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PELP N4 (1/23/26)
- watlopodcast
- Feb 8
- 15 min read
Listen to the entire show on Nugs or Relisten or Archive.org.
Data mined and explored via Everyday Companion.
Time flies when you are having fun, we could not believe it was already N4. Making the most of the days that fly right by, we were fortunate enough to catch the daytime show. Sierra Hull brought a different type of energy during the Lagoon set compared to the previous two days. A calmer vibe, more sentimental as we kept reminding each other, “be happy that it happened, not sad that it’s over!” Playa is a truly magical place and even though we tried to keep the sadness at bay, it really is so hard to leave.
What would we be gifted with on this final evening, Friday night? Only time will tell…
The boys took the stage, Dave gave us a little extra than the typical tuning sounds, perhaps playing the bassline from “Rock On” by David Essex? JB coyly said, “that’s all I got!” What a cutie! They opened the 7th set and final first set with Postcard - picking up the vibe perfectly that we really weren’t ready to leave. By night four, we are ready for nights 5,6,7…100 etc. - take us on tour, Panic! An early, “child” meant he was ready to throw it down! One of their earliest songs, they shelved it for over 100 shows twice in the early years and then after Mikey’s and Todd’s last shows (131 and 100 shows respectively), otherwise it’s been in the relatively-regular rotation since 10/6/86. JB said “we cooked us up years and years of time, time, time, time” - as the thirteenth time in Mexico and embarking on their 40th year of playing together as a band, it truly has been years and years. We are SO lucky!
After a very brief pause, Pilgrims was the second song of the set, another tune reminding us it’s time to drift on to the next city. Another classic, played for a long time. This is one of the lesser known tunes that began as an instrumental, but only made one singular appearance before the beautiful storytelling lyrics came about. Sunny gets to bust out all of his toys during this one, which is always a treat. Nick played perfectly, filling out the guitar solos so well, showcasing his talent and his incredible ability to fit in with the rest of the band perfectly as the rest of the fellas were still loud and clear and in your face. This really felt like his full coming out event, when he really let it all hang out. Thank you, Nick! We are so grateful for you! They eloquently wrapped up Pilgrims with a full stop.
Then, Walkin’ (For Your Love) took off, the 875th time played, creeping its way up to 4-digits! JB substituted “heart” with “soul” and added “found me this new pair of boots, child” & “all I want is to boogie with you child” (x2) - yessssss, give us all the childs, JB! They kept the tempo nice and calm for this one, it’s a tricky one. If you’ve never tried counting it out, it’s quite fun! Lots of change ups. We love their simple songs that are actually quite difficult to play. Check out a recent podcast episode where we sat down with members of Panic Tribute bands and discussed the complexity of their catalog. Another full stop, giving us plenty of time to soak it all in.
It also gave time for JB to announce, “Alright, it is our very wondrous pleasure to ask Miss. Sierra Hull to work with us, here.” She said “hey, hey, hey! Check check! Is this fun or what?” Testing out her mic, but unfortunately not successfully testing out her mandolin. JB said, “a Van Morrison ditty.” As they started playing And It Stoned Me which is the first water song of the run. The OG water songs we diligently track are Fishwater and Chilly Water, and so far we hadn’t heard one of them at PELP 13. However, on runs where they do NOT play either of the OG water songs, we often get And It Stoned Me, like in Asheville 2025, so we like to include it in our water count! They took a bust-out-worthy break from playing it up until just last year in Charleston (take a look at the 2025 Bust Outs in the Annual Report). Sierra’s vocals were perfect and harmonized so beautifully with our beloved frontman. However, we could not hear a single note of her mandolin, which was a huge bummer because she looked like she was KILLING it and shredding the hell out of that tiny guitar (especially in the next song). The entire band was staring at her wide-eyed and it was such a defeating feeling being in the crowd unable to hear a damn thing. Luckily, the sound engineers took their time splicing together the back-of-house and front-of-house sound, so on Nugs we are blessed with her talented playing. It’s so amazing to hear what she played, she is so amazing and added so much to the already incredible layers of Panic. It sounds magical. Do yourself and Sierra a huge favor, cue up the Nugs version of this song and listen to the sweet sound of her mandolin and her voice. Truly remarkable.
