Savannah Night 1 (10/31/25)

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It was Halloween night and the scene in the lot was ramped UP, all the way to eleven. Spread heads donned themselves in the finest of costumes and lined up EARLY as everyone was excited and curious about the theme. Over the last four decades, Panic has been known to throw DOWN on Halloween night, with bust-outs and first-time-played songs galore. However, they didn’t always have elaborate set designs and themes to their music. In the 90’s there were usually some pumpkins on stage carved by fans and crew, slowly the band started wearing hand-made costumes with a haunted house on stage, and eventually in the last 10-15 years they added elaborate themes and set designs. 

The WATLO street team interviewed fans asking what they thought the theme may be, and due to the clever art installation outside the venue that said “Are you ready to go down the rabbit hole?” many fans were on top of it and guessed it would be an Alice in Wonderland themed occasion. While most fans remember the 1951 Disney Animated Film, the true origin of this story began as a novel titled Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, written by Lewis Carroll in 1865.

As we entered the venue, there were even more clues, a clump of mushrooms, a blown up beverage with a “Drink Me” sign around its neck, and various clocks about. Fans packed it in - the front of the floor was more densely populated than usual. There was a lot of mystery as a tall opaque curtain blocked the band completely from view. (Check out this reel for behind-the-scenes footage of the creation of the set design!)

A super fan put together this Google Doc outlining the connection between each song and the scene in the 1951 Disney movie. It’s very spot on so we used it as our starting outline and added to it. 

With the band completely hidden, Clair De Lune, meaning “Moonlight” in French, came over the speakers. This beloved classical piano piece is the third part of the “Suite Bergamasque” written and published by Claude Debussy in 1905. The elegant piano composition was based on a poem of the same name, written by French poet Paul Verlaine in 1869. It was reminiscent of the classic Disney movie intro that rolls all the credits before the movie starts. Romantic, dreamlike, and regal, this song put us in a trance and prepared the space for the epic show to come. While we wanted to believe it was Jojo showing off his classical Pianist chops, we've heard that it was actually a recording of the song. There was very neat shadow play from behind the screen where we could see the outline of the rabbit and of Alice herself. Quite theatrical.

After elegantly fading out from Clair De Lune, JB’s guitar strums opened the rock show with Gradle, yet the boys were still hidden by a screen. We did get a tantalizing glimpse of the shadow outline of two men holding guitars. Our heroes were close and yet so far! This song hadn’t been played since Vegas 2023 (3/4/23). As the movie starts, Alice is bored while halfheartedly listening to history lessons taught by her sister, when really she’s craving an adventure, a land of her own. Alice even says I’m “lonely in a world of my own” so this song seems to have represented her seeking freedom and adventure. The imagery of holding a flower in the song is also directly connected to the scene where she’s making a flower crown and laying in the bed of flowers. JB’s voice was absolutely perfect - straight golden liquid butter, what a rock star. It’s hard not to wonder if the screen encouraged them to play differently with no distractions from the highly eager rail riders. 

Duane introduced our first tease of White Rabbit (tracked as All Time Low in Nugs). This indicated when Alice first sees the rabbit and curiously follows him down the rabbit hole. Jimmy played Entering a Black Hole Backwards representative of Alice falling down the rabbit hole.

At about 1:44 the more familiar notes to All Time Low started up. As Alice falls down the hole she contemplates how far she could possibly go… Will she reach the other side of the world? She’s the lowest she has ever been - an all time low! The curtain suddenly dropped as the song peaked and we could see everyone’s costumes. It was clear the curtain represented the “real” world and now that the curtain was gone we were fully immersed in the Wonderland. This was a rocking version, not rushed. Jimmy had plenty of time to bust out a solo around 5:20  with Jojo joining in on the fun. 

JB then exclaimed, “Happy Halloween everybody!”

