The Triumphant Return of NOLAween
After stops in Nueva York, Asheville and Vegas, Panic's Halloween run finally returned to where it belongs, New Orleans. Lakefront Arena was pretty much as I'd remembered it, although inside, it seemed smaller, like when you visit your elementary school years later. The crowd was noisy and excited before the show began, but grew even louder with the perfectly chosen BORN ON THE BAYOU opener. JB's voice sounded just right.
Panic performed PIGEONS, TIME ZONES and DISCO next. The songs were solid and played without any segues in between. But then, suddenly, a 22-minute DINER erupted and moved on to a long GRETA (with a little bit of a nod to Professor Longhair somewhere in the middle). Then CHRISTMAS KATIE > HER DANCE NEEDS NO BODY, WORRY closed it out.
The second set began with a cover, well, actually, three of them, but the first two weren't new. Nevertheless, PROTEIN DRINK > SEWING MACHINE, MAMA KIN was a hard-charging opener. Panic doing early Aerosmith was pretty cool. The tempo slowed a bit with MERCY but then quickened again with a great cover of BABY, PLEASE DON'T GO. (It was my favorite song of the night.)
The next song, a slow one, the Stones' TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE, was also well played. Then it was time for the third Vic Chesnutt cover of the set, BLIGHT, before Panic finished with a smooth SURPRISE VALLEY > DRUMS > SURPRISE VALLEY > IMITATION LEATHER SHOES.
The crowd expected more covers for the encore, and the band didn't disappoint. Another John Fogerty classic, PROUD MARY, whipped the crowd into a frenzy. And when JB called Trombone Shorty to the stage ("Is Mr. Troy available right now? I know it's been a long time!") the applause was thunderous. It must've felt pretty good because afterward, Trombone Shorty hugged JB twice.
I think Sticky Fingers is one of the 14 best albums ever made, but I often skip the first song, BROWN SUGAR, because I've heard it so many times on the radio. But hearing it live with a skilled trombone player was a perfect end to the show. It felt like a special night. It felt like New Orleans.