Bluest Tape

Latest Episodes:

106: The Natty is Set Aug 07, 2020

Show notes

The Natty Is Set

My God, have we FINALLY reached The Natty?By God, we have! It is set. A consensus #1, all time show in 4/3/96 Huntsville, AL vs. the “People’s Champ,” 10/28/00 New Orleans, LA. A sensational standalone show on a sleepy Wednesday night in “The Rocket City” vs. a get-down Saturday night on Halloween weekend in “The Crescent City.” This matchup is really like choosing between your two kids (Harvey and I both have two boys - some days it is easier to choose one you like, though) and will force you, the voting public, to make a tough decision. Other than that, it’s another Bluest Tape, talking domestic bliss, college sports, old TV, and Harvey again berates Jeff for not yet watching “Hamilton.” Oh, and we threw in a killer clip from Summer 99 - I say “HAT-FIELD!”

Please make your voice heard and help us pick the winner - vote on Facebook and on Twitter!

#1 - April 3, 1996 - Huntsville, AL - VBCC Arena
#3 - October 28, 2000 - New Orleans, LA - UNO Lakefront Arena

24 July 1999 - Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Hatfield > Bear’s Gone Fishin’ > Sleeping Man

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105: A Fantabulous Final Four + An Interview with Marq Spusta Jul 03, 2020

Show notes

A Fantabulous Final Four + An Interview with Marq Spusta

We are super good at recording interviews - and episodes - weeks and/or months ago and dropping them on you all weeks and/or months later. You would think that during the pandemic we’d both have nothing to do but work and yell at people for not wearing masks, but that has not been the case. Life has been hectic, y’all! This week, Jeff and Harvey catch up on things, breakdown the Panic Final Four (chalk, chalk, chalk, and chalk), wax poetic about “Wednesday” shows, and present to you an interview Jeff did with renowned poster artist Marq Spusta, his lifelong friend, basketball teammate, and occasional concert companion. Learn about Marq’s career, his artwork, his inspiration, his time with Panic, that one time he met Solomon Burke, and some recommended listening for troubling times. Admittedly, we did this interview way back in March, but I’ll be damned if we still don’t have this pandemic going on. I guess we can’t just wish it away, can we?

Please make your voice heard and help us pick the winner - vote on Facebook and on Twitter!

4/3/96 Huntsville AL - VBCC @
5/7/97 Louisville KY - Palace Theater
5/5/99 N. Myrtle Beach SC - House of Blues
10/28/00 New Orleans LA - UNO Lakefront Arena

@ = official band release, automatic selection

20 June 2008 - Los Angeles, CA - Orpheum Theater
None of Us Are Free (w/Solomom Burke on vocals)
22 June 2018 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks
Happy > B of D > Love Tractor

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104: The Elite 8 Unveiling + Jupiter Coyote May 07, 2020

Show notes

The Elite 8 Unveiling + Jupiter Coyote

Okay, we are down to the Elite 8 in our “A Panic Sweet 16 for the COVID-19” bracket to determine the “best” Panic show ever. We recap the results from the last matchups in the tourney and preview the monsters coming up, including the Battle for Alabama, Jeff’s best show ever vs. Harvey’s best show ever, NOLAWeen 2000 v Sit n Ski, and just maybe, quite possibly, the “best” Panic show ever from May 1999 v a classic NYE show. Whew!

After the bracket breakdown, we share the long overdue interview Harvey conducted on NYE with the band Jupiter Coyote who, after well over 20 years in the game, are still making some great music and treating their fans to fantastic live shows. Stay tuned for the interview plus a super special treat that the band shared with us just for you. Enjoy!

Please make your voice heard and help us pick the winner - vote on Facebook and on Twitter!

T. Lavitz Bracket
1. 4/3/96 Hunstville AL
9. 7/29/01 Pelham AL

Todd Nance Bracket
4. 5/7/97 Louisville KY
5. 12/1/00 Carbondale IL

George McConnell Bracket
3. 10/28/00 New Orleans LA
6. 1/20/96 Boulder CO

Danny the Sound Man Bracket
2. 5/5/99 N. Myrtle Beach SC
7. 12/31/97 Atlanta GA

Music:
Jupiter Coyote, Visulite Theatre, Charlotte, NC 12/31/19
Breckenridge > Cindi > Everytime
Train Song > Amorous
Lucky Day > Franklin's Tower

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103: Panic Sweet 16 part 3 Apr 13, 2020

Show notes

A Panic Sweet 16 for the COVID-19:

The George McConnell and The Danny the Angry Sound Man Brackets

Here’s the right side of the Widespread Panic Sweet 16 bracket, eight killer shows that, if you haven’t heard them or don’t know about them, why are you reading this and listening to us? You must not get any of our terrible jokes, or any of our snarky references to “Dark Day Program,” “Coach,” and “Sparks Fly.” This is a recording of a Facebook Live we did a week or so ago, so apologies if our references are already dated. Enjoy!