Jimmy's guitar introduced the first FTP of the evening. Halloween shows typically spoil the audience with FTPs (First Time Played). We recommend tuning into our podcast episode about this topic: Part 1 & Part 2. We were blessed with the Alice In Chains song Down in a Hole, incredibly appropriate in so many ways. The play on “Alice” from the theme and from the name of the band was impressive! In the movie, we were now in the scene where she is completely down the rabbit hole. Lyrically it’s perfect… “down in a hole and I don’t know what to say. You don’t understand who they thought I’m supposed to be. Look at me now, I’m a man who came in to say please. Down in a hole, feeling so small. Down in a hole, losing my soul.” Incredibly spot on with where Alice is in the storyline. 

We heard from friends in the lot that once the theme was revealed by the props outside the venue, Nakisha said “I bet they play Down in a Hole by Alice In Chains!” Hats off to you!!! You nailed it!  

Panic paid so much respect to this song and to the original artist. Each member showed off their skills and beautifully demonstrated their love of the song.

As Alice realizes her position at the bottom of the earth, down in a hole, she walks down the hall and finds a set of doors. She continues opening them until she’s left with the tiniest door and the doorknob comes to life. She asks to pass through and the doorknob says, “Simply impassable, I mean impossible!” With that scene in mind, the band struck up the chords to Impossible, literally the perfect tune. Okay, so the doorknob literally says “impossible!” which is obviously spot-on, but the lyrics also mention not quite knowing if the character is hungry as he picks up food from the ice box. Here in the storyline we have Alice holding two cookies wondering which one to eat. Absolutely brilliant!!! The Boys ripped into this one and we all knew we were off to the proverbial races. Sure we had a well-thought out theme, we had a set design for the ages, we had lighting and visual effects unlike the typical panic show… but now we knew that musically, we had this show on LOCK!! Let’s effin go! Jojo's organ mixed with School's raging bass was the perfect combo to get us all dancing like mad people - ready for the Mad Hatter’s tea party! 

Dave’s bass ended Impossible and Jojo took over with the keyboard introduction to You Should Be Glad. This tune hadn’t been played since Playa 2024, the second original of the evening that saw its first performance of 2025! JB sang “She is inconsolable. Let her cry, let her cry, let her cry.” This perfectly mirrors the scene in the movie where Alice is sobbing so much after accidentally eating the cookie that made her giant. This made her extremely sad and she uncontrollably cried to the point of making a river. We were so blessed to have this song back in rotation! Each member gets their own part to go off! Sunny’s bongo section is noteworthy; he is the color, texture, and ultimate sound of Widespread Panic. JB inserts some extra “child”s which is always a treat, but this time we think he’s also referencing dear Alice. Jojo's organ solo is also notable. He was feeling it all night! And, of course, Dave is literally always throwing it down. The man goes nonstop. Jimmy-all-the-notes-wizard also can’t be stopped. Wowzers. Let’s all pray this one remains off the shelf - it is such a great song!! 

The song came to a complete stop, which gave us all time to take a sip of our favorite beverage and for Jimmy to change guitars. 

Duane kicked off Proving Ground. Alice regains composure and eats the other cookie making herself very small. She finds her way in a glass jar floating in the river but the glass jar is also full of water. She literally screams “help me!” As she thinks she’s going to drown. Cue the themes from Proving Ground… where Alice is going to find out just how tall she is by standing in the middle of the river (made of her own tears).  “Really wanna be who I’m gonna be” - so perfect for this scene where it’s obvious Alice is scared, helpless, and wants some answers to her predicament. The tempo was a bit relaxed which gave everyone enough space to play their parts perfectly and without rushing. Then came the part in the middle where everyone gets to go crazzzzzzy (4:11) and Duane kicks up the tempo with some cymbal taps. Dave came in strong with a little surfer groove and then each one got to go H.A.M.!

Proving Ground is often used as sandwich bread (this was only the second show of 2025 it was played) so when the jam gets extra fast, extra insane, extra weird, we often wonder what song they’ll insert into the jammy nonsensical interlude:

• First 360 times played = standalone (5/??/89-3/16/94)

• First PG sandwich bread = 3/26/94 - Cleveland, OH

  • Encore: PG > Mr. Soul > PG

• Since Duane joined the band:

  • Standalone Proving Ground: 29 times

  • Sandwich bread Proving Ground: 19 times

  • 39.6% of the time they play Proving Ground, it’s sandwich bread!