They wrapped up that one, and Duane and Sierra led them into Pickin’ Up The Pieces. Check out an audience tape recording to get a gist of what it sounded like in-person. This was a top notch execution of Pickin’ and despite not being able to hear her in-person, we all knew that it was spectacular. We are so grateful to now be able to hear her - thank you sound engineers and thank you Nugs! JB said, “Sierra Hull, everybody!” and she exited the stage.
The crowd erupted while everyone asked their neighbor, “were you able to hear her?” making sure that it wasn’t just water and sand clogging our ears. JB said something like, “that was really good!” Haha! What an amazing feeling to realize that the band was also in agreement that they were playing phenomenally AND that they thought Sierra crushed it. This was Sierra Hull’s first time sitting in with the best band in the land!
Fishwater was next, finally an OG water tune! This was only the third time they ever played Fishwater immediately following And It Stoned Me (3/8/90 and 6/17/98), so needless to say, it had been a while. JB was feeling himself - shoulder shrugs galore! He enunciated well despite letting the growliest of voices emerge. Dave’s backup vocals were exceptional. Jojo had an awesome organ solo, it was great to see him so animated and in the mix. No cubicle Jojo’s down in Mexico! There was a slight moment where we thought they were going to segue into another epic drums, but instead Jojo dropped us right into Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.
They’ve been covering this Traffic song for a LONG time, since 2/13/86, so pretty much the entirety of their history as a band. With Fishwater going unfinished, and this song also often used as sandwich bread, a few of us wondered if we were in for a double-bread sandwich, a mega sandwich, a club sandwich, a wicked large dagwood, you get it…. Since Duane joined the band they played LSHHB 28 times and used it as sandwich bread (aka played it twice in the same show) 15 times - 53.6% of the time. Wowwwwww could you hear JB clear as day! The jam brought on complete annihilation - Predator Panic was back for vengeance in the first set already. Nick completely crushed it, he played so ferociously, his gloves were completely off, and every member kept up and participated so fully. Dave wound the song down showing off his skills with the 6-string bass.
Leading the charge, Bass Mountain began Bowlegged Woman, the meat of our sandwich. Meaty is the perfect word to describe this song, especially this version. Another cover that’s been in the rotation since the 80’s, 2/2/87 to be exact, they destroy this song. Make those sleepers cry, ya’ll! Mr. Soul brought the heat, echoing his own words, growling, shouting, inserting plenty of “laaaawds” - phenomenal stuff. They jammed so cohesively, raw and dirty Panic. They created some space for JB to do his thing, typically we are blessed with a Bowlegged rap, however this time he never took the bait, which just makes previous Bowlegged raps that much more special. Instead, he finished the song with one last chorus as the rest of the band threw it down behind him. Superb stuff from the 6-headed cylinder. Dave let out a long cry, “knock kneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed man” to finish the song and lead them back into LSHHB.
It was truly astonishing to witness JB go from his growly Bobby Rush voice to an airy transcendent angelic voice. The fact that he’s been doing this for 40 years is quite amazing, we are blessed beyond words. Just as the last note finished, they perfectly and cohesively all dropped right back into Fishwater. Double chef kiss! MUAH!!! Mr. Bell was back into his growly rumbly sexy voice demanding mo’, mo’, mo’! He hollered out “MORE FISHWATER!” and the band wrapped up the set with about 60 seconds of petal-to-the-metal rock n’ roll. Set break time.
“Thank you, Sierra Hull! We’ll be right back.”
