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Mud Island Amphitheater
Memphis, Tennessee
July 18 & 19, 1997
Happy Holidays everybody. Here we are with our first installment in the Porch Songs series…a two night run from Mud Island Amphitheater in Memphis, Tennessee on July 18th and 19th, 1997. Why these two shows you might ask? Well, these performances are somewhat of an intersection of what I think both you and I have been looking for…. multi-night runs, soundboards released along with the WP Archive Multi-Track issues, and being able to fulfill some specific show requests. Porch Songs obviously gives us the platform to deliver on those angles…and do so more frequently. I felt that these two from Mud Island made the mark….a two-night run in a killer venue, a great collection of guest artists and a second set performance on 7/19 that was voted the best of 1997 by Honest Tune magazine back in the day. I certainly received many emails…even some from a few close friends…commenting on these shows and how they deserved some attention. So, a great starting point for Porch Songs…and certainly a basis for future comparisons. Next up? Well, I promised I’d head to the 1998-2002 era, so let’s go!
To order your copy of Mud Island 1997, please visit http://www.livewidespreadpanic.com/catalog.aspx and check out the Porch Songs category.
July 18, 1997
Set One: Glory, Ain’t Life Grand, Disco, Ride Me High, C. Brown, Pigeons, One Kind Favor, Papa Legba, Radio Child
Set Two: Makes Sense To Me, Dyin’ Man, Papa’s Home, Hope in a Hopeless World, It Was You, Fishwater, Nobody’s Loss, Space Wrangler, Drums, Stop-Go
Encores: Gradle, Red Beans, City of Dreams
July 19, 1997
Set One: Flat Foot Flewzy, Pleas, Let’s Get Down to Business, The Last Straw, Weak Brain Narrow Mind, Greta, Holden Oversoul, Pusherman, Henry Parsons Died*
Set Two: Tall Boy, Aunt Avis, Chilly Water, Jack, Rebirtha, Arleen, Drums**, Porch Song, Contentment Blues
Encores: Junior***, End of the Show****
* with Daniel Hutchins on vocals & Eric Carter on guitar
** with Matt Abts on timbales
*** with Warren Haynes on guitar
**** with Daniel Hutchins on vocals, Eric Carter on guitar, Warren Haynes on guitar
 
 
Time to Live it Up with Porch Songs….Downloadable 2 Track WP Soundboards from the vault!! Read on to find out the why, what and when…
Over the past 18 months, we’ve gotten off to a pretty good start on the Official Widespread Panic Archive Series by releasing 4 live shows…..Carbondale 2000, Valdosta 1989, Huntsville 1996 and Montreal 1997. All but one of these releases utilized the Multi-Track (MT) process that enables individual instruments and vocals to be separately mixed during a post show mixing process. These MT releases take a considerable amount of time and effort to create; hence, only four releases in 18 months. While the quality of the MT recordings are incredible and certainly worth the wait, I think it’s important to give certain shows that were not going to end up making the MT cut some recognition in their own right.
Just for fun, let’s say we have 2,000 shows to consider for the official archive MT releases. Over time, if we release 50 shows, that leaves 1,950 shows that stay on the shelf……if not for another way to get them out there. This Porch Songs project will capture some of those shows in a soundboard versus a MT format and, as a result, will deliver more music in a more timely fashion….while we continue to work on 3-4 MT releases each year.
These 2 track soundboard recordings that Porch Songs will utilize beg for a little explanation. For purposes of this discussion, let’s say there are 3 types of recordings…..audience, soundboard and MT. Audience tapes are made at the shows by fans and capture the sound that comes out of the speakers. The quality of an audience tape will depend on a variety of factors including the quality of the taping equipment, the taper’s skill, microphone location, room dynamics, etc. When the variables sync, an audience tape can come off sounding awesome. But if it doesn’t, there’s not a lot you can do about it. A MT tape is at the other end of the spectrum in that you can remix the sound of the individual instruments and vocals to the degree that the stage essentially doubled as a recording studio the night of the show. And it when it comes to manipulating those individual signals, there are endless possibilities with today’s technology.
Somewhere between those two recording options lies the world of soundboard recordings. The post-mix soundboard signal that travels from the mixing board to the PA gets captured by some type of recording equipment and then onto a storage medium before it hits the speakers. The type of recording equipment and storage is dependent on what year you’re talking about…..basically analogue cassette tapes from the 1980’s, dat tapes from the 1990’s and digital hard drives from the 2000’s forward. Regardless of the equipment used to make the recordings and the storage medium, the soundboard signal is different from both an audience recording and a MT tape because, unlike an audience recording, the signal doesn’t have the opportunity to be muddied up by the air inside the venue. From past explanations, you now know that the MT process captures every instrument and vocal separately….but, the soundboard feed is not separated….so, you lose the ability to dial each nuance up and down as the song or show progresses. As a result, soundboard recordings usually sound much cleaner and have a better dynamic range than audience tapes…..but will always come up short in quality when compared to the MT series.