We only had to wait about a minute or so before the sound effects of a thunderstorm raged overhead. There was clashing and swooshing as the music came to a bit of a standstill. With a tiny cymbal clatter, Dave’s bass line kicked off Riders on the Storm, a Doors cover. It’s only been played five times, so while it’s not a FTP, it certainly is a treat. Back to our storyline… as Alice is floating along she runs into a dodo bird with his pirate friends. They sing a little song together about getting dry versus riding the storm. Perhaps these characters are the riders of the storm as they all rode out the storm that just ensued. The sound of the Doors is distinguished by the keys, and Jojo certainly did this one justice. His solo was superb. JB’s voice is suited for this one too - he does Jim Morrison so well. The last 1.5 minutes gave them an opportunity to jam a little, which we always welcome with open and loving arms! 

The song concluded and we got our second tease of the White Rabbit (the beginning of Proving Ground in Nugs). Alice finishes her song with the dodo bird and sees the rabbit again, and she’s back on track with her mission to see where he’s going. White Rabbit lasted 2 minutes and 4 seconds before Duane brought us all back to Proving Ground. Alice certainly figured out how tall she was as she bravely made it to the other side of the river. There was a hawkish cry in the final seconds of the song before Jojo brought us into Tall Boy!

We interviewed a tall young man, Max, before the show. He’s a big Panic fan but it was his first show! He was dressed as a Tall Boy and that’s the song he wanted to hear. We were stoked he got it!!! Check out this reel to see his interview. This version was classic and stayed true to the studio recording, short and sweet about 4 minutes in total. Alice gets to the rabbit's house and takes a drink off the table and turns into a VERY tall girl. So tall that she expands the entire house as her limbs emerge out the doors and windows. The dodo is summoned for help and decides to smoke her out by burning all the rabbit's precious possessions. Thankfully Alice finds something else to drink so she turns quite small, perhaps too small for her liking…. 

With that, the boys stepped off stage and the crowd hollered and cheered as we were blown away. Has the band done a themed Halloween before? Of course! But following a movie storyline to that much perfection and detail may never have been done before and felt very special.  

After about a 37 minute set break to get ready for the second half of this incredible production, the band returned to the stage, ready to continue the trip through Wonderland. At this point in the film, Alice is still micro sized from when she shrank herself over at the White Rabbit’s crib. She walks into a tough neighborhood populated by some real heavy flowers. This scene was captured by the song Greta, the crowd pleaser from 1997’s Bombs and Butterflies. We saw a lot of Georgia Bulldogs fans at the show and they were ready to yip, bay, bark, woof and howl at full throat for this one. It sent a message, as the Home Team Dawgs would go on to win a gritty football game 24-20 the next day against the Florida Gators. This song poses Alice as the “flower child", although while she was singing with the mean flowers they quickly realize “she’s not a flower… she’s a weed!” and they all start casting shade on Micro-Alice, and tussling, then the scene ends with Alice being banished from the flower patch. Perfect fit with the lyric “Mother nature’s come to arms, she’s in a fighting mood.”

After Alice escapes the Greta Gang, she happens upon one of the most iconic characters of the entire film, one that all folks are sure to recall from when they tripped through Wonderland as children. Cue the Caterpillar! This Character was embodied by our keyboard maestro, Jojo. His Caterpillar costume was very well done, a super dapper black and purple paisley collared silky shirt accented with some round bug-like spectacles atop an antenna laden black hat. Panic does not need to look far to find an epic Caterpillar song, and here we go, it was Conrad showing up as the hookah smoking character. To be concise, A caterpillar is the larval stage of a butterfly or moth, characterized by a cylindrical, segmented body with three pairs of true legs on the thorax and several pairs of fleshy prolegs on the abdomen. Caterpillars primarily exist to eat and grow, shedding their skin multiple times as they get bigger through a process called molting. This is a crucial part of their life cycle, which includes a period of transformation into an adult butterfly or moth. This was the 735th time the band had performed this hootenanny of a song, the 4th version this year. It was an absolute smokeshow, the whole band gave it a 100% effort. Go Panic! You can find the released studio version of this classic song on the 2022 album Miss Kitty’s Lounge, which contains previously unreleased demos recorded at John Keane’s studio in 1990. Worth a listen for sure.