We were ready for mo’, mo’, mo’ and thankfully had a whole other set to go! One more to go before PELP 13 was a wrap along with the historic first run with Nick Johnson as lead guitarist. One last time to enjoy all that Playa has to offer: endless food, drinks, and synchronistic run-ins with friends old and new.
They got back onto the stage, and Jojo started playing eventually leading off Bust It Big. This was the first song of the entire night that debuted post-Mikey. It’s also a classic song for Mexico, all ten times they played it in 2025 reminded us to book our Playa rooms. We were all grateful to be there, in Mexico, ready to sing the anthem. This was only the 6th time in the song’s history (246 times played) that it kicked off the second set. The other five times were:
10/10/08
1/31/12
10/26/18
6/25/21
8/13/22
Jojo and Dave had an awesome interplay after the Sunny breakdown. JB got in the mix too - TURN HIM THE F UP! Jojo went completely H.A.M. before we all shouted about Rosemary’s baby! Dave said “FUCK ICE” around 8:06, immediately preceding the warning about those who build monuments to themselves. It was menacing and perfectly placed in the background, yet obvious. Well, done sir! Bass Mountain continues to make political statements with his music and instagram page. He also said something right at the end of the song, “here we go!” and then something inaudible. He was feeling it!
Without missing a beat, the whole band rolled into the Neil Young song, Mr. Soul. One of our WATLO interns audibly said, “Neil Mother Fucking Young” - haha! Yessssss! We’ve been waiting to see what Neil Young song they’d play, and the wait was over. While mean Gene, co-founder of Home Team, was hoping for a Last Dance, he’ll just have to keep seeing them to finally get what’s coming! Until then, we are fine settling for Mr. Soul - it’s a rager, and fits their sound perfectly. Neil took off leaving us all to wonder, “is it strange to change?” Hmmmm….. At the end, JB added (5:01): “sooooo, sooooo, sooo strange! Soooo, soooo strange! Awwww, feels good, feels good, feels good. Ahhhh what you looking at?”
They came to a full stop for a bit of regrouping. Practically a’capella, JB began serenading us with the sweet sweet lyrics of C. Brown. This version was soft and gentle, a nice palette cleanser after the raging and rocking first set and first two songs of the second. A very well executed performance of this one and a beautiful reminder to do what’s right first and foremost, and THEN do what feels good… it elicited a weeping frenzy from one of our WATLO staffers, which happens from time-to-time.
The band stopped as Adam MacDougall entered the stage and got settled next to Jojo. JB said, “Adam MacDougall, everybody!”
After everyone was situated, a sultry intro to Second Skin began. Adam came through loud and clear from the get-go. This song was first played on 3/24/05, in the George-era, and was the newest song played of the entire set. Shoutout to Stephanie, who absolutely lost it behind us! She had been waiting for this one, and we were stoked to enjoy it alongside her. This song has two distinct jam opportunities and the first one took off quickly. Adam was strongly in the mix, his tone on the keys is so identifiable. Nick and Dave had some incredible interchanges that catapulted into an explosive all-consuming jam. The keys (both Jojo and Adam) added an extra super psychedelic layer, all before the second verse. 🫨 The jam reached its peak around 12:20 as JB whispered a walk we talk. He gave us the triple “magic,” likely as a shout-out to Rae and her amazing online store, Magic & Glory! His vocals were extra echoey, hitting all the right spots. Second Skin can either end after this bout of lyrical mastery (15-ish minutes), or the band can choose to dip into a second jam. Thankfully, we got an extra three minutes of transcendental jamming, this time Adam and Jojo took the charge. It devolved a bit into what we would like to refer to as a “Zambi Jam.” Nick and Duane played together with Colonel Bruce, so it made sense that they were able to dip into a Colonel-y space.
