Review: Widespread Panic @ Pepsi Center
I love snowboarding and I love Widespread Panic, so when Panic announced they were taking New Year’s Eve on the road to play two shows at the Pepsi Center in Denver, CO I knew I had to be there. To channel the band’s famous Sit and Ski run in 1996, I headed to Breckenridge to snowboard a few days before the shows to get my adrenaline up and have a little fun. I was so close to the Mile High Room in Breckenridge, which led me to start thinking about the good old days when the boys would play every song I was familiar with and enjoyed over the course of two sets.
[All photos by Ian Rawn of Playindead.org and atlantaphotog.com]
I headed to these shows with my girlfriend and decided the most efficient way for us to see as many shows as possible, was to go with a package deal at the Crowne Plaza which included a room at the Crowne, wristbands for after-shows, a shuttle for New Year’s, and a private after-show through Sage and Spirit Travel. I couldn’t pass this up.
When we arrived at the hotel, it was obvious that no one else passed it up either. This was more than the usual hippie hotel as there were dreadlocks, vending, girls in patchworks, patchouli, dogs and a couple other familiar scents.
We got to the Crowne Plaza on the 29th, ready for the after-show party with the Everyone Orchestra at Cervantes in Denver. The show was amazing. The Colorado hospitality was like none I had experienced in a long time. During the show, three people were painting in the audience, which was very cool. Hippies were everywhere and generosity abound. The show was going strong when I left at 2:00 AM and I heard it went on until five in the morning. However, I had two more nights of shows and this 31-year-old body doesn’t quite bounce back like it used to.
READ ON for the rest of Brent’s review of Panic NYE in Denver…