The heavily smoking larval moth was good at blowing smoke rings and various letters, and in the film he is inquisitive in the interrogation of Alice, blowing smoke letters at her in the form of a pressing question: “Who Are You?”. Dig into your classic rock rolodex and the first thing that pops up is a FTP by Panic: Who Are You. This song was the title track on The Who’s 1978 studio album, the last album released by the band before Keith Moon's demise (R.I.P. 8/23/46 - 9/7/78). The lyrics of "Who Are You" were inspired by an incident Pete Townshend experienced. After going out drinking with Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols, Townshend was found in a "Soho doorway" by a policeman, who recognized him and said he would let him go if he could safely walk away. JB did nothing of the sort, he was spot on and belted out the lyrics to this song in a way that only he can. We are always impressed when the boys learn a new song and then absolutely crush it, this was yet another example of their might and mastery of the rock genre.

Before the Caterpillar turns into a butterfly, Alice laments being so small and the Caterpillar is a bit insulted due to the fact that they are approximately the same size. Before he departs however, he tells Alice the hack for manipulation of her size - turns out it's all about eating the correct side of the mushroom. When it comes to eating mushrooms, there is one Vic Chesnutt song that will forever be the mushroom anthem in Panic Nation. The good old Protein Drink was an ideal way to imagine the very very very nasty taste of the Fungi in Alice’s mouth. It was one side of the cap to get small, the other side to get big. What a marvelous version of this cover song to get the whole crowd amped about chomping some mushies, whether they were gonna shrink or grow, they were gonna be having a real good time, size mattered not. The boys then ripped into a heater version of Sewing Machine, maybe it didn't correlate exactly to a scene in the film, but it went well with the day of the year for sure. Halloween standard and then some!

The next character to appear in the story was JB, or at least what JB was dressed up as: The Cheshire Cat. JB had an all black outfit with some big furry claw laden cat feet attached to his bad boy black boots, and he had a Ghoulish grin adorning his backwards black hat. He looked bad ass as all hell, total savagery. Now here is where we got our biggest bust out of a Panic original in quite some time; Free Somehow. This rare gem was last played on 1/24/12 in Silver Spring, Maryland, during the first stop of the 11 total shows which comprised the legendary Wood Tour. That one and only acoustic version on 1/24/12 was a mini-bust out in its own right, having seen an LTP of 227 shows. Free Somehow was played 8 times in 2008, once acoustically in 2012, and then on Halloween in Savannah in 2025. We were definitely the lucky ones to catch this song again. Interestingly, The Wood Tour was a "sandwich” so to speak, with 5 acoustic shows being performed, then a fully electric trip to Mexico for the first ever Panic en La Playa (PELP Uno fun fact- they played Bust it Big twice at that four show run!!). After Mexico, the band continued with the Wood Tour and played six more acoustic shows, then took a 10 month hiatus before a two night NYE run in Charlotte, NC. Just 18 total shows in 2012. This 2025 Halloween rendition of Free Somehow was only the 10th time the band had ever performed the title track from the February 12, 2008 album Free Somehow live. This also happens to be the first studio album that featured Jimmy Herring on lead guitar. Let's take a close look at the lyrics of this rare and deep song:

I wanna be free right now / Voices inside my head

I know I'll be free somehow /  Quietest voices said

Oh, staying awake a while / Old movies in black and bliss

Lost and still found somehow / In a place like this, a place just like this

Little windows of fantasy / Her eyes telling what she sees

Stepping back from this world for now / I think that I'll be coming 'round

I think I should be coming 'round

Wanna be free somehow / See the forest for the grass

Wonder through it all / Through the looking glass

A smile appears in the tree branch there / Take the Hatter's words in jest

Don't wake her up, she could be dreaming you / Just taking a little rest, a couple of moments rest

Kids remembering just to be, make it up as they go / Oh, stepping back from the mirrors and smoke

And I think that I'll be coming 'round / Think I might be coming 'round

I guess that I'll be coming 'round

I wanna be free somehow / Voices inside my head

Oh, I got to be free right now / The quietest voices said

Settle in for a while / Some things we'll never miss

We're lost and still found somehow / What are you doing in a place like this?

