Red Rocks Recap Night 1 (6/27/2025)
Listen to the entire show on Nugs or Relisten.
Data mined and explored via Everyday Companion.
Here’s your recap for Friday night at Red Rocks Amphitheater. The weather was warm, but not too hot. The spread heads were obviously excited! Opening with Send Your Mind was such a classic Panic move. What an epic song choice to kick off another Red Rocks run as the undisputed kings of the Rocks. Instantly, the scene was set for some good ol’ Widespread Panic. The second song of the evening was Walkin’ for Your Love. Is there another venue on this planet where you’ll get as many steps as Red Rocks? We train for this place! Body by Panic!
Since tarps have been outlawed, it seems like most people now prefer using all natural 100% organic high thread count Egyptian cotton sheets to save space for their crew, very apropos for Cotton Was King, the third song slot. Next up, Henry Parsons brought in so much energy - the engine was really revving at this point. The time and date of Hank’s demise was slightly off… by about 22.22 hours ish… closer to 7:47 pm on a Friday. The crowd lit up and the venue experienced a full crowd participatory moment when everyone shouted “He was baptized in every creek in Georgia.” Perhaps this song was a nod to the “debutantes and old ladies breaking out in fights in the front row” referring to the traditional tarp run and battle for seats. Due to rows 1-4 being reserved, now the game is fighting for space in rows 5+. We Walk Each Other Home gave everyone a first set breather, which we needed to help cool down and continue acclimating to the altitude. As memories of pets, living and passed, took over the crowd’s thoughts, the band was also able to gather themselves before Chuck came on to join them.
JB: “Ladies & gentlemen, our very good friend, the one and only, Mr. Chuck Leavell!”
Climb to Safety absolutely ripped. From his first key strokes, Chuck Leavell added so much sound, so much depth - he had a bass line going with a boogie-woogie feel. Chuck added color and texture when he was on stage, there was actual magic being created during that CtS. So much magic that JB sang “you’re running like a little jack bunny rabbit” before sticking his finger in the dike.
Next, JB completely channeled the Colonel and many fans felt his Holy Ghost Spirit passing through the sunny rocks and funny trees.
Harvey McKay said, “Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it, you can never get it back.”
JB really let it all out, we witnessed spirit move through his incredibly authentic soul, encouraging us all to honor Bruce. Have you heard the David Earle Johnson version? You can thank WATLO HQ later. Honestly, there were bigger “bust-outs” and even a FTP this weekend, but this is the song that marked how special this run was going to be. Probably one of the more notable songs of the entire weekend.
What’s not to love about a broad daylight Blight? First night, first set - nowhere to hide from Dave’s first amendment rights. Personally, I could listen to Dave share his freedom of speech for days on end, especially if it means getting a Blight. Did anyone catch his “horticulturally viral” statement? What do we think that’s referring to? What an absolute legend.
The Boys are consummate professionals at orchestrating two set shows. Closing the 1st set with a rocker is essential, in our opinion. They ended the first of six sets with the classic blues tune, Stop Breakin’ Down (originally released in 1938 and written by Robert Johnson, but popularized by the Rolling Stones in 1972). This song was well within the wheel house of the band, as it was the fourth time played since their comeback in 2025. This time it went even harder with the Rolling Stones Musical Director, AKA the G.O.A.T., AKA Chuck Leavell offering his expertise on the number. (Recommended documentary: “The Tree Man” - available on Prime)
Second set opened with the very familiar and comforting notes of Porch Song. While not necessarily the sought after “slow” porch, there was a patient tempo and feel. The band made it clear they were not in a hurry and there was no need to rush, as we learned in the first set: time is free. Jimmy’s guitar tone seemed more reminiscent of Mikey than usual, incredibly appropriate for this heartfelt rendition of Porch Song, the man in the moon is a musician, and as JB has said, “it’s still Mikey’s band.” (RIP, our fallen guitar hero: Michael Houser 1/6/62-8/10/02 - NYT article about his death)
Core Panic fans and family cannot hear Can’t Get High without thinking of and dearly missing Daniel Hutchins. An incredibly shining example of the song, they paid huge respect to another fallen member of the Panic Family. (RIP Daniel Hutchins - 10/20/64-5/9/21) Rise in Power!
Jimmy absolutely OWNED Little by Little - it was his time to shine! It was so awesome to see him play a song that he recorded with the band, modern Panic at its finest. The lyrics are clearly autobiographical, talking about the band, their history, and how they came up. It’s a really good showcase for Jimmy. He doesn’t feel the need to shred in a way to melt our faces off our skulls, but instead, it was so elegant and compositional.
With Small Town coming up next, it was great having two new songs back-to-back. These songs are evolving right before our eyes and it’s incredible seeing how they get better each show. What a great opportunity for Jojo to hit the organ and really get his sound in the mix while continuing to give his face a rest and a chance to recover. His face may have been sewn up tight, but his fingers were out on the loose! Get well Jojo!!!!! Let’s be real… Denver is GINORMOUS and houses the sixth biggest airport in the nation. On the other hand, our Red Rocks Panic family gathering is definitely a small town within a giant city. It was easy to think of Red Rocks when JB sang about “dancing on rooftops and falling up stairs”! Obviously, this song was not written about Morrison, CO, but our little community at Red Rocks definitely had all the makings of a small town on the 73rd sell-out.
