A Fan's Love For Panic Runs Deep

originally published April 18, 2007

This week’s three-night stand at the Classic Center will mark just over 21 years since Widespread Panic’s first official show in Athens at the Mad Hatter Ballroom; coincidentally, in the same spot where a portion of the Classic Center now sits. It wasn’t until eight years later, in 1994, that I first saw the band live.

I was a freshman in college in South Carolina, and my eyes were wide open to anything new. I was, as many teenagers are, wildly addicted to music, but had never really thought much about what role each instrument played or how each part contributed to the whole. I had never seen a band like Widespread Panic at that time, especially fresh out of high school, and I was in awe of how different these musicians were from anything I had ever seen before: six regular guys onstage, no fancy clothes or gimmicks, just playing music for three hours. It wasn’t long until I was hooked - a full-blown fan - and then I found myself seeing them more than 150 times over the next 13 years, all between obtaining a college degree, and quite a few nine-to-five jobs.

What Is It?

Over the years, I’ve met a lot of people who don’t really understand the allure of Widespread Panic, or why so many people literally follow the band across the globe. The term "jam band" gets tossed around too dismissively, leading many of these same people to think that every song is a 10 minute-plus adventure into repetition. I think many jambands do cross over into this territory. Something about Widespread Panic, however, has never really felt that way to me; it’s never really been about how long the guys can sustain a guitar jam just because they can, or how many notes they can play in one sitting just because they can.

More often than not, it was the actual songs, incredibly timeless, and not just the talented playing, that appealed to me. With so many different songwriters in one band, there has always been a variety of subject matter and songwriting styles to catch my attention. Many of the songs, especially the early ones, might have a few different meanings that one may not catch upon a first, or second, or some cases, tenth listen. (And the band has always insisted that the meanings of these songs are forever open to interpretation.)

Panic’s catalog of songs is absolutely enormous, with something like 130 original songs, four new ones already debuted on this current spring tour, and a whopping 200-plus group of cover songs. The band has put out nine studio albums and seven live albums, not to mention several video releases, and a long list of studio albums with the members' own respective side projects. This huge repertoire leaves plenty of room for flexibility in song choice when it comes to their typical three-hour shows. To be a Widespread Panic fan through the years often means having an insatiable desire to connect the dots with the music, like realizing why a certain song might appear in the setlist in a certain city, or after a particular current event, almost as if the band were having a conversation or dialogue with the fans through the setlist.

We get obsessed with hearing certain songs, sometimes waiting five or 10 years to finally hear that one particular favorite. Songs are usually only repeated about every three shows, so you’ll never hear the same setlist twice, ever. I think that’s a testament to how the band tries to keep things fresh and keep the fanbase guessing.

Widespread Panic is constantly breaking the mold of how bands operate in today’s music industry. These guys' business model still stands apart from other acts. All songwriting credits are given to the entire band. They tour year-round, and not just when there's a new album to promote. They set attendance records in concert venues across the country on a regular basis. Take this past New Year’s Eve show at Philips Arena, for example. They were honored with a permanent raised banner in the venue commemorating 15 consecutive sellouts since 1999.

Though Panic is often pigeon-holed in mainstream media as today’s leading jamband, I feel if one looks close enough, there’s certainly more to that, and less. Widespread Panic is a rock band. I’ve heard the members pull off better versions of rock songs than many classified-by-critics “rock bands.” Their music runs the gamut of genres, so the labels that writers often give them got thrown out the window for me years ago. Led by a consummate frontman, they move effortlessly from one song to the next as though they knew where they are going all along (and with improvisational music, you know this is not always the case.)

Loss of the Trademark Sound

The obsession many fans have with Widespread Panic is a bit extreme, of course, but I think we all tend to have our own unreasonable obsessions with things that are there purely for our simple enjoyment. Of course, with any slightly insane obsession or diehard passionate relationship, there comes tumultuous times and definite highs and lows. For Widespread Panic and its fans, the past five years in particular have come with what has felt like an unfair share of low points.

The loss of lead guitarist and band namesake Michael Houser to a battle with pancreatic cancer in 2002 seemed like the end of Widespread Panic for many fans (and one can only guess, at one point, the bandmembers themselves.) Houser’s guitar playing, sound and onstage persona were integral to the music and image of Widespread Panic as far as I was concerned. His playing was the yang to the yin of the rest of the band. Houser’s guitar would cut through the air with a rip-roaring intensity that I’ve rarely seen emulated in music, past or present. If it wasn’t graceful, it was heart–thumping, nasty and head-spinning all at once, and those moments were just as beautiful as his soft melodies. In Houser’s work with Widespread Panic, he effortlessly wiggled in and out of the music. Losing Houser was a great blow to a band that was on top of its game. His playing was completely inseparable from the sound of Widespread Panic. He helped to define the group's trademark sound.

But like any family that loses a loved one, you must regroup and move on, and upon Houser’s insistence, that’s exactly what Widespread Panic did. After so many years on the road, what else did these now middle-aged men - remember, once just wide-eyed teenagers bumming around Athens - know how to do other than play music? They picked up the pieces and without canceling a show, moved on by calling an old friend, guitarist George McConnell, to help out. Having five musicians and friends start a musical conversation with a completely new sixth entity brings its fair share of challenges and triumphs.

After some reshuffling, and some help from friends John Keane and Randall Bramblett, as well as a valiant stint in the lead slot by former guitar tech Sam Holt, a new guitarist and another old friend stepped in where McConnell left off in September of 2006. Jimmy Herring (Aquarium Rescue Unit, Project Z) has arrived on the stage with much gusto, and he's breathed necessary new life into the band. In slightly more than seven months, Herring has already learned approximately 150 songs in the band’s catalog - an enormous feat, considering that Panic has spent much of those seven months on the road.

Turning Point

Widespread Panic is certainly still on the road back to full recovery, and no doubt there will be more obstacles along the way, but there is a great feeling of hope amongst the fans once again. There is much music left for these guys to explore, and you can feel their eagerness to do so in the music again. It was the unknown that attracted so many of us before, and it’s the unknown that is exciting now. After all, improvisational music captures us because of the unknown as it twists and turns along the way, which is what made Widespread Panic so appealing in the first place.

However, one can’t aptly portray who the guys in Widespread Panic are to their fans without touching on the impact they have made on the local Athens community, which is truly a case of putting money where their mouths are by fundraising and donating money to numerous local and national causes. It’s this realness in both the band and many of the fans that has also kept me coming back to see Panic year after year; this generosity may seem de riguer to people in Athens, so used to a tight-knit and supportive music scene, but it's rare for a band of Widespread's prominence and popularity.

Thirteen obsessive years later, I have friends who once met at Panic shows now married with children, and yet another generation is being brought into the fold. We believe that we're on the adventure with the band, and just like any family, we have our ups and downs; but we keep encouraging our favorite team from the sidelines, knowing that it’s the game that is the thrill, and not always the end result.

Jayne Clamp

Liner Notes is Flagpole's music opinion column. To contribute, contact music editor Chris Hassiotis with ideas at music@flagpole.com.