Nice girl in a place like this

Like she's watching a comedy / She's laughing in her sleep

Drifting out of my body now / Don't think I'll be coming down / I don't think I'll be coming down

Don't think I'll be coming down

It is clear after reading through these lines of well crafted lyrics that the song has a definite connection to the story of Alice in Wonderland. We are so curious at HQ about the correlation and the sublimity of this 17 year old song being written all about a 160 year old fantasy novel. This song could have been left on the shelf for the rest of eternity, yet there it was as a central theme, born again into the dream of the spectacular 2025 Savannahween show. This band is truly genius and playing on a level so far above and beyond standard reason and rhyme, it is unfathomable. We are in awe, jaw on the floor of the HQ as these discoveries are all coming together. We were again witnessing history unfold right before our eyes.

Free Somehow segued to the next number (7th song of the second set) smoothly and naturally with some cymbal wash by Duane, it was into the original song Pilgrims. This unmistakable and quintessential Panic song was first released in 1993 on the Everyday album. The lyrical reference to the little black kitty with fog feet plays well into the image of our friend the Cheshire Cat, with the haunting smile levitating above a tree branch overhead. Being that it was his costume for the occasion, it seemed that JB put a little extra emotion and power behind his singing during Pilgrims. The rest of the band did their part and it sounded tight and right. In the film, the Cheshire Cat gave Alice some advice about how to choose the right path forward, he recommended asking a trustworthy and reliable source: The Mad Hatter

The next song was right on task to describe someone who had been huffing way too much mercury vapor. Another long gap since the LTP, this time it was the song “Crazy”. Off the 2006 album Earth to America, it had been 283 shows since it was last performed (on New Year’s eve 2016). That 2016 show in TN saw a dust off from Red Rocks 2014, a gap of 181 shows. In the 18th and 19th centuries, hat makers used mercury to turn fur into felt. The workers were exposed to toxic fumes, which led to neurological damage, including tremors, irritability, and hallucinations; (not the fun kind, don't try mercury at home kids) hence the term "mad as a hatter". Sunny was doing a bang up job representing the Mad Hatter with his costume. He wore a tall black top hat with a white sash tied about it, and a black tuxedo top accented by a red bowtie, very sharp indeed. His pants were mad, a green pattern that looked like it was quilted from velour peacock feathers. The meaning of this song has been reported by a highly reliable source to actually be about Vincent Van Gogh, and the lyrics check out. It was easily adapted to fitting right in with the storytelling of this occasion as well. The lyric “friend by my side” could be referring to the Mad Hatter asking Alice to share her story - finally someone is willing to listen to her, but she keeps getting cut off. It could also refer to the two in the scene as good friends, it seemed that the March Hare and The Mad Hatter were thick as thieves while raging at the unbirthday party. The dormouse was kind of left out but we can call him a friend as well. Alice got a bit heated about how loco the unbirthday party was, along with the lack of clear answers to her questions, so she finally just sets off with the intention of heading back home, but gets lost…

Alice becomes a lost little girl all alone in Tulgey Wood, and what better song to conjure this scene than the Doors song “You’re Lost Little Girl”, from the 1967 album Strange Days. This was the very first time that Widespread had ever played this haunting and sullen song. JB most definitely nailed the Jim Morrison (RIP 12/8/43-7/3/71) baritone and Schools laid the bass down thick as the song began. Jojo again was able to conjure the signature keyboard stylings of Doors co-founding member Ray Manzarek (RIP 2/12/39-5/20/13). This was a beautiful cover of a deep track, and played quite well. The Panics do the Doors very well in our opinion.