When compared to audience tapes, a soundboard recording allows the instruments to sound a little more defined and separated and the vocals to be more clearly understood. Sometimes though, a soundboard recording is not an improvement on an audience tape due to the board signal needing so much manipulation to account for the room dimensions and environment. For example, if the room absorbs the drums to a negative degree, then the drum mix will be so high in the soundboard signal that the soundboard tape will sound lousy. However, the room dynamics might provide for a great audience tape that same evening. So, not all soundboard recordings sound the same….some are incredible, some are above-average, and some are not that great. Most of the time however, a soundboard tape provides a listener with an improved experience over what came through the audience tapes. Furthermore, today’s technology allows for these soundboard recordings to be touched up a degree so that some of the recording imperfections might be removed…or at least improved on….but it is certainly not a flawless process. One needs to exercise caution in developing expectations about consistent recording quality when it comes to soundboard recordings. Some will sound better than others…but rest assured, I’ll pick shows that are performance-worthy of making the Porch Songs cut. And I’ll be sure to leave some heat on the shelf for the MT side of things.
With that being an introduction on the why and the what, here’s a collection of random thoughts regarding Porch Songs and what to expect show-wise, quality-wise, and other-wise…
- I’ve spent time cross-referencing fan-based WP soundboard tape lists that will guide me to shows that have not previously been traded in a soundboard format. I know the late 1990’s and early 2000’s need some love. I plan on releasing shows that fill in some of those gaps, but also releasing some soundboards that are already “out there” to give fans without previous access the opportunity to download some of those shows.
- The quality of these shows will largely be “as is” due to a number of factors previously discussed. We will touch them up to a degree, but the goal is to get this music out there and not spend an inordinate amount of production time in doing so.
- Rather than so-called “digi noise” rendering a soundboard recording completely useless, I may from time to time decide to eliminate a track or two that might indeed be completely warped…..so we get to release the rest of the show rather than subscribing to one bad apple theory.
- This project will allow us to release some multi-night runs right off the bat and not take the time of 2 or 3 MT releases to do so. Obviously, some sound quality will be sacrificed, but like I said earlier….there are 1,950 shows that need a little room to fly….and some multi-night runs will certainly show up on the MT series. All good things in all good time, right?
- I can work together with fans over time, via email and blogs, to focus on certain tours, years, venue runs, etc.
- One interesting avenue of this project is that it allows the MT side of things to focus on the years where MT recordings actually exist….which began in late 1994. So, in addition to releasing a lot of the soundboards from the late 90’s and early 2000’s that never made it into circulation and won’t end up making it to a full blown MT release, Porch Songs allows us to go back to the 80’s and early 90’s and focus on some of that great music as well.
- A basis of comparison for the Porch Songs project would be the recordings that are available from today’s shows on www.livewidespreadpanic.com. Each show played since 2005 is categorized under the appropriate year and tour and is essentially a modern-day 2 track soundboard recording that is available for download versus being able to buy it at a store in a hard copy cd format. Porch Songs will just work backwards from 2005 in a sense…but in a random manner.
- These Porch Songs releases will be sold for a reasonable price out on www.livewidespreadpanic.com, and given the current set up of the site, they will show up at the top of the page underneath the Archive Recording heading.
- I’ve started with a couple of shows that I think fit pretty well into this new venture. It’s a 2 night run from the late 90’s with guest artists and some great playing. Given all the other 2 night runs available to put out on MT, this one probably wouldn’t have made it, but now it gets a new life in a different format. The recording is not what I would call top shelf, but represents what I think is about an 8 or so on a potential subjective quality scale. The goal here was to start somewhere…so I did.
- Enlightened? Confused? Comments? Questions? Send me an email….. archives@widespreadpanic.com.
Finally, the when part. For the most part, we are pretty much good to go. So, real soon. As within a week or so…….Horace
UPDATE: PORCH SONGS Release #1: Mud Island ‘97 Run – Download Here
Panic’s Archive Releases are reaching more and more storefronts both in towns across the country and online. You can now Download Archive Releases 1, 2, 3, & 4 online at Digital Think Indie.
And if you like to do your Panic music grab elsewhere, there are always the alternatives:
Widespread Merchandise
Live Widespread Panic
You Local Indie Record Store
Okay, okay…several valiant attempts here.
