Milwaukee Night 3 (10/26/25)

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In loving memory of Garrie Vareen (10/26/61-2/16/11)

As the old adage goes, never miss a Sunday show! The folks in line looked like they had been ridden hard and put away wet, and they all seemed very happy about it. According to our WATLO intern’s calculations, by showtime, some fans had waited in line upwards of 34.5 hours. Now that’s about as wide as spreadication gets! None spread wider than the good people! The wider you spread, the more seats you save!

While interviewing fans throughout the day, we heard several comment that “the jacket is the new backwards hat” meaning the show would be complete fire sauce when he wears the jacket. But tonight, we got both! The black note eater letterman jacket PLUS the backwards dad hat equals JB Flamethrower – the double whammy, AKA the Milwaukee Sunday special! Jimmy started the train off with Airplane, which was the 359^th time. However, you could hear the pep in young Duane’s steps – he couldn’t hide his giddiness that his Father-in-Law finally let him open with Airplane. Yes, you interpreted that correctly. This was Duane’s first time ever opening a show with this number. Schools came crashing through with the backup vocals, perfectly on time and on key. Truly, the most underrated backup vocalist in drug band history.

Count it as a carrot, the band smoothly transitioned into Pleas, like a snake coming out of its skin. While Jimmy took out the takeout jam of Airplane, which we actually believe is a nod to Houser, Pleas is also incredibly different sounding with Herring at the helm rather than Houser. Neither is better nor worse than the other, just worth nothing the difference.

The band fully stopped and ripped into Old Neighborhood (affectionately referred to as Old Hood). JB was funking it uppppp! Truthfully, so many of us make the annual pilgrimage to Milwaukee that it feels like an old neighborhood to so many of the heads that have gone for 5+ years.  We were blessed with the first proper JB growls of the show! JB’s time at rhythm guitar camp (led by camp counselor short-shorts Bobby Weir) really paid off! Sunny went OFF and earned MVP of the song in our humble WATLO HQ opinion. Similarly to prior nights, it wasn’t the opener when the band sounded united and ready to blow the roof completely off its hinges. This was the song that proved the show was going to be fire! JB ad-libbed a bit at minute 4:50: “ohhhh Halloween night, gonna ring those bells and run. Ohhh little rascal, gonna ring those bells and run. Ohhh black cat, are you gonna be afraid of that (fraidy cat?) Ohhhh stop it, stoppin’ in the old neighborhood.” 

The band fully stopped, we all needed to cool off, especially Lord Bell because he took his letterman jacket off. As the crowd hooted and hollered, he sheepishly said “that’s all that’s coming off for now.” Oooooeeeeeee, JB, don’t get us started! Jimmy kicked off Small Town, another number that reminisces about childhood memories and paints a picture of where the character grew up.

With barely a pause, Duane kicked off Visiting Day, released on Dirty Side Down (2010). The modern version is the one we all know from Dirty Side Down, however it was played for 10 years before being released on a studio album. These earlier renditions contain different lyrics. Jojo came in a bit early about driving up to Thacker Mountain through Tennessee, but we totally understand the anticipation! We were also excited about the road trip to Savannah. The band bounced back perfectly, particularly helped out by JB’s moans in the background. What a recovery! It’s a part of live music we love, it’s spontaneous and unpredictable.

After the fifth song of the first set, Jimmy changed to his white guitar, and they went into Up All Night. Halfway through, they got into a funky jam. Jimmy took off completely, showcasing his ability to play every note. We thought his strings were going to catch fire. Thank God Joel is nearby with an extinguisher.

An extended intro brought us into Fishing after a quick stop. A reminder that we are always lucky and that when you see something you want (fishes), go after it (fishing). After a beautiful rendition of Fishing, the boys started A of D! This was the biggest LTP gap of the show, 83 shows (3/3/23). We’ve never witnessed Duane smile so big for so long. It felt like such a blessing to have this incredible original instrumental back in rotation. This was the third night in a row we got an original instrumental that hadn’t yet been played in 2025. Herring swapped out the white guitar for his gray tiger stripe PRS.

