I never got the love for Panic, until last year. I'm a guitar player in bands, and do some occasional studio work or fill ins. So I know guitar playing, and I have respected Herring for a long time. Great player. But I just never got into Panic and didn't understand the love for them. My little brother was about the biggest Panic fan there was. He had been to over 100 shows, and they were just about all he talked about. Obsessed. He had tried for a long time to get me to a Panic show and get me into them, and I just never made it. A couple of years ago, he got diagnosed with brain cancer. And he was going down fast. 3 kids under 10, and in fact was diagnosed 2 weeks after having his 3rd child. It was really fast that he was in a wheel chair and was slurring his speech etc. I knew how much he loved Panic, so I decided I would take him myself (he lived in Atlanta, me in Charlotte) to the Halloween Panic show in Asheville in 2015. So I drove to Atlanta, picked him up and took him. We got there, and since he was in a wheel chair the Panic fans basically made us go all the way to the front row. Coolest fans I have ever seen. So he got to be right in the very front middle with me holding the handles on his wheel chair the entire show. And I loved the show. It was especially cool because I'm a huge Andy Griffith fan and they were all dressed up like the show characters.
Anyway, it was fantastic and I don't think I honestly had ever seen him so happy. I think mainly because he knew I was enjoying them, and he felt relieved that he had finally accomplished his goal of having me appreciate his favorite band. He passed away less than a month later. Last year, I went to see Panic again in September in honor of Rob. I promised him I would keep going to shows after he died. So I went by myself. In a lot of ways, it was an awesome night too.
Anyway, great band and great fans. Herring is fantastic and Dave Schools is killer.
I am surprised My Morning Jacket hasn't been mentioned.