Before things got too jammy, Dave changed the vibe and dropped into Red Hot Mama. This song was released by Parliament and Funkadelic four times before Panic played it (10/31/98). One of your WATLO HQ writer’s personal favorites is the version on Standing on the Verge of Getting It On (1974), mostly because it kicks off the whole album, and the entire thing slaps. JB was feeling himself, “laaaaawd, bad as she wanna be. she said la-dee-daaa-deee-daddy-ahhhhhhh” - git’ you some, JB! Adam charged ahead with a groovy, weird, intergalactic jam, and Dave was close on his heels. “Ma, maaaa, maaahhhhh, maaahhhhh, maaaaawwwwww” x 2 plus a good “child, child” - god damn, panties were SOILED. Between the jamming, JB’s lyrical additions, and all the extra umph it was a top tier RHM.
In the last 60-90 seconds friends were attempting to guess the next song. We certainly heard a major league Riders on the Storm tease from the keyboard corner, but then seemingly out of left field, Dave played the bassline for Spoonful. The least common song played this evening (only once in the last 100 shows, and last played 92 shows ago - not quite a bust out but sooooo very close!) It was originally released by Howlin’ Wolf in 1959. Even though Panic has been including it in their repertoire since 1986 (only 7 days after their first show as a band), it had HUUUUUUUUGE LTP gaps and this was only the 40th time ever played. Each night of PELP 13, an old blues tune was performed, likely as a way to show off Nick’s blues guitar chops - and that he certainly did!
Night 1: Smokestack Lightenin’
Night 2: Me and the Devil Blues
Night 3: Good Morning Little School Girl
Night 4: Spoonful
JB and Dave exchanged lyrics perfectly. Around 7:06 someone dropped his vocals to an octave yet to be heard on a Widespread Panic stage… we thought it was JB. Then he dropped back and practically whispered “some died about it, some cried about it, that spoonful.” Excellent stuff!
The tempo picked up at the end, as the band seamlessly and cohesively transitioned into All Time Low. Nick released some fury, Duane was rolling steady and strong, they were clearly playing with all their might! The song came to its conclusion as we all looked around wondering “what the hell just happened????” Schools informed us, “that was our friend, Adam MacDougall, out here on the keyboard with us!” Thank you, Adam!
Adam MacDougall plays / played with Circles Around the Sun, Grateful Shred, The Black Crowes, and The Chris Robinson Brotherhood. That was his fourth show sitting in with Panic:
After regrouping, they smoothly started Jack. It was quite emotional to hear JB say “wizard in the corner” without OUR wizard in the corner… our thoughts and prayers go to Jimmy as he heals himself and speedily recovers! We love you, Jimmy!!! Everyone played this tune perfectly, with emotion, gusto, and strength. Little did we know, this would actually be the first of TWO Jack’s of the evening, shout out to Dan’s dog, Jack!!!
The song ended, and Schools IMMEDIATELY began the spoken word introduction to Maggot Brain! Holy shit, strap in, ladies and gents. The most recent version we could discover with the spoken word introduction was 3/21/25 in St. Augustine, FL. The second to last time they included the spoken word introduction was on 10/10/14, Duane’s first MB with Panic. A Widespread Panic super fan posted on the Hometeam FM Facebook group:
“For context on Maggot Brain and Red Hot Mama last night - Billy Bass Nelson, OG Funkadelic, the man who was instrumental in laying down the bass lines for both songs, coined the phrase “Funkadelic” and founding bass player of Funkadelic, is in his transition now. Pretty sure they knew that and tipped their hat as well to Billy. His impact on the music we love is incalculable. Hail the Traveler!”
Well, there you have it! What an ode! A guitar hero’s dream… Nick SLAYEDDDDDDD it. Who is this guy? If this didn’t seal the deal, what will? He is a legend, an absolute virtuoso, a complete master of his axe. THANK YOU, Nick!! I’m sure playing up there wasn’t easy, but damn, did you crush it. Incredible!!