Back to an all-time classic - DISCO! The only instrumental we got all weekend. Time to dance and a chance for the Boys to let their instruments do the talking. While this may have been the only song without lyrics over the entire run, Dave’s bass was definitely talking dirty! Duane and Sunny were also lit up. Duane was yet to be born when Disco first started circulating their setlists, but holy smokes that boy absolutely destroyed it. Thank you, Duane! (Duane’s birthday is December 28, 1988 and Disco’s first appearance was August 4, 1988) The Disco outro was very slow and transcendental. Yet another opportunity to catch our breath and hug our neighbors, to look around and enjoy the moment of pure bliss and pure gratitude. The band knew they had plenty of time, and there was no need to hurry. Speaking of time, this is the season.
The opening of Second Skin was so swampy and mysterious. It was truly a soft parade, and there were a lot of moving trains sweating out there. David Allen Schools absolutely ruled this song, and his tone was perfect all weekend. This version clocks in at 20 minutes, 46 seconds, the same year as Panic’s 60th anniversary. We already booked hotel rooms in Athens for the celebratory run. The latter half of the song was slowed down, letting the crowd quiet down so they could listen loud and let the natural landscape and mountain air work some magic of their own - truly, sublime magic & glory. Dave wove the main hook of the Second Skin baseline, which tethered us all to the Earth. As the sky turned to darkness, the smoke and light show was hypnotic. Get it Paul!
Our asses were near the ground, thanks to Dave’s earthly bass keeping us down low during Second Skin, and then the next thing we knew our titties were out as we all shouted “she looks good without a shirt!” The intro to Going out West was a bit different than we’re used to. Usually, Jimmy’s soaring guitar wails start it off, reminiscent of the winds blowing tall. This version was way more groovy (drums and bass heavy). As nerdy fans, it’s an absolute joy when the band introduces a song with a slightly different riff keeping things new and interesting, which isn’t easy to do - just ask our married friends. As soon as the bass kicked up we all knew it was Going Out West. Originally the song was released in 1992 by Tom Waits, but JB’s voice is made for this kind of action and he sounded like a million bucks. What an amazing chance for the six members to rock the funk out before Chuck came back on stage.
JB: “Once again, ladies & gentlemen, Mr. Chuck Leavell.”
Now that Chuck was back on stage, the crowd was blown away with a bust-out, the Jimmy Cliff number, Harder They Come, originally released in 1972. Nearly ten years and 355 shows, the LTP was 9/12/15. This version also had Chuck Leavell on keys AND featured Jimmy Cliff himself on vocals at Lock’n Music Fest. What a great way to experience some Reggae panic and the fifth time the song has ever been played by the band, only the third post-Houser version. (Another movie recommendation - HERE)
Mercy was pretty, as usual, and the keys were great. Let’s deep dive into Mercy a bit here… a song that hasn’t seen too much action in the most recent era (Duanespread Herring). It was played a total of three times in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. It’s already been played three times in 2025, even though their tour is only about halfway finished, each one taking place in the second set. Honestly, they can play Mercy a dozen times each year and you wouldn’t hear a peep out of WATLO HQ staffers. Regardless, let’s break them down:
After Mercy, the flawless Fishwater drop got everyone in the crowd so riled up! JB was singing those lyrics like they owed him money, and Sunny was killing the cowbell. Who else can rock a cowbell that well? He is THE undisputed MVP of Fishwater with the bongos and various bells, it was all happening. When DAS came back in for the drums/bass part, the greens & beans were kicking in and the whole crowd was full sending. Closing the second set with another bang.
We rarely get speeches from our six beloved band members, so it felt really special to hear Chuck give his speech right before the encore:
“What a great pleasure and honor it is for me to come in and sit with the boys. I sure appreciate the invitation, fellas. It’s great to see everybody here.”
It’s amazing how relevant You Can’t Always Get What You Want is after all these years, originally released in 1969 by the Rolling Stones. Also, super unlike classic Panic, it was great having Chuck elicit crowd participation inviting the crowd to “help us out, that’s right, one more time.”
Ending the show with “I’m so Glad" was tremendous and JB said “Colonel” twice! JB: “I just remember Colonel Bruce say, brother don’t go into that room” & “Colonel Bruce said you have an onion for a shoe” - any ideas what that means? We want to hear that story. What a reminder that this show really was a tribute to Colonel Bruce - GREASE! (RIP Colonel Bruce Hampton, born Gustav Valentine Berglund III - 4/30/47-5/1/17). They played it so well, and it sounded so good. It was a perfect way to end a show that had the quality of a Sunday show on a Friday. What a way to kick off the run!