After gently fading out of YLLG, we witnessed a precise segue back into the now familiar marching drumbeat of White Rabbit. The Stage crew lit a powerful white spotlight into the audience of the arena bowl and if you looked to see, a large person in a rabbit suit came bounding down the stairs between the raging and costumed audience members. There was Alice too, and she apparently was handing out candy! Incredible interactive art was going on here. This was the third time of the evening that the band broke into White Rabbit, the previous two were simply instrumentals. This third round had lyrics added, but not the Jefferson Airplane lyrics, these were actually Tom Waits Lyrics from yet another song that the band was “playing” for the first time. The song was called “We’re All Mad Here”. This is also one of the most famous lines of the Cheshire Cat, whom Alice meets again while she is desperate and lost in the woods. The Cheshire Cat tells Alice about the queen and promises her “she'll be mad about you, simply mad!” - it’s likely to the tune of White Rabbit because Alice says “I’m done with rabbits!” as she is finally ready and willing to go home rather than continuing to chase the white rabbit. Alice has had enough party by this point and she's ready to head on back to the house. In another amazing twist of storytelling from the rabbit hole, the Tom Waits song lyrics that were sung are actually from his 2002 album called Alice. This album was a collection of songs written for the play called Alice that was first performed in 1992 in Hamburg, Germany. Here are T. Waits lyrics that JB sang perfectly to the tune of White Rabbit:

You can hang me in a bottle like a cat / Let the crows pick me clean but for my hat

Where the wailing of a baby meets the footsteps of the dead / We're all mad here

As the Devil sticks his flag into the mud / Mrs. Carroll has run off with Reverend Judd

Hell is such a lonely place / And your big expensive face will never last

And you'll die with the rose still on your lips / And in the time the heart-shaped bone that was your hips

And the worms, they will climb the rugged ladder of your spine / We're all mad here

And my eyeballs roll this terrible terrain / And we're all inside a decomposing train

And your eyes will die like fish / And the shore of your face will turn to bone

On Nugs, the White Rabbit / We’re All Mad Here mashup is tracked as the first 2:20 of Jack. It is at 2:20 on Jack (Nugs version) that the band flawlessly segues into Jack, and we get the good feels from that familiar hug of the opening guitar strum that is like seeing a dear old friend. In the film, Alice finds the Queen’s rose garden, and sees a few hapless minions (who are existing as playing cards with appendages and heads) painting white roses with red paint. They have mistakenly planted the wrong strain of heady flowers and are trying to keep their heads by covering their mistakes. If you watch closely as the cards count off, you see the last card left is a Jack. The boys on stage delivered a soaring and big sounding version of this song, perfectly fitting for a discussion about playing cards, filling the arena with good old dog dreams. There was a short pause after Jack before introducing the next character of the story, the Queen’s small man, aka the King Baby.

This was the 24th playing of the song that debuted at the Red Rocks run in 2023. King Baby was the first repeat of the evening from the Milwaukee run the prior weekend. There could not really be a better song to describe the pint sized monarch who cowers to the Queen and her fits of deadly rage. This version saw a strong showing with opportunities for Schools to flex his might at the bass, and JB went hard on the vocal delivery. They clearly like playing this politically charged song which also applies to an age old fumbling wee king. We all know who wears the pants in this royal family. Although he keeps saying “order of the King” it’s obviously the Queen makes all the calls (to play croquet or to lop off someone’s head or in the courtroom proceedings).

We got to see and hear another highly professional segue from KB into RHM, literally without skipping a beat. The Bass and Drum beat to open Red Hot Mama is and always will be insane. The crowd had plenty of juice to get wild with the dance moves, especially on a two-night run there was no need to conserve energy. This song was clearly to introduce and embody the mean Queen from our story. She gets red in the face due to her ongoing and incurable anger issues. Duane was dressed up as the Queen, with some round red spots painted on his cheeks, a fantastic looking royal mini crown atop his head and a black and red plush robe adorned with a black and red heart and some white frilly trim. He is usually the best dressed at Halloween in the modern Panic era, and he may have taken the costume contest yet again. We at the HQ are very proud of Dave for wearing the executioner outfit so dutifully and well this year. Listen in at 2:55 in the top half of the RHM sandwich when Schools shouts “Off with her head”, definitely in the role of executioner and taking it seriously. 