Dave relentlessly plummeted into Chilly Water - finally! Could it really be a Playa without the endless bottles of water to throw around? Wettest chillies in the land! Let’s talk water songs… the last time Fishwater and Chilly Water were played in the same show was 6/25/23, and the last time all three water songs were played (FW, CW, and And It Stoned Me) was 7/26/08. Before that, it hadn’t happened since 6/23/2000. So, while it HAS happened before, it’s incredibly rare! Never in the Duane-era, and only once in the Jimmy-era, have all three water songs been played in the same show. Chilly is one of their most-played songs in the catalog, and the only song of the evening that’s seen more than 1,000 performances. This was the 1,161st Chilly Water. And it truly was the WETTEST - we all looked like we jumped in the Gulf- it was glorious! GET IT SUNNY!!!! His time to shine was flawless, as usual. Jojo ramped it back up until Nick unleashed. The ending was wiiiiiild - Dave was screaming like a banshee. Predator Panic in full effect from top to bottom - this show is what Panic wet dreams are made of! Praise JBesus!!!
They left the stage and we were all LOVING LIFE, literally cracking up looking around at how soaked everyone was. After a few moments, they reentered, strapped on their guitars, picked up their sticks, and cracked their knuckles as they prepared to play something none of us could have ever predicted. There was some chatter on stage, so we all knew it was going to be special…
Without any warning, BAM, Jack Straw!!!! The only First Time Played song of the run, and a clear nod to Bobby Weir, may he rest in peace and rise in power (10/16/47 - 1/10/26). Just as Jerry and Bob exchanged lyrics back and forth, JB and Dave followed suit. It was so special and so spectacular. Nick played uptempo shreddy Jerry so well - what a champion. They all crushed it, but that’s a tough role to fulfill. It was so close to their 40th anniversary as a band, hearing them say “now we play for life” brought tears to our eyes - at this point, they’ve built such a strong and loving community, an entire way of life for four whole decades. Emotions were high and every single person was sentimental AF. Gratitude and love were oozing from every person in that courtyard. Hearing Dave and JB sing the last verse together brought about all the feels, chicken skin for days!
Soon after ending, they kicked off Ain’t Life Grand - quite the opposite of a FTP, this song was the most frequently played song of the show (25 times out of the last 100 shows, 25%!). One of the most quintessential panic songs, it has only seen a LTP gap in the double digits (more than 10) TWICE in its entire history of being played since 7/26/93. JB purred right after giving his wife a kiss, so sexy! Full throttle Panic closed out a historic run, each member relentlessly playing his heart out. Dave said “Sure it is, sure it is” and “ahhhhh! Wooo!” and JB ended the entire song with “Laaaawd, lawd, lawd” - he’s got that right!
JB said, “Thanks, everybody!" and Dave added, “Don’t stay up too late, ya’ll. Goodnight!” Our friend said “Don’t tell me what to do, Dave!” so his comment may have backfired. We were left hugging, smiling, taking our last group photos before opting for a cheeseburger in paradise: lounging on a lounge chair across the pool for the late night set of Eggy - the final performance of the week.
What an iconic run! We were so blessed to be south of the border with all of our friends, old and new, to see so much incredible music beyond Widespread Panic, AND to witness eight relentless sets of the sort of Panic that kicks ass and takes names. If Chuck Norris was a band, he would be WSMFP at PELP 13. This was a historic moment, as the entire event could have easily been cancelled due to Jimmy’s very real and very scary health concerns. A sincere feeling and emotion of gratitude emanated each person’s heart as we were just simply grateful to be there. Expectations were low, but they shouldn’t have been. Nick Johnson is a hero, and we are eternally grateful for him taking a leap and stepping in to fill in the ginormous shoes of one of HIS musical heroes.
Blessed feels like an understatement. Have fun in Austin, ya’ll! Eat all the brisket for us, we’ll see you in Florida.
Peace, Love, and Panic
Remember in the Lonestar state, “Dont stay up too late y'all,” ~ David Allen Schools
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