The set concluded with a very happy Duane rolling into Mr. Soul, JB’s nickname. It was the 390^th time the boys played this Neil Young cover. Schools had some epic vocals around 4:45 “why don’t you ask her? So strange! Ahhhahhhhhhhaaaaa.” They used the last two minutes of the song to exercise the nuclear option. Complete annihilation. JB told us about the central character’s face, which turned into plaster. Our faces turned into melted off flesh.

This was our last chance for set break errands. After 38 minutes, the band took the stage and began their final set of the run. They took their time tuning, giving everyone ample opportunity to make their way back to their seat / aisle dancing space. You know you’re in for a heater when Little Kin kicks off the set. Let’s make for kingdoms to come, ya’ll! Schools and JB traded off vocal licks around the 5-minute mark, lots of “mama’s” and “ooooohhhhhss” and various other mumbles. When seeing Yankee Panic, the dirtiness factor is NOT guaranteed. However, this song proved that this was indeed a filthy show.

Speaking of filth and dirt… we all KNEW this next one was Dirty Business. No Cadillac moans (rolls)! This song had the second longest LTP gap with 49 shows (12/31/23). Originally released in 1971 by New Riders of the Purple Sage. Jimmy mimics Jerry’s pedal steel guitar playing so well. His incredible and unique ability to do this was discussed in a podcast episode about fans’ favorite OTP (Only Time Played). You could hear a pin drop! It was one of the most attentive crowd moments of the weekend. This was a very calm, Sunday service style Dirty Business, very graceful with a lot of space. It seemed like each band member was really listening to each other and appreciated the silence of the crowd. We were loving how much JB played the slide guitar all weekend. This was a pinnacle moment of the Turn JB UP Movement. The last 1.5 minutes had some jamming, mostly led by Schools. Jojo’s keys gave away the next song.

Let the big man siiiiiiing! Schools really accentuated the vocals and appeared to be flexing his vocal range like never before. After telling us that the words went in one ear and out of the other, he made these incredible “shooooop” sound effects with some excellent humming. The tradeoffs between JB and DAS were impeccable. A++++. He then added some “youuu-whooo”s, adding to the uniqueness of this Blight. Those boys were vocalizing like Simon and Garfunkel, full harmonization achieved. A well-executed jam got slightly colonel-y by the end thanks to Jimmy. With about 45 seconds left in the song, many WATLO execs were expecting a “Let’s Get This Show on the Road.” Listen closely, many members of the band were leading us to believe this Michael Stanley song was starting.

Instead, the boys dropped us into Papa’s Home. Sunny busted out the whistle again! What a moment for the eldest member of the band to show off his chops. This song was made for him! Go, Sunny, go!!! At about 5:29 JB ad-libbed, “Awwwww, Junior been good for days, awwww love that little sister. Papa, papa, papa, papa, is comin’ home.” Unlike night one’s mini-drums, this night we were blessed with a MEGA drums. All string instrument players left the stage and Sunny and Duane (the oldest and youngest members) were left to their own devices. For over FIFTEEN minutes, those two showcased all their drumming skills. Impressive as hell! Schools came back on first for a very short drums & bass, which also served as a wonderful segway into Sharon.

The Dave Bromberg song kicked off with Dave’s bassline and Sunny’s triangle. We love when the audience all has permission to dance like their backs have no bones. LFG! The Mainstreet moan was extra special. JB’s vocals were epic, straight liquid golden fire. He had a little rap around 3:40, “little bit of this, and a whole lot of dat. Little shimmy she-bop. Make the boys grab their gun.” JB won MVP for this one – his vocalization was cause for women and men alike to change into their backup panties they carry around in their fanny packs just in case, for these exact moments.