The correct answer is “Germans love David Hasselhoff”. I kid you not.
See ya out there.
Chris
Thursday, October 15, 2009….Somewhere in TN
Strange thing….with all that handwringing I experienced over the past couple of days, Tuesday afternoon brought a bit of peace to my world. First and foremost, all that could be done in my Athens basement was being done or had already been done and the expected rain that was coming looked like it was fizzling out. My main concern was that I wasn’t there to lend some assistance – be it manual labor or just some simple, on-site, words of encouragement….or just a hug. Certainly a lesson that life goes on just like the road does. After a few deep breaths on both sides, we agreed that we could put off the “time to go home” decision until Wednesday morning…..just to make sure that expected rain was indeed fizzling. That decision meant I would be getting off the crew bus and staying the night in Knoxville rather than traveling on to Nashville post show. That was a good decision as Nashville would’ve put me another few hours away from Athens, and if I was to head home on Wednesday, I had a head start still being in Knoxville. Secondly, after that decision, I did feel better because I did have the support of my friends around me. They were way over seeing me obviously preoccupied with over-thinking my decisions; so, for the first time since Birmingham, they saw a bit of sunshine in my eyes.
I know this is sounding like a broken record, but the show time came early again. Here’s how I have begun to see this opener/closer tradeoff…in terms of how I approach the show. If WP opens, then it is a task to get it all together for a 6 pm show time. The last night usually being a late one, it’s tough to be done with the normal daily stuff…like getting up…before noon. Luckily, 10 – 11 has been the norm, but by the time some semblance of lunch is taken care of, the middle of the afternoon sets in and then bam…show time at 6pm. With a two hour WP set right off the bat, you find a way to get in that groove pretty quickly, but then with no warning, in a sense, you get the feel that the WP portion of the show is winding down. And then it’s over….kind of. The rest of the evening is now all about the break and the ABB set and then post show plans. So, once you get over the fact that you’d really like to be getting another WP set, the rest of the night becomes real laid back and you get to flow freely between whatever is going on backstage and in the front of house. And that might be a 6 – 7 hour time frame to go once WP leaves the stage…say 8pm until 2-3am. And that’s not normal for a WP after-show experience….unless you are one of those that enjoys playing through.
When WP closes one of these collaborative efforts, the reverse happens. The afternoon leading up to the show becomes much more laid back and then about 8:45, WP takes the stage until about 11 pm. Once that long WP set is over, the brain starts its trickery. Naturally, the brain is going…ok, another WP set to go. So, there’s this period after the show where you still want more and it takes a bit to realize it just ain’t going to happen. Some nights this was over and done with in a minute….and a couple of nights it took seeing the crew at work for a few minutes to realize the show was really over. Although I liked the second slot because it was dark by then at the outdoor venues and I just never really got used to WP at 6pm, I will have to say that I enjoyed the flow of the evening more when WP opened. From a band’s perspective, maybe it’s that feeling back from high school when you did your presentation first and then had that peaceful feeling as you got to watch your classmates sweat it out…..not that I was on stage or anything close to it, but you get my point. The way I feel is that the longer before you have to eventually go to sleep after a WP show, the better…since you get more time to bask in that show afterglow. From the crew’s perspective, if WP plays first, it’s hurry up and flip the stage…and then wait til after the ABB set before getting on the bus and rolling….just to be able to see that clean stage. Forgetting something in Knoxville and then finding out in Nashville…..when you need it right then….is not an option. So, WP opening kind of staggered their day, but a WP closer show fit like a glove for the crew.
So anyway, I digressed. Again. The Knoxville show was a welcome end to a long three days. Settling in just in front of the board with a bunch of friends, it was nice being inside again. I just love GA floors as they let everybody be themselves. Finding out in the past couple of days that not only was the Knoxville show was going to be moved inside, but Nashville as well, I was sort of pumped that 4 of the last 5 had that indoor energy. I had been looking forward to the World’s Fair Park as that was where Zach had an awesome 3 yr old WP experience, but given the weather situation outside, I got over it pretty quickly. I thought the first part of the WP set was real laid back and that made for a good segue into the rest of the evening. The band spoke to me during the whole “Papa’s Home > Stop Go > Papa’s Home > Travelin Man > Ride Me High > Surprise Valley > Climb to Safety” sequence as I had a lot of ups and downs the past couple of days but I let the set opener define the deal for me….Better Off. Made my 45 years feel young dancing….that’s for sure.
