Rating:   5 Ratings     12345  

Widespread Panic Live At Myrtle Beach

      Rising is a very apt term here; Risen to the top with the rest of the cream, southern boys Widespread Panic have found room at the peak of their tower of releases to add yet another brick, "Live at Myrtle Beach." If you've never heard of