Milwaukee Night 1 (10/24/25)

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After waiting in line for upwards of 12 hours, fans were rowdy and ready for the infamous mecca of Milwaukee. This was the band’s 46^th performance at the Riverside Theater – needless to say, it feels like a home for the good people, the band, and the crew. Opened on April 29, 1928, this historic and beautiful theater sits 2,480 people. Local architects who designed the theater also designed the Palace Theater in NYC. The Pabst Theater Group bought it in 2005, and the theater underwent renovations. The new marquee and the vertical sign were added to the exterior between 2015 and 2016, which were reminiscent of the theater’s history.

JB greeted the crowd, “Howdy, everybody.” With that feeling of home in mind, Blue Indian kicked off this exceptional run. Albeit a commonly played song, this was only the 3^rd time in the band’s history that Blue Indian opened a show. The other two times were 12/31/16 and 4/22/23. The crowd exploded as we tipped our hats to each other and twisted out a do-si-do.

After a sweet ending to a studio-like version of Blue Indian, Jimmy ripped into Contentment Blues. The second song with “blue” in the name. Did you catch JB swap out “one man’s needs” with “one man’s greed”?

Cymbals continued rumbling (do we count that as a carrot?) before Duane’s drum beat brought us all to that creek in Georgia. JB sung “6 o’clock on Saturday” at precisely 8:26 PM on a Friday night. Eerily consistent with his timing from the previous Henry Parson’s since we’ve been writing recaps – 21 hours and 34 minutes (1,294 total minutes) off in MKE. This is the FIFTH HP in a row where the band has been between 21.63-22.5 hours off. Do they realize their consistency? The whole band exploded, with Jimmy leading the charge, the roof practically blew off the historic theater. This was a ripping version and everyone seemed settled in by the end of the song. Your WATLO street team conducted fan interviews all weekend, and EveryDave companion, shared that he drove his Toyota Corolla with 370,000 miles to the run from IL with the vanity plate “HPARSONS” – way to go, Dave! Thanks for bringing us a heater!

Jojo’s keys introduced Good People, a great opportunity to look around at all the smiling faces with a knowing smile that we ARE indeed the good people! Even though Milwaukee is famous for making beer, don’t forget to drink water and hydrate! Heal your wounds and be whole again! Without making us wonder about whether or not they’d proceed into Dark Bar, Jojo quickly transitioned into the beloved sad song that has only stood alone only once (3/13/22). The other 58 times it’s been played has been sandwiched (in a paper bag) between Good People. As they segwayed back into Good People, the transition was expanded in a cohesive and powerful way. A 4-minute Good People concluded this sequence.

All 2,400 good people in attendance were getting down, the Riverside was hot, humid, and super sweaty. JB put his guitar down to take his jacket off and the crowd went wild! This gave Jimmy some time to comfortably change his guitar (from the grey tiger stripe to the straight white).

With the fresh guitar for Jimmy, and JB feeling a little cooler, the band played the first song of the run that has NOT yet been played in 2025 – the instrumental, Happy. It was last played in Playa – 4/15/24, before that in Napa – 8/27/22. With long show gaps (64 in Playa and 39 in Milwaukee), this song felt like a huge treat! Widespread Panic has so many original instrumentals, we were very happy to enjoy one we haven’t seen live in over 1.5 years. Jimmy took some creative liberty in the last 1.5 minutes of the song, adding his own flare.

While Jojo began his super slow and absolutely sick introduction, Jimmy had time to change his guitar to the gold one. As each spread head, one by one, realized what song was about to hit us, smiles and nods emerged – we all understood this was another treat following Happy, reaffirming how special Milwaukee and the Riverside Theater is to the band and the fanbase. This song had another long LTP gap, 5/27/23 (Brandon, MS), with a 67-show gap. This was the 148^th time the song was played, first played on 3/23/95. Authored by Jojo and Bill McCrory, it was originally released by Beanland on the album Beanland in 1990. We are grateful Jojo brought the tune with him when he joined the best band in the land! Are you familiar with the story of Sugar Man? It's worth looking into.

A soft segway led into King Baby. The first song of the run off their newest album. Thank you, Jerry Joseph, for co-writing the song with the Boys! Even though they’ve played this song 11 out of 12 runs, this particular version could have been referencing the “no kings” protest that occurred around the country the weekend prior. Just ask the British Empire, their monarch has worked out seemingly well for them, despite losing the Revolutionary War. Go America!! The last minute of King Baby, there was a wet noodle jam, led by Jimmy.

