Photo: Ben Flanagan/bflanagan@al.com

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Photo: Dennis Pillion/dpillion@al.com

For Widespread Panic’s biggest fans, the biggest thrills at the band’s concerts often come in the form of cover tunes. Traffic’s psychedelic “Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.” War’s funky “Slipping into Darkness.” And even Metallica’s blazing “Enter Sandman” and Nelly’s poppy “Hot in Herre.” (The misspelling in the latter song’s title is intentional.)

Covers have been an integral part of Widespread setlists since the Athens, Ga-founded improvisational-rock band debuted live in 1986. Longtime WSP fan Michael Timberlake, a Huntsville attorney who’s seen the group perform at least 50 times since first seeing them at a 1989 The Nick show in Birmingham, jokes Panic is “the best cover band around.” Timberlake adds, “They have the ability to adapt most any song from any genre and make it sound like a Panic song.”

Live music fan Katie Smith Jarres, of Huntsville, first saw Widespread perform in 1989 at now-departed Tuscaloosa venue Salomon’s. She stopped counting the number of shows after her hundredth. While Widespread’s repertoire includes covers that see regular rotation, like JJ Cale’s “Ride Me High,” Smith Jarres says, “When they introduce a new one, especially a song you already like/love, it's a fun and exciting moment that you never forget."

Lindsey Rogers, manager at Huntsville bar Voodoo Lounge (110 South Side Square), which is hosting an after-party following Panic’s Feb. 16 Von Braun Center show, has been a fan since 1996. Rogers says, “sometimes (Widespread) will hit you with something you weren't expecting,” citing a recent performance of “I Can See Clearly Now,” the ’70s soul-folk song made famous by both Johnny Nash and Jimmy Cliff.

Jody McInnes, a Montgomery financial advisor, has seen between 50 and 100 Widespread shows. He first saw the band perform at the Auburn University Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house in November 1989. “They bring their own grit and energy to covers, which makes it so much fun,” McInnes says.

Growing up in Huntsville and later attending University of Alabama, both WSP hotbeds, I attended probably around a dozen or so Widespread concerts, mostly during the '90s. Including the band's 1996 Von Braun Center show, legendary among hardcore fans. While I enjoy the band's music and greatly respect their onstage prowess, I am by no means an expert. So I sought out suggestions for Widespread Panic's greatest live covers from a few longtime fans (and friends). In addition to Timberlake, Smith Jarres, Rogers and McInnes, Huntsville resident Kai Gustafson also contributed suggestions. To read my recent interview with WSP singer/guitarist John Bell, in which Bell discussed beginnings, David Bowie, setlists and the band's new LP "Street Dogs," click here. By Matt Wake

Please note: The following list is meant to reflect Widespread’s greatest live cover songs of all time and not the greatest specific versions the band has ever performed of those covers.

In addition to the upcoming Huntsville show, Widespread performs in Mobile (7:30 p.m. Feb. 17, Mobile Civic Center Theater, 401 Civic Center Drive). Although both of those shows have sold-out, tickets can be found on secondary marketplaces StubHub and VividSeats. On April 23, Widespread will perform at Birmingham's Legacy Arena at The BJCC (2100 Richard Arrington, Blvd. N.) with tickets going on sale 10 a.m. Feb. 26 via ticketmaster.com, with fellow master-class jammers Tedeschi Trucks Band opening the show.

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"Heroes" David Bowie

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"Godzilla" Blue Oyster Cult

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"Fairies Wear Boots" Black Sabbath

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"Red Hot Mama" Funkadelic

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"Ace of Spades" Motorhead

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"Sympathy for the Devil" Rolling Stones

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"Ain't No Use" The Meters

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"For What It's Worth" Buffalo Springfield

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"Riders on the Storm" The Doors

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"Wish You Were Here" Pink Floyd