Sunday, April 26, 2015

It Was 20 Years Ago Today: Widespread Panic, Live at Bucknell University, April 28th,1995

      Hello everyone. Hope you are surviving the down right chilly weather we are having this weekend. I even had to turn my heat back on for a little. Today I am writing about a show where I first GOT one of my favorite bands. I also reconnected with a few of the guys that got me into this band over the last year, so what better time that to present another one of my local renowned blog entries, It Was 20 Years Ago Today, Widespread Panic, Live at Bucknell University, April 28th, 1995 in Lewisburg, PA.


You can stream the show here




      I got introduced to WSP in the early 90's. I had read about them in Relix and a few of the Heads I met at Penn State had shows of them on tape. Most of the tape trading I did through the mail were all Grateful Dead related. But Pratt, Adam, and a few others had a nice selection that slowly introduced my to this new music, not quite Southern rock, not quite alternative/college rock, with more than a dash of GD influence. First time I ever played a album for Adrian, he swore it was the Dead until he heard John Bell's voice.
      Adam was a Head from upstate New York I got to know. We recently reconnected in Vegas for Phish's Halloween run. He saw his first Dead show in 1987 when he was 16 or 17. His parents or friends of his parents did the catering for the Dead's East Coast tours so he was hooked up. Saw the Warlock shows in Hampton in 1989 and even a show in Europe during the 1990 Fall Tour. And he was hooked up with Widespread. He had an all access pass for the Spring Panic Tour. (All of the above is based on my memory, I may have a few details wrong. If so, my bad). He even had Col. Bruce Hampton's phone number and had golfed with him. I was hoping we maybe would be able to meet the band but alas that did not occur.


04/28/95 Field House, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
1: Mr. Soul > Fishwater, C. Brown, Smoke And Burn, Better Off, Walkin' (For Your Love), Gradle, Can't Get High, 1 x 1, Makes Sense To Me
2: Holden Oversoul, Junior, I'm Not Alone, Conrad, Diner, Driving Song > Gimme > Driving Song > Breathing Slow > Porch Song
E: Contentment Blues > Red Beans
[Last 'Breathing Slow' - 09/30/93, 211 shows]

      This was my second Panic show after a HORDE show in 1993, which I remembered so little about I didn't even do a post for it. I knew Mr. Soul as a Neil Young tune and Fishwater has a driving beat so it was a great start. The Fieldhouse was a rather large building with somewhat rather crappy acoustics. I knew most of the second set and an opener of Holden Oversoul and a closer of the Porch Song is just what I could have wanted. Red Beans is a high energy encore.
      I used to run into some of my Panic friends at East Coast shows but hadn't seen any of them for years until the magic of Facebook reconnected myself with Adam and Pratt. I hope some of you are going down to Peir 6 tonight to catch the boys. I have to skip this one but anyone that goes will most certainly be having a good time by the water.

Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
PhD Rock and Roll