Please make your voice heard and help us pick the winner - vote on Facebook and on Twitter!

George McConnell Bracket
6. 1/20/96 Boulder CO
11. 9/28/95 Knoxville TN
3. 10/28/00 New Orleans LA
14. 11/20/01 Johnson City TN

Danny the Angry Sound Man Bracket
7. 12/31/97 Atlanta GA
10. 11/17/98 Northampton MA
2. 5/5/99 N. Myrtle Beach SC
15. 4/27/99 Jacksonville FL*

= official band release

27 April 1999 - Jacksonville, FL - Moran Theater
Driving > Weak Brain > Jam > Driving > Jam

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102: Panic Sweet 16 part 2 Apr 02, 2020

Show notes

A Panic Sweet 16 for the COVID-19

The Todd Nance Bracket

As promised, here’s our Widespread Panic Sweet 16 bracket of what we and the band think are the “best” 16 shows in the band’s history (yes, we know, some of our choices are debatable, but take us to task on Twitter!). The 16 includes 11 shows officially released by the band and 5 at-large concerts from the years 1989 to 2001. We continue the tournament in the lower left part of the bracket - named for the band’s original drummer, Todd Nance - with the #4 v #13 and #5 v #12 matchups.

Please make your voice heard and help us pick the winner - vote on Facebook and on Twitter!

Todd Nance Bracket
5. 12/1/00 Carbondale IL - SIU Arena^
12. 10/20/98 Colorado Springs CO - City Auditorium^
4. 5/7/97 Louisville KY - The Palace Theater&
13. 4/8/89 Valdosta GA - The Armory^

^ = official band release, automatic selection
& = at-large bid

08 April 1989 - Valdosta, GA - The Armory
Jam > Eliza’s Apt. > A of D > B of D > Impossible

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101: Panic Sweet 16 for COVID-19 Mar 27, 2020

Show notes

A Panic Sweet 16 for the COVID-19

The T. Lavitz Bracket

As promised, here’s our Widespread Panic Sweet 16 bracket of what we and the band think are the “best” 16 shows in the band’s history (yes, we know, some of our choices are debatable, but take us to task on Twitter!). The 16 includes 11 shows officially released by the band and 5 at-large concerts from the years 1989 to 2001. We get started off in the upper left part of the bracket - named for the first and shortest tenured keyboardist in the band’s history, T. Lavitz - with the #1 v #16 and #8 v #9 matchups.

Please make your voice heard and help us pick the winner - vote on Facebook and on Twitter!

T. Lavitz Bracket
1. 4/3/96 Huntsville AL - VBCC^
16. 7/11/95 Columbia MO - The Blue Note^
8. 9/8/97 Montreal QUE - Club Soda^
9. 7/29/01 Pelham AL - Oak Mountain^

^ = official band release, automatic selection

11 July 1995 - Columbia, MO - The Blue Note
Radio Child > Maggot Brain > Heaven > Proving Ground

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100: A Big Show for Unprecedented Times Mar 20, 2020

Show notes

A Big Show for Unprecedented Times

The Bluest Tape @ 100

Well, it took us almost three years, but we finally have made it to our 100th episode! Congrats to us and congrats to you all for sticking with us through all the talk about appliance repair, existential dread, whining about Kentucky basketball, Memphis-related conspiracy theories, and, perhaps most important, the pod’s evolution in how we think about Panic 3.0.

So, episode 100 is a really big show. Not only did we do a live Facebook stream of our video chat, we drop some uncirculated Panic, an analog pull from deep inside the vault, aka “The Closet in Jeff’s Childhood Bedroom.” We also play two really incredible selections from May 23, 1995 in Santa Ana, CA, towards the end of a massive spring tour. The band is in tip-top shape here, and really pushes the limits with a killer first set “Astronomy Domine” (not making it up) and an intense “Chilly > Mr Soul > Chilly” closer. You’re gonna dig it.

Then we announce the bracket for our “Sweet 16 for COVID-19” challenge, an online poll to choose the best Panic show(s) ever. The bracket features 11 band-selected archival releases plus 5 at-large shows. We hope y’all we get involved and help us with this once we get started next week.

