MoveForward. Maintain. Represent.

Know that wherever you are, wherever you go, whatever you do, you are representing Home Team. Maybe not under our or others ideas, but under the ideas of a Home Team somewhere.

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Add the loss of Todd Nance to the list of terrible things that have happened in 2020.

Jeff and Harvey knock off the rust and discuss how important Todd Nance was to the Widespread Panic sound. And then friend of the pod, Sam Holt, joins Harvey to talk some more about his friendship with Todd and then play some raging Jerry Joseph & Friends stuff and then some great early 90s Panic (what else would you expect from Sam?).

Jerry Joseph & Friends 15 September 2001 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt
Fastest Horse in Town, Light is Like Water, Gloryland > Drive > Whole Lotta Love > Drive > Climb to Safety (w/ Michael Houser and Todd Nance)

14 February 1992 - Athens, GA - Georgia Theatre
Chilly Water

2 October 1994 - Lexington, KY - Red Mile Racetrack
Love Tractor

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A Patchwork Quilt of a Life: Jerry @ 25

It is impossible to believe, but it has been 25 years since we lost Jerry Garcia on August 9, 1995. His life and music paved the way for bands like Panic; his passing may have meant even more, elevating them to bigger tours, bigger venues, and more notoriety as Deadheads looked and longed for a new home. In this episode, we reflect on Garcia’s legacy, what he meant in our own lives, including “where we were” when we found out Jerry had died, and certainly what he meant to Panic. We close out the show with a couple of choice clips featuring two of his longtime collaborators, fellow Grateful Dead founder Bob Weir and bluegrass fiddle legend Vassar Clements. In between, we talk about the ongoing “natty” between 4/3/96 and 10/28/00, Panic’s upcoming “Never Miss a Sunday Show” webcasts, and a few other things as well. As the yahrzeits of both Jerry and Mikey, August 9 and 10 are bittersweet days in the jamband world, but they also give us a chance to reflect and say a quiet note of gratitude. Thanks guys - the world is a better place for having you here.

Please make your voice heard and help us pick the winner for the Panic Sweet 16 for COVID-19 - vote on Facebook and on Twitter!

#1 - April 3, 1996 - Huntsville, AL - VBCC Arena
#3 - October 28, 2000 - New Orleans, LA - UNO Lakefront Arena

08 August 1999 - Aspen, CO - Aspen Harmony Festival
Me & the Devil Blues, Pusherman, Jam (w/ Bob Weir, Rob Wasserman, and Jay Lane)

25 October 2003 - Antioch, TN - Amsouth Amphitheater
The Take Out, Pickin’ Up the Pieces, Porch Song (w/ Vassar Clements)

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