Photo: Jeff Fernandez

Life on tour embodies the essence of the American dream. Loading up with your "family", hitting the road, and handling everything that comes your way while discovering what it means to be an American. Hunter S. Thompson redefined that American dream in "Fear and Loathing", as had the counterculture movement of the prior decade. Today's gypsies still trek across this great country, even if they're now aided by frequent flier miles and smartphones with GPS. And it's on these migrations that we discover new miracles and fall in love with our hallmark traditions all over again.

When Panic descended upon Vegas for Halloween weekend, it was a Gonzo-style celebration of all that is old and new and American and Vegas and awesome.

It all kicked off on Friday with only the third ever Bowie "Heroes". Continuing in the theme of recently departed badasses, they closed with "Ace of Spades", only played four times before.

Saturday was basically "Honeybee" night. When the boys finally covered Petty's classic, there was a collective explosion of minds, both at the Park Theater and by everyone couch touring at home. It's still a hot topic of conversation. In typical Panic style, they refrained from covering the song in Milwaukee because that'd be just too damn predictable if the city's mentioned in the lyric. That probably added to the joy of getting the breakout in Sin City.

Saturday, as you may have heard, was also Ladies Night. The greatest ladies night ever. Think of a Panic song about a woman. Boom. They played it. All the chicks were there. Greta, Arleen, Lilly, Sharon, that ole Flat Foot Flewzy (bless her), Avis, Ophelia, and of course our favorite diner waitress, Miss Lee. That's a gang of gals I could party with.

The band waited til Sunday to BLOW SOME MINDS. They played their only ever covers of "Alright Now" (JB vocals only), "Home On The Range" (3 freakin' versions), "Magic Carpet Ride", and "Rumble". And just when you thought it was safe to have feelings again, they bust into "Don't Tell The Band". Y'ALL. This hasn't been played since '02. When Mikey was still with us for a little longer. If you know the song's meaning, then you'll understand how big a deal it is to have someone OTHER than Mikey sing it. It was actually a little overwhelming for some fans. The only song that would affect me more, personally, is "Waker". "DTTB" is one of THOSE songs that you just don't think you'll ever catch live again.

But that's what happens in Vegas, right? Roll the dice, take it as far as you can, and see what happens. Just like on these epic cross country trips that we all love so much. In Hunter S. Thompson's immortal words, blasted for the crowd before Set 1, "The tendency is to push it as far as you can."

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http://www.musicfestnews.com/2017/11/11/ace-of-spades-widespread-panic-in-las-vegas/

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