widespread panic

Well, I had completely written my review for this show a few days ago, and accidentally deleted it after a night at the bar. I've been discouraged to write anything else about it, so I decided to keep it short. The Allman Brothers Band and Widespread Panic finished out their co-headlining tour just north of Houston, at The Woodlands' Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. I was late to the show, so I missed the opportunity to photograph Widespread Panic, but made it in time to catch most of their stellar one-set performance. The finish of their set saw Allman's guitarist Warren Haynes stepping up for covers of Bill Withers' "Use Me" and Neil Young's "Cortez The Killer," which were both treats to hear live. Other highlights of the set included a slowed-down, funked-out verson of "Ribs & Whiskey," fan-favorite "Tall Boy" and the first run-through of the highly-requested Warren Zevon cover, "Lawers, Guns & Money," in over a year. It was a quality set, and helped to cement them as one of my all-time favorite live bands.

The Allman Brothers Band focused on many of their originals, but also ran through a host of covers with the help of every member of Widespread Panic throughout the show. Greg Allman has been a bit under the weather as of late, but that was barely noticeable as his voice sounded as good as ever. The best moments of the show came when Panic guitarist Jimmy Herring joined the fold, and battled Haynes and Derek Trucks for guitar god supremacy. Panic vocalist John Bell stepped up to match verses with Allman on a spirited take on Dr. John's "I Walk On Guilded Splinters," a cover Panic also decided to tackle most recently at Voodoo. To close out the show, most members of both bands came to stage for a ripping version of the classic Allman Brothers cut "Southbound," which was a fitting way to end such a highly-regarded Southern-rock tour.

I was able to photograph The Allman Brothers Band, despite missing the opportunity with Widespread Panic earlier in the evening. Check out my shots after the jump.

The initial line-up for the 2009 Voodoo Experience has officially been released. After a stream of scrambled names started making waves over Twitter, the fine folks behind the Halloween weekend festival have posted the entire roster of acts playing the 2009 edition. Headlining the three day event are classic rockers Kiss, a rejuvenated Eminem, a reunited Jane's Addiction, jam titans Widespread Panic and the confetti-enhanced Flaming Lips. Other acts scheduled to play include French electro-rockers Justice, odd-balls Ween, euro-punks Gogol Bordello, the godfather of funk George Clinton & P Funk Allstars, blues rockers The Black Keys and classic hip-hop MC Q-Tip. Overall, it's a very strong festival that we're extremely excited to attend for a fourth consecutive year.

You can check out the full line-up after the jump

I found this great video of Widespread Panic performing "Love Tractor" at the 2008 Rothbury Festival while browsing. It's a high quality, multi-angle clip from the bands official YouTube page. It surely brought back a ton of great memories for me, so I figured a few of you might enjoy it as well. Big ups to our friends over at Coventry Phish and Music Blog for originally posting the video.

BOT favorites Widespread Panic and the Allman Brothers Band have announced a slew of tour dates together in late summer which will find them traveling throughout the East and Midwest. The tour, which takes a month off in September, will finish up on October 17th here at Houston's (The Woodlands) Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. It should be a great pairing of Southern rock titans that should find both groups collaborating throughout the two month tour.

Check out the full list of dates after the jump

Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

The spring concert season is about to come to an end. All of your major summer music festivals are right around the corner. What the summer outdoor concert series also brings is much warmer weather, especially in Houston. With mid-70's temperatures and clear skies, the last days of spring are perfect for outdoor shows. This weekend proved that to be very true when it hosted the one band that should always play outdoors, Widespread Panic.

Check out a full review after the jump

Upcoming shows in the Houston area:

Thu May 1
Gov't Mule and Grace Potter & the Nocturnals at the Meridan
Show starts at 8; tickets are $25.

Will Hoge, Green River Ordinance, JJ Worthen and Jud Johnson Band at Warehouse Live
Show starts at 8; tickets are $12.

Fri May 2
Widespread Panic at Sam Houston Race Park
Show starts at 8; Tickets are $25 in advance/$35 day of show.

Kanye West, N.E.R.D., Lupe Fiasco, and Rihanna at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Show starts at 7; tickets are $29.50 (your ass in the grass).

Meat Beat Manifesto and Raz Mesinai's Badawi at Warehouse Live
Show starts at 9; tickets are $19.

Tower Of Power at Warehouse Live
Show starts at 11; tickets are $25.

Check out the rest of the weeks events after the jump

Bonnaroo recently lost a major artist in The Allman Brothers when they bowed out due to health-related issues. Earlier in the week, when they released that announcement, they also laid mention that there would be a big artist announcement on Thursday. The Led Zeppelin rumors immediately began to fly once more, sending message boards and other websites into a flurry up until midnight last night. Unfortunately those "Dazed and Confused" Brits did not make it on the bill, but instead Bonnaroo added a few familiar faces with Widespread Panic and Les Claypool, as well as some up-an-coming noise makers that we will all soon know and love.

Find out who else got added after the jump

The line-up for the first annual Outside Lands Festival, set for San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on August 22-24, was released today. The event is put on by Superfly Presents (which is the same group who run that other major festival in Tennessee), as well as Another Planet Entertainment and Starr Hill Presents. Like most other festivals this summer, Radiohead and Jack Johnson will be taking headlining duties. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers are also set to headline.

Check out the initial line-up after the jump

Announced today, the first ever Rothbury Festival is set to take place July 3-6 in the small town of Rothbury, Michigan. It is being described as a global celebration of music, arts and action. Producers Madison House and AEG Live (who run our favorite venue in Houston: Warehouse Live) expect to bring upwards of 50,000 people to this Great Lakes locale. Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic, 311, Phil Lesh, Primus and Snoop Dogg lead the bill, while fresh acts like Gogol Bordello, Ray LaMontagne, State Radio and Of Montreal fill it out.

New Orleans. Just uttering those two words conjures a wide array of images, from beads and bare breasts to faulty levees and hurricanes (both the disastrous and tasty kinds). But at its core, New Orleans is a city filled with music and culture -- and a guaranteed good time. Each year, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival celebrates the fullness of the city's musical legacy, bringing in heavyweight acts as well as staples of NOLA's music scene. This year's festival, the 39th installment of the event, is certainly no exception: the line-up boasts acts representing genres ranging from jazz (of course) and zydeco to country and jam.

More Jazz Fest info after the jump