An excellent transition led into Jamais Vu, a very well-earned carrot. They really seem to enjoy playing this one, as each member bares his soul. The ending had a Jojo/Jimmy cup-o-noodle jam. There was a full momentary pause before Jimmy’s guitar beautifully walked us into Gimme. We encourage you to read the previous recap about this song, as it’s an incredibly special one, as Mikey wrote it about his love for his wife and Mr. John Bell. On the first verse (1:58) JB substituted “Larry” with “Give me a lift here Garrie” and “open my heart” lovingly referencing Garrie Vareen who’s birthday was 10/26/61. Clearly, this was a nod to our beloved fallen Panic family member in celebration of the day of his birth.

The intro into Ride Me High was a little different than usual, it was incredibly energetic, and each member was involved. The momentum built to an astonishing peak by about 1.5 minutes, and that was just to start the song. The WATLO HQ team has one word to describe this intro… SICK. The jam around 6.5 minutes took off, every member of the band was locked in committed to making sure the roof was completely blown off. The band was amped, Schools gave us a “whooooo!” akin to Ric Flair. The last minute contained a Santana-esque Latin jam that was impressively cohesive.

They didn’t miss a beat dropping right into Fishwater. This version is incredibly dirty and very tight. Hard and fast. Jojo flexed his might with his organ solo around the 3.5-minute mark. The middle of Fishwater was absolutely searing before giving away to even more drumming.  Sunny demonstrated that the 15-minute drums only gave him MORE power as he destroyed it. Schools came in around minute-5 and laid down a very extra funky bassline. They were giving us lots of mo’, mo’, mo’, and we were LOVING it! No one wanted to slow down at all – full pedal to the metal up until the very final second.

After a very quick two-minute break, the boys re-entered the stage and played the 8^th Cosmic Confidante. They fizzled a bit, and Jojo’s perfect organ introduced Soul Kitchen, a Doors cover originally released in 19XX. They have only played this song FOUR times: 10/28/00, 10/30/16, 12/29/23, and 10/26/25.

An eye-witness reporter shared that their aisle usher this evening was letting EVERYTHING fly! Wild aisle dancing, joint smoking, not caring at all about what the revved-up fans were up to. Suddenly, a man came down the aisle and lit up a cigarette. That was the boundary… she came up so quickly and kicked him out immediately! Right after that happened, the boys ripped into Soul Kitchen and next thing I knew we were singing “light another cigarette.” It’s amazing the timing of it all! They played a little Sharon tease at the end, and the crowd erupted when JB said, “I want to stay here all night.”

The immediate drop into Postcard signified that they really didn’t want to depart Milwaukee, and neither did anyone in the audience! Someone said outside the venue, “I don’t want to leave either, John Bell!” JB substituted the first “ass whoopin’ time” with “laaaaaawd, this time, this time, this time again.” Schools added some texture with his growling “voice” and “saaaane.” JB changed the lyrics around slightly at the end, again reminding us to listen rather than try to sing along, “The air, we breath together so fine, fine, fine. Awwww together, we burnt up this time, time, time, time. This space is nuts, my kind of place. I don’t want to leave, no, noooo, don’t want to leave. I just want to stay here all night long, alllll night!”

JB said, “Thank you, Milwaukee!” The crowd cheered SO relentlessly that the band magically came back on for a SECOND ENCORE! Every live music fan’s dream-come-true! JB greeted the crowd with, “we’ve got one left in the chamber. But, after this last story, you’ve gotta go to bed!” Speaking as if he’s talking to a child in a soft fatherly voice. They dropped right into Love Tractor, a classic Widespread Panic tune. This was the 995^th time played, and JB kept substituting “me” with “waiting for us at the barn.” They also clearly said “roll over, child” instead of the usually growly yeeehaw. It was a rocking version, everything we wanted as a second encore! What a dream come true! Never miss a Milwaukee run!!!

See you in, Savannah!