SHARING THE SHOWS
Round One: 9/16/22 I had been waiting for the Panic shows with intensity because those the five I saw at Beacon weren’t enough. I might have gone down earlier on Friday to hike with Pete earlier, but I tell my students that 5:00 on Friday is the last point at which I check my email, so I figure I should be fair. But once 5:01 came, I was out the door. I took the Green Line to Southern Avenue, the farthest I’d ever taken that line. Dinner was a quick tuna sandwich on the train. Technically, I’m not allowed to eat on the Metro, but the way I see it, if people can fare-hop (jump the turnstiles) and not have the agent say anything to them, I should be able to nourish myself. Anywho, after a wait for the NH1 bus to the casino that felt like all day, it arrived and I got to stare at the shopping malls and single-family homes that comprise Prince George’s (PG) County. Once in the building, I met Pete at this outdoor enclave by a restaurant called Tap. This area has a beautiful view of the Potomac River as well as the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, which brought back memories of 3/16/19, when I drove Maggie’s car from Nicole’s house in Arlington to the venue. The neverending traffic sucked, although coming up with the “Cheesy String Band” was a fun experience, as was the show. After shooting the breeze in breezy weather (pun intended), we got into the show at about ten to eight, where I ran into Kenny (7/25/22) and Sharon, and we talked a bit. During my previous two times at MGM, we were on the floor, but when Pete and I ordered tickets, I mistakenly thought the seats up top were cheaper. But it was just as well, I love looking down at the stage from up top. The show was intense. They started off with “Give,” which I had never seen (or even heard) performed live. Later, they would bust out “Sometimes,” which was also off Don’t Tell the Band, my first WSP listening experience. I was enamored to hear “Bear’s Gone Fishin’,” my favorite. The full setlist and stream can be found here. The highlight was the “Trashy/Junior” encore, during which Pete and I grooved behind the soundboard in order to get a jump on exit traffic. This is the ideal place to be. Lots of room to dance. As I wrote the songs, a woman asked me, “Are you taking orders?” I gave her a card with this site written down. Hope you’re reading! Pete dropped me off at the Metro. I enjoyed a quiet ride back. Once home, I turned on a DVD of WKRP in Cincinnati, and slowly drifted off to sleep. Round Two: 9/17/22 I was groggy as hell this morning; the show life is not for the faint of heart, particularly if you’re in education. My students have a weekly journal due every Friday night, so I get up early every Saturday to grade them. Mark got to my place at around noon, and after lunch at the nearby Farmer’s Market, we Metroed/bused to the casino, where we met up with Pete. We had a wonderful hike at Oxon Cove Park. Pics below: After getting some steps and cardio in, we had dinner at TAP, a spacious sports bar with games all over the place. I ordered ribs, and Mark said, “Hey, maybe they’ll play some Ribs and Whiskey.” They didn’t, but I played the drums with my rib bones (no pic) after the meal was finished, so that was something. After walking around the enclave, we headed in, and just like on 3/16/19, it was a disorganized procedure to get in. There was some confusion over whether we needed to get wristbands (Pete and I didn’t, since we were up top), but we eventually got in. I saw Kenny and Sharon again, and I met a cool local dude named Matthew and Ken from Philadelphia (not a big Panic following in the City of Brotherly Love).
The band’s start time was later than usual (8:26). I called the opener, “Pleas,” when talking with Mark about predictions. In fact, they did an alliterative first set: “Pleas,” “Pigeons,” “Pilgrims,” and “Porch Song,” along with some other older tunes. Night Two of the three-night run is typically a mellower affair, and in this case, the first set was comprised of their poppier repertoire: “The Waker,” “This Part of Town,” “Walkin’ (For Your Love),” and the closer “Ain’t Life Grand” (with JB on mandolin). A nice story behind “The Waker”: On 6/30/19, when Bob and I saw them, they encored with it. They had only played it twice in the past twenty years, and now, it’s becoming more regular at their shows. It’s one of my top ten. The band picked up the tempo during the second set, and the highlight was a mash-up of Leon Russell’s “Stranger in a Strange Land” and Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.” “Halloween Face” rocked too, as did “Impossible.” “Blue Indian” was a curious second-set closer; it’s usually more of a “winding down to the end” song, but I dig it just the same. Encore: “May Your Glass Be Filled” is a gem of a song: a good message and beautiful harmonizing. “Action Man” was the perfect, rockin’ way to close the show. On our way back to my apartment from Metro, we ran into a woman from my apartment building and talked to her on the way home. I then drove us to a nearby gas station for munchies, which we consumed while watching WKRP in Cincinnati. We both crashed at about 2. The next morning consisted of breakfast at the Cracked Eggery and a walk up Van Ness Street to gawk at the tiny multimillion dollar homes (it’s DC). As I write this, I feel like a zombie. I know they say “never miss a Sunday show,” but in this case, I’m happy to live vicariously through Ken and all the other heads who either don’t have to work tomorrow or are willing to go in grogged out. Closing: Mark is responsible for my affinity for Widespread Panic. I had seen them a couple of times in the early 2000s, but when he and Drew/Brometheus brought me to the Altria in 2016, I was hooked. And it was downhill from there, and then came this blog. He also got me the “Bear’s Gone Fishin” T-shirt I wore to the Saturday show. Closing #2: Today, September 18, is the start of National Unmarried and Single Americans Week. It’s thanks to me being single that I can go to all these shows and maintain this blog. Check out thehappybachelor.org for the blog posts I write this week. This is the C-Man signing off (a nod to the Z-Man, the famous taper, whom Mark met last night).
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