10/31/11 Widespread Panic @ Aragon Ballroom - Chicago, IL

Widespread Panic
10/31/11
Aragon Ballroom
Chicago, IL

I: Pigeons, Radio Child, Wishbone, True To My Nature, Time Zones, Love Tractor, Degenerate, Blight, Tail Dragger, Climb To Safety

II: Godzilla > Iron Man > Godzilla, Imitation Leather Shoes > Jack, Surprise Valley > Drums > Surprise Valley > Blue Indian, I'm Losing You, Chilly Water > Bust It Big > Chilly Water

E: Outta Mind (Outta Sight), Postcard, Porch Song, Werewolves Of London



postshow P.A. music was AC/DC 'Highway to Hell'





It appeared to be a buyers market with extra tickets appearing to be plentiful on a cold Monday night. On our way into the venue I saw pigeons underneath the L train. This turned out to be an omen for the show opener. The Aragon is one of my least favorite venues. It's impossible to get comfortable with people constantly distrupting your groove. For the first set we were on the Schools side of the soundboard. Eventually we moved up by Z-man who was FOB in the center. Before the show they were playing Halloween music on the P.A. that included the Addams Family theme and the Ghostbusters theme. Big is a movie I've always liked so I appreciated Todd's costume.

With the less than ideal conditions in the venue a rock show was what the situation required and that's what Panic brought on Halloween for the most part. They hit the stage before 8 pm with WXRT doing a short awkward intro onstage. The broadcast made them get onstage earlier than normal and made for a shorter setbreak both of which I was fine with. This was 10 years after the UIC show I'd seen which was the last time Panic had brought their Halloween party to this city. I felt like Panic played a lot of their staples to mix in with their covers and this worked well. Pigeons to open followed by Radio Child was a high energy start. Admittedly I was unfamiliar with most of the covers played. JB especially did a great job with the blues numbers. The Willis Alan Ramsey cover Wishbone was well done. It seemed like most of the crowd didn't recognize a lot of the covers. I question the choices of True to My Nature and Time Zones. They seemed like standard selections. Love Tractor got the crowd going again. The Vic cover Degenerate followed by Blight was pairing that was a tribute to their fallen friend. Blight has a dark vibe that works well on Halloween. JB and Jojo especially did a good job with the Howlin' Wolf cover Tail Dragger. CTS was a strong closer to round out the set. This performance had very little in the way of jamming but rather was a straight forward rock show.

Fortunately I had not heard about the soundcheck so Godzilla > Iron Man > Godzilla was a surprise. The second set of this show was solid work all the way through. It was a bit disappointing to hear them repeat ILS from Thursday in Ames. I liked the juxtaposition of ILS/Jack. Surprise Valley > Drums > Surprise Valley was high energy. Without stopping they segued smoothly into Blue Indian. John Lennon's I'm Losing You was appropriate with much of the crowd not recognizing a lot of the covers. Chilly Water > Bust It Big > Chilly Water finished out the set with authority. The second set was impressive.

The encore seemed a bit rushed. Wilco in Chicago was a nice tip of the hat. Postcard was expected after three shows in the city. After a quick run through of Porch Song they brought out the crew for Werewolves of London. After the show as the crowd waiting to get out of the bottleneck at the back of the room they blasted AC/DC Highway to Hell on the P.A.