Schools menacingly played haunted house bass sounds, paired with Jojo’s bass keys. There were definitely straight-to-VHS soundtrack vibes from an 80’s Halloween movie. Preparing us for the following weekend in Savannah, we received some last-minute costume inspiration. From bone shaking at the beginning to head banging at the end, all the dance moves were busted out on the floor.

JB reassured us, “we’ll be right back” as the setbreak commenced. This is one of the few venues, that isn’t a casino, where you can leave and return, as long as you receive the blacklight stamp on your inner left forearm. DO NOT LEAVE WITHOUT A STAMP! Otherwise, you cannot get back in! Clay cautioned us of this during his interview, we aren’t 100% sure if he learned this through experience or not – you’ll have to ask him.

The boys got back on stage without a greeting, they settled in with a few tuning notes. Duane’s snare drum kicked off the second set of the run with Big Wooly Mammoth. Jimmy had his grey PRS. Sometimes Jojo says “so we can burn this city down” and other times he inserts the actual city name. One WATLO HQ staffer listens closely, as their preference is to hear the actual city name – it feels more special! An intern was tasked with reviewing all six BWM renditions from 2025 and provided this table (NERDS!):

Date:	Jojo’s Vocals:	Schools’s Vocals:
2/15	Burn this city down	--
4/24	Burn this city down	--
6/4	Burn Chicago down	Ms. O’Leary, what about that cow
8/8	Burn this city down	--
9/12	Burn this city down	Never been done before here, has it?
10/24	Birn this city down	inaudible like always

Turns out he’s only said the city name once – Chicago, and Dave has chimed in three times. Thank you, MVP intern!

There was a nice extra jam around 5.5 minutes. JB was clearly in the mix! Turn him up!!!!  After the last verse, Jimmy totally went off. We have a hunch he chugged a red bull at set break. We even heard him jam something that sounded like “when the saints go marching in.”

They didn’t stop for a second, and Duane and Sunny transitioned the 6-headed monster into Wondering. Lots of gray skies in Wisconsin, as well has hard working people! A lovely and necessary reminder to quit thinking – it makes the danger! There was a quick segway into Walkin’ (For Your Love). Two incredibly old songs – this show hosted the 667^th Wondering and 873^rd Walkin’. JB was clear and loud – just like we like him!

After a full stop, Jimmy got his white guitar back out, which started Space Wrangler along with Sunny’s vibraslap. This song contains more vibraslaps than any other, one of the reasons this is one of our favorite songs! They’ve got it dialed in, considering this was the 1,1215^th time played. Absolutely spectacular! JB’s voice sounded smooth as golden butter, giving us some vocal oscillation and really elevating the entire sound of the band. What a better place to skol a cold beer! Considered a major brewing center, Wisconsin produced 7.7 million barrels of beer in the first three quarters of 2024 and ranks 7^th amongst all US stated in beer production. Historically, MKE was home to major breweries like Schlitz and Pabst earning it the nickname “Beer Capital of the World” Today, the city is home to over 50 breweries. Around minute 8, Jimmy completely annihilates the jam. The red bull had not worn off yet…

Continuing with the blue theme from set one, Blue Carousel was next. Pay attention, there’s a reference to Wizard of Oz in the lyrics: “Got one life in black and white. There’s no place like Home. Got another in Technicolor. So back down the road I go.” This reference connects to the next song, Rebirtha, which started after a bit of a break. There are lyrics in this song that also reference the Wizard of Oz: “Left town like the Wizard of Oz, first 20 minutes in black and white.” JB also switched up the lyrics to “I’ve seen this place before” instead of “I’ve seen your face before.” JB also switched it up with “I really really don’t remember” instead of “I really really don’t know” before the beloved wooden block jam. It was a rocking jam, one of the best of the sets. Rebirtha is a great guess on the Bingo card for Milwaukee, as the Brewers were closer than ever in history to making it to the World Series, which was happening during the show. Some fans were enjoying the live Panics while also glancing down at their phone, paying attention to the baseball game. Maybe next year, Brew Crew! 

The song fizzled out and I’m Not Alone started. Being in the dairy capital of the world, it was fitting to hear JB talk about a square of orange cheese. Jimmy’s tone hit all the right places. Even though it was a standard edition version, the song is so incredible that it was an all-out dance party! We’re super grateful the Riverside staff let us all wook out in the aisles and walkways! Full rage dancing is encouraged!

