Photos and text courtesy of Widespread Panic / Brown Cat

Widespread Panic
April 3, 1996
Von Braun Civic Center
Huntsville, AL.

Set I:
01: Crowd/Tuning 00:32
02: Better Off > 05:23
03: Pigeons 10:15
04: LGDTB > 04:24
05: Radio Child > 06:09
06: Pilgrims > 06:41
07: Solace > 01:37
08: 1×1 05:05
09: Maggot Brain > 08:08
10: Can’t Get High 04:21
11: Sandbox 04:44
12: Papa’s Home 10:12

Set II:
01: Crowd/Tuning 00:44
02: Diner > 13:18
03: Porch Song > 03:39
04: Pleas 05:54
05: I’m Not Alone > 06:08
06: Tie Your Shoes > 07:41
07: Arleen > 14:20
08: Vacation > 09:33
09: Drums > 06:11
01: Guilded Splinters > 10:49
02: Blackout Blues > 05:52
03: Contentment Blues > 06:08
04: Love Tractor 06:27
05: Crowd

Encore:
06: Can’t Find My Way Home 06:06

[First ‘Sandbox’; ‘Satisfied’ rap during ‘Arleen’]

Thanks to Haney Jones for his masters and Alan Saferstein for getting them to me and starting this project!

Source:
Set I – FOB Schoeps CMC6 > Sonosax > D10 Pro
Set II – Matrix (60% FOB Schoeps CMC6 > Sonosax > D10 Pro, 40% DSBD)
Converted, Edited and Seeded by Harvey Couch

Be sure to check out the Officially Released Multi-track Archive release of this show…

The Making of Huntsville 96 by Chris Rabold

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Liner Notes by Horace Moore

Widespread Panic’s live music has always moved me….both down the highway and to the core…and continues to be an undeniable force and inspiration in my life. I love how a live show presents a musical experience that becomes enveloped in the feel of the moment – whether you’re part of the audience…or the band. Complete and total satisfaction from that synergy is what we always hope to take with us when we leave the venue and head to our next destination…..be it home or the next show. The chance of capturing that lightning again is what brings us back. That feeling of being better off just because of being there.

When we find ourselves lucky enough to attend those shows that make that mark, live recordings become a vehicle to capture that experience all over again. Thankfully, those same recordings become a potential source of inspiration for those of us who weren’t able to make the trip. And that’s when a performance really begins its journey….and gets its chance to fit that epic definition. It’s having that music live on that gives those that didn’t make it to the show the ability to be inspired and satisfied and dance right along with those that did.

Most of us could reel off a few dozen shows that are our favorites even though we might have been a continent away when the performance actually went down. That disappointment of missing out can be overwhelming. By and by, however, that frustration has the opportunity to be replaced by the very real feeling that you were actually there…and that’s the point. Maybe you’ve been there all along, because isn’t it really all about the whole journey anyway? Musical journeys don’t necessarily end with the last note of the night. Not for a long shot and maybe not forever.

So, what is it about this Huntsville, AL show back in 1996 that takes on so much meaning? What really happened there that night? Whatever it was it moved more than the 2,582 in attendance…that’s for sure. And for much longer than the 3 ½ hours the band was onstage. Whether 4/3/96 was someone’s 1st or 250th show, or even if they didn’t see the band for the first time until a few years later, this show continues to hit the note.

For the record, I was not there, but also fell for this show a long time ago. It’s never quit on me and has been the focus of much enjoyment and many conversations over the years. To provide a glimpse of what it was that did go down in Huntsville that night….and what certainly continues on today through this recording, I thought I’d share the passion that comes through my email address…so read on. And take a listen. Be inspired….and satisfied. And you too will be better off.

Horace Moore