Any one else see the greatest rock and roll band in the world play at Austin Music Hall this weekend? 10/30 10/31 You might want to listen to these sitting down...
i was there both nights i can say that this weekend was w/o a doubt the best they have sounded since mikey's passing... probably the tightest i have ever heard them in my 5 years of seeing them, and the set lists were top notch. lake of fire was the highlight of the weekend, but i actually think from top to bottom fri night was actually a little better than sat night. just my $.02
i saw them in nola yesterday. very impressive, though the flaming lips stole the show on sunday, and jane's addiction was the best of the weekend.
Very nice! What did you go as? Where'd you spot up? Any aftershows over the weekend? Having had the pleasure of seeing all three versions of WsP (including Houser), I cannot in all honesty rule out that this is the best they have ever been. Ever since they started off Fall '08 with the send off for the Backyard (R.I.P.), I feel Jimmy Herring has grown more and more comfortable with the band, the songs, and his role in the whole thing. They have flat out taken off. The game has changed. Granted, I didn't see Mikey until the twilight of his life, but still. People: if you like to party with the hottest coochie in the country whilst getting your face melted off by the sickest band around, maybe you should consider seeing this band.
I'm showing my age here, but I used to see Panic all the time in the SE back in 1990s while I was at Vandy..I've probably seen them about 40 times. Most of the time I saw them at 328 Performance Hall and Exit/Inn in Nashville, the Fox Theater in Atlanta, and the Georgia Theater in Athens, then after I moved to Houston we'd do the Bronco Bowl-Bee Cave-Ariel/Verizon Theater mini tour with Halloweens in New Orleans. Since I've moved to NYC (2004) I've seen them at Radio City Music Hall, Jones Beach and most recently the United Palace Theater (which is more intimate than Radio City). In short, I ****ing love this band and have seen them way too many times. I am all about Jimmy Herring. Yeah he demands a little solo time but he has really grown into a solid contributor to the band. I went to his first shows at Radio City back in 2006 and I wasnt much of a believer, but in the past three years he has only gotten better and better. George McConnell was not all that impressive, in my opinion, and just tried to mimic Mikey (except he stood up.) I always felt like he was just trying to play Panic songs as they have always been played and never added anything of his own (or at least I never picked up on it.) Herring takes it to a new level. He ROCKS. His solos are great....I'm fine with the spotlight crap because he's ripping up the theater with amazing jams. He plays well with Schools and even gives JB a little time to tinker away when he's not focusing on vocals. I cant wait to see them when they make it back to the East Coast...its always a sick show. And forget their albums, they haven't put out an amazing studio album since the end of the 90s. Its the live stuff that blows your mind. Surprise Valley>Bear's Gone Fishing is ok on Til The Medicine Takes, but you hear it live and it blows your mind.
the girl and i went as safari hunters... kinda lame but it was last second. we worked our way up to the rail schools side fri night (after we missed LG&$ and stood in the beer line for literally 5 songs ). we were back jimmy side sat night although we made it up to the rail for about 1/2 the 2nd set... catching the last straw that they skipped out on last year in nola was awesome. no aftershows, which was probably for the best b/c although i had a ton of friends in town for the shows, hanging out with my panic crew is guaranteed trouble... my body was thankful i'm sure. i never had the fortune of seeing wsp with houser on the lead, but all my panic friends have been longtime spreadheads so they introduced to a lot of mikey-era panic when i first got into them in college. imo, they'll never be as good as they were w mikey... his tone and style was the essence of panic (lingering lead, so to speak). his solos in wrangler or rebirtha or pigeons will never be matched. that being said, jimmy adds a whole 'nother dimension... a true guitar badass who can flat out shred (let's be honest, mcconnell just wasn't any good... didn't have the tone and finese like mikey and lacked the real chops like jimmy). they've been more hit than miss since jimmy came on board, but a lot of panic tunes just weren't written for the machine-gun attack jimmy sometimes wanders into - less is more on a lot of panic tunes. i always have an absolute blast at every show (been to probably 25 or so since 2005), but i'd be lying if i said there weren;t times i didn't cringe either at the show or when i listened to the tapes afterwards. with all that said, however, this past weekend was w/o a doubt the finest i've heard panic 3.0 sound, and i'd be hard pressed to think they've sounded much better since mikey's passing in 02. just the tightest, funkiest, dirtiest panic i've seen... the kind of panic my old school friends always talked about when they brought up mikey panic. i mean i cant recall the last time i saw jojo be so on point on the keys, and his interaction w/ jimmy was easily the best i've witnessed. schools dropping bombs, jumping around... just nasty nasty panic. that fishh2o>creampuff>fishh2o from fri, the sick bowlegged from sat... they were just feeling it. if they can sustain that level of play.... watch the f' out! that's the kind of panic i would travel across the country for... i mean i'm seriously debating NYE's in atlanta (went in 2007 and barely remember a thing ) and i definitely agree w mateo, they haven't put out a stellar album (or material in general) since TTMT... not to say that there aren't some gems in the newer material, but nothing that gets you fistpumping or dancing like a barstools or surprise valley or proving ground. i had 3 panic virgins w/ me (my gf and two fraternity brothers) and i told all of them they will be lucky if they ever catch another 2-night stint like that. hopefully i got them hooked, though
Hell of a weekend in Austin, Drive By Truckers & Hayes Carll at Stubbs; 2 nights of panic. The Band encore Friday was outstanding; great opening songs both nights; got to hear Momma Told Me; but disappointed there was no Halloween Sabbath cover. Best weekend with them I've had in a while. And yeah, SWT, hanging out with the Panic crew is a recipe for a 2 day foggy hangover. I'm finally back to normal tonight. I think. Was it just me or was it MUCH less crowded Saturday than Friday? Just seemed that way upstairs...I had a plastic flask of Woodford in each boot, so the beer line was not needed during the sets. Friday was a zoooooo. I'll echo the Jimmy love too.
things seemed crazier yet more managed saturday night.... friday night was a complete sh!tshow. i thought lake of fire was a flat out awesome halloween bustout. opening halloween night with waiting on the bus was perfect, and better yet they nailed it.
Nope. I was here: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Lyj1NLnCEV0&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Lyj1NLnCEV0&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