The “meat” of this tidy one layer sandwich was the fully formed version of White Rabbit, with lyrics and all. We had been waiting all night for this one and it did not disappoint. The bass line intro was shaking the whole arena and again the spotlight shone another section of the arena for our life-sized rabbit and Alice to hop along and high five the rowdy crowd. In the movie the white rabbit is employed as the Queen’s chamberlain, perhaps this was the very important date he was late for all along. A lot happens in the final peak of the film. It all culminates in Alice breaking free by eating some more of that nasty tasting mushroom to grow large and bust loose from the court of the Queen. 

We got a super sweet segue back into Red Hot Mama, it was a heated and blistering romp at full throttle to shut down the second set and tip the hat again to the deranged Queen. There was no doubt in the large room that this was an incredible and energized cherry on top of an epic saga that was the second set. It was a short set break before Alice would finally get to return to the world of normies, schoolmarms, and supermarket mushrooms.

After a few minutes of anticipation, we recalled how the story ended. She realizes she’s dreaming! WATLO interns looked at each other and said “Dream Song!” in unison. Sure enough, that was the first song of this meaty encore. This was the first time the original tune had been played in 2025. Alice looks through the key hole of the doorknob and sees herself sleeping and realizes she’s caught up in her dream. As JB serenaded the crowd “It’s your dream. You can do anything there. You know you can because you’ve been so many before. Take your dream.” Literally the perfect way to encapsulate the feeling Alice must have had realizing she’s safe and that she was able to do all sorts of nonsensical things because she was in her dream the entire time. Sunny’s wooden block action added so much depth to an already ethereal song. Dave strummed a serenading lullaby, alongside Sunny’s talking drum it was quite the combo. The crowd felt blessed to witness this one come off the shelf, it’s very special and one of their oldest originals (FTP: 3/13/92). 

The song ended and very quickly after, Duane tapped his cymbal to create space for Jimmy to introduce the final FTP of the evening, Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden. The crowd sung along with JB through smiles and elation as we witnessed our favorite band play one of the most beloved songs of the 90s. The sun is shining on the other side of reality and as Alice comes back to life and awakes from her dream all the pain and discomfort and trials are all washed away by the sun. Schools added some impeccable backup vocals making us wonder if he’s taking vocal lessons between runs. It sure sounds like it! Whatever he’s doing, the work is paying off! They stayed pretty true to the radio version of the song and didn’t give themselves much room to jam and play. Incredible performance!!! JB’s wailed at the end had an added echo effect that was eerie and perfect. We can all do a hope and a prayer that it remains in rotation, but intuition is telling us this will likely remain an OTP (Only  Time Played - another podcast episode worth listening to, parts one and two). 

The song ended with some cymbals clattering and a long hold of an organ note. Then, Jojo played the opening notes of Climb to Safety. A Jerry Joseph cover and an excellent way to end a show. There was a mini jam around the 3-minute mark that lasted about a minute. Alice stayed dry, she stayed alive, and learned that she can trust herself and her intuition as she provided her own safety in this heroic journey. While it’s fun to look into the eyes of your neighbor and promise them that they’ll be dry, it’s even more important that you can look into your own eyes and build the trust within yourself that YOU will always be there for YOU. Ultimately, that’s the lesson of Alice in Wonderland. She navigates so many lessons, the biggest one being alone and scared. She proves to herself that she can survive any challenge by using her intuition and trusting herself. We can do the same! So remind yourself that YOU never left YOU in the dark by yourself and remind yourself that you’ll never be alone. Because you have you, and you always will, we promise!! 

The crowd exploded as we realized how very special that Halloween night was. Magnificent! Truly blessed for the best band and crew in the land. JB bid us adieu, “Goodnight, everybody! Thank you very much! Happy Halloweens!”  The holiday will forever be pluralized thanks to our preacher man. See ya tomorrow, Savannah!