Lastly, and perhaps biggest of all, Harvey just did an awesome interview with GUITAR TEACHER REACTS from YouTube. Michael Palmisano has really embraced the live music community of late, breaking down clips of Trey, Jerry, Jimmy, Derek, and now Mikey. Since we aren’t guitar players, we really have no idea what he’s talking about, but it did us well to hear him lavish some praise on Mikey and talk about how technical of a player he really was. Enjoy the interview!

Looks like we’re gonna be in this together for a while. So, wash your hands, stay home, hug your family, walk your dog (or cat if you can somehow manage that), support a local restaurant by ordering take out, order some records from your favorite indie shop (and because Amazon isn’t restocking vinyl right now), and just be safe out there, okay? The pod will be here for you!

[23 May 1995 - Santa Ana, CA - The Galaxy Theater][1]
Set 1: Astronomy Domine > Gimme > Radio Child
Set 2: Space Wrangler > Walkin’, Pilgrims > Entering a Blackhole Backwards > Chilly Water > Mr. Soul > Chily Water

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99: We Fancied Rat Patrol Mar 12, 2020

Show notes

We Fancied Rat Patrol: Beacon Residency 2020

Episode #99 hits at a particularly harrowing time in the recent history of our nation. The NBA is on hiatus. March Madness will be played in arenas in front of moms, dads, ballboys, and janitors, and no one else. Tom Hanks - FREAKING TOM HANKS - has the damn virus. End times? Nope. Just 2020, the best year ever.

Well, despite the darkness, at least we still have some Widespread Panic to talk about. The band just completed its first five-nights-in-a-row RESIDENCY in many, many years - five nights, no repeats, and a return back to the 9 song first set, 9-10 song second, and 2 song encore format that served this band so well for so long. We discuss all five shows, but focus on the first and fifth nights. Harvey takes a deep dive in the 2nd set of night one for an old school combo kicking off with “Blight,” while Jeff waxes poetic about the 2nd set in night five, including a killer “Hatfield” with an all time JB rap about Hatfield’s mama and random TV shows and movies from the mid 1960s.

Best of all, dear listener, limited dryer talk and no existential dread. Maybe that’ll be back for episode #100? Let’s hope not.

Links below go to whole show streams from Panicstream.

27 February 2020 - New York, NY - Beacon Theater
Blight > Help Me Somebody > Fishwater > Pilgrims
02 March 2020 - New York, NY - Beacon Theater
Hatfield > Impossible > Saint Ex > Tie Your Shoes

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98: Why Do We Even Exist? Feb 11, 2020

Show notes

Why Do We Even Exist?

A Very Special, Existential Bluest Tape

Yep, we ask this question and many more in this, our 98th episode of The Bluest Tape. What ostensibly began as an episode to discuss the recent Panic en la Playa Nueve turns into a discussion about washer/dryer repair and the very nature of this podcast that you are about to tune into. We go DEEP. But, we also talk about PELP, and another great PELP it was, really turning into a family reunion in some ways, not just for the fans, but the band as well, too. It was a very loose, very loose four show run, kicked off with an epic “Lawyers Guns & Money” opener and shutting it down with “Last Dance > Porch Song.” Take a ride with us through these four shows and stick around for a discussion best suited for your freshman year Philosophy 100 discussion section.

Links below go to whole show streams from the good folks at Panicstream

24 January 2020 - Riviera Maya, MX - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Lawyers, Guns, & Money > Chilly Water > Stop-Go > Heaven; One Kind Favor > Mr. Soul (w/ Marcus King on guitar)
25 January 2020 - Riviera Maya, MX - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Mercy > Jam > Bowlegged Woman > Blight
27 January 2020 - Riviera Maya, MX - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Weak Brain, Narrow Mind, Sympathy for the Devil (w/ a whole mess of guests)

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97: Everyone Gets a Second Chance Jan 15, 2020

Show notes

Everyone Gets A Second Chance

2020 Is Upon Us

First time we’ve recorded in a while and so much has gone on, most notably, Panic concluding a strong three night run at the Fabulous Fox Theater in Atlanta over New Year’s. This episode, we recap the holidays, recap our illnesses, complain about football and basketball referees and the ridiculous amount of replays, and of course, end up talking about Panic. We give the 2019 run a good once over, and then we let Harvey wax poetic about NYE 94 and 95. No surprise, but some pretty good music here.

Links below go to whole show streams from Panicstream

31 December 2019 - Atlanta, GA - Fabulous Fox Theater
31 December 1994 - Macon, GA - Macon City Auditorium
31 December 1995 - Macon, GA - Macon Coliseum

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