Honky Red was next, a cover song originally released by Murray McLaughlan in 1971 on the album Song from the Street. The WATLO Podcast discussed this song in a recent episode about fans’ favorite memories from experiencing a First Time Played (FTP). Check it out HERE. As mentioned in the episode, this was the 88^th time the song has been played, quite often considering it was only first played 4/5/14. The original lyrics say “left my leg in France” while JB changes it to “left my leg in Iraq” which makes it fit this time and place a bit more. We love and encourage the band to take cover songs and make them sound more and more like originals. Gently substituting lyrics is a beautiful way to make the song more generationally appropriate.  

The band flawlessly transitioned into Surprise Valley. Sunny finally used his whistle! The first time in 2025!!! Did you sign the Hometeam FM petition asking him to play it again? It’s not often Surprise has a whistle introduction, but the crowd went absolutely wiiiiiiild! It worked! He played it! Jimmy played all the notes – that must have been one hell of a red bull. As we often see in Surprise Valley, Duane and Sunny had about a 3-minute opportunity to hit their skins without any stringed instruments in the middle of the song. The rest of the band stayed on the stage for what we like to call a “mini drums.” Drums with a lowercase d. The boys all coalesced beautifully back into the mountain air we breath for a solid 3-minute ending to the Surprise > drums > Surprise mini grilled cheese sandwich.

Schools dropped one of the sexiest basslines in Panic’s catalog as fans prepared to get down to the Bobby Rush cover. Like beer and brats, cheese and custard, the pack and the brew crew, we all go together like a bowlegged woman and a knock-kneed man! Schools ferociously came through with epic backup vocals howling “kneeeeeeeeeee’d man” before the jam breakdown. JB had a stunning rap 2+ minute wrap:

“Don’t know how we found each other. No coincidence, no accidents. I’ve know you since before. Recognize, I know you look different, but I recognize. How we get back on this boat? Floatin’ on. How’d we get on this boat? So many, many, many, many, many times before, so baby, this is the time. Ohhhhhh, somehow, some got slipped, some got passed myyyyyyyyyy eyes, some getting sucked in to TV, everybody looking like a squidbillie, Oh, what a way to enjoy the rapture. C’mon, Jesus, what about all that free love? Ohhhhh, Granny Squid just dangling from a rocking chair. C’mon, Jesus, you know you want this. She said, ‘no. I do not think that would be good for ME.’”

He finished the whole song saying “you and me baby, go tentacle in tentacle” referencing the characters on the show and how they would go "hand-in-hand" but you know, with their tentacles because they don't have hands. This epic Squid-legged-billie rap concluded set 2, and without a word they exited the stage.

After four minutes of cheering for the encore, Jojo kicked it off with the longest LTP gap of the run, Help Me Somebody. Originally released by NRBQ in 1975 on the album All Hopped Up. This was the 95^th time played, zero times in the last 100 shows! The last time Jojo told us how tired he was of his lover’s act was on 2/27/20 at the Beacon Theater right before we were locked down. Since Jimmy joined the band it was only played twice in 2008, twice in 2010, three times in 2011, twice in 2012, four times in 2013, three times in 2014, once in 2017, once in 2018, once in 2019, and then of course the one time in 2020 and in 2025. Jojo accidentally cut Jimmy’s jam short. We were treated to an acapella vocal jam around minute 4:15. The combination of Schools, JB, and Jojo was incredible! Condlucding with Jojo yelling “Help! Help!” At about 5:15 the song broke down into a colonel-y jam that didn’t resemble any song at all. During this one+ minute fizzle space jam, JB took his big guitar off his arm and strapped into his tiny guitar so he could introduce End of the Show.

Originally released by Bloodkin in 1994 on Good Luck Charm, this is always a welcomed way to end a Panic show. We were thinking about the price of admission for the upcoming Port Chester run, tolling up about $250 per ticket per night. YIKES! The entire crowd erupted and even overpowered the soundboard vocals as we all shouted “she’s a goddamn cat in heat” together at the top of our lungs. The entire show was bookended with preacher man… Blue Indian kicked us off with “ain’t no preacher just happy to meet you” and during the last song he says “preacher man in the room downstairs, putting on his midnight mascara.” We haven’t been to the fag bar downtown yet, but we hear there’s great popcorn and 2 for 1 Miller High Life.

The End of the Show encore leaves no doubt that JB’s voice is like a fine wine. Even after hours of the growling, the “lawwwd, child”s, the lullaby singing, to have such a smooth delivery of that song was absolutely incredible. JB’s last word to say to the audience was the End of the Show, as there was no farewell. Night two wrapped, and we all poured into the street, with a few options for places to go.