After the WP set, I had a little business to take care of while the ABB set was going on. Earlier in the day, I had decided to stay in Knoxville after the show, but had forgotten to get my gear off the crew bus. So, with the bus rolling not long after the ABB set, I had to use that time to transfer by bags. With 1 large duffle bag and 2 daypacks, I threw it all on my back…around 40 pounds or so I guess…. and started off on a solo trip to the parking deck. Problem was I went to the wrong parking deck. Both of the decks had over-the-street ramps and sort of looked the same to me since I wasn’t driving. After about 3-4 phone calls, a few texts, several car alarms (set off by the buttons I was pushing on the keys I had) and about 45 minutes of aimless wondering, we all came to the realization that I was on the completely opposite side of the arena than where I needed to be. So, this expected 30 minute deal turned into about a 2 hour start to finish experience that basically included a work out and a couple of twilight zone moments. Guess I got that hike in that I missed the day before. I had a few friends back in the ABB show waiting on me probably thinking I had completely ditched them, but we all found each other later and all was good. Needless to say, sleep came early that night…well sort of early…given the need to get up to see what Wednesday would bring.
The news Wednesday morning was very encouraging from Athens. The rain was gone, the sun was out and so were the wet carpets from the basement. We talked it over and decided me getting home Thursday pm instead of Wednesday pm was of zero consequence….basement-wise or other-wise, so with a renewed sense of energy and optimism, we set off for Nashville. I tried to do the blog thing while riding in the back of the Surburban, but all I got was a good headache and a queasy stomach. So, when my friend Dick decided to drive around the same city block a full 25 times looking for a parking spot next to the busses, I thought I was going to lose whatever lunch I still had. Of course, when he pulled over for me to get out and get some air, we lost the spot he had his eye on. Oooops! It all worked out though and there was minimal stress….since WP was closing. Getting there around 5:30 for a 6 pm WP show would’ve provided us huge amounts of stress, so the late slot worked in our favor that night…..except for one reason…I didn’t get to stop by Hardy’s Broadway Brewhouse in Nashville. I had been traveling with Hardy since Charlotte and had really looked forward to hanging at his spot. This quick back and forth on the Nashville side of things took that option away. But hey, sounds to me like another reason to get on back up to Nashville.
The late slot worked for the band that night too…..which was cool since this was my last show of a 9 show run. It was nice to get a great one in the second slot as it made for a great send off. The whole show just smoked from the beginning. The energy, the guest artists, the song selection, the opener, the closer, the encores…even the crowd going easy on Johnny Neel with the lighters during BWM….it just all fit so well that night.
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Let’s Get The Show On The Road > Happy > You Should Be Glad, Pickin’ Up The Pieces, Up All Night, Love Tractor, Big Wooly Mammoth*, Fishwater > Drums > Fishwater, Don’t Wanna Lose You** > It Ain’t No Use** > Jam** > Driving Song > You Got Yours > Driving Song > Chilly Water
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| E: Vacation > Life During Wartime |
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* with Johnny Neel on keyboards
** with Audley Freed on guitar |
What fit well too was the feeling I had at the end of this show. I was satisfied. I remember back in 1984 with Dave, Tom and Nicola out on the GD summer tour when, even after traveling 7,000 miles in three weeks, we were bummed we had to go from Alpine Valley, Wisconsin back to Georgia via Virginia (to drop Dave off in Richmond) rather than make a detour through Berkeley, CA for the Greeks. What are an extra two weeks and another 7,000 miles? Would’ve gotten a Dark Star if we had gone for it….and as it turned out for me, it took me to the last time the GD performed that tune before I caught one. That was certainly a “whew” moment that night at the Omni back in 1994. I felt like Indiana Jones diving under that stone door just as it slammed shut.
Anyway, this night in Knoxville was a little different….not only for me but for everyone else around me….friend-wise that is. No Texas. No problem. Band and crew were headed there for sure, but none of my friends outside of those circles that had been with me for this run of shows were going. This was the end of the line for all of us. I don’t think any of us really felt Texas pulling that hard…..because we all had the real world biting our backsides at this point and with good reason…..until a few days later and we saw that Houston setlist with the Cortez. But, oh well, you can’t go to them all. Guess we figured that one out a long time ago.
One thing was for sure at this point….we had seen two weeks of amazing music and had moments that wouldn’t be matched…probably forever. The road is like glue the way it binds friends, family and experiences together…..and although our traveling crew over the past two weeks had been tight before we took off, we had added another impenetrable layer of life to the mix. Papa was now going to be driving past the night working his way to make it home….as I wouldn’t be a sight in Athens until later the next afternoon. But regardless of how many hello’s I was looking forward to back in GA, I had some tough goodbye’s to deliver prior to making that transition. And you can always find good reasons to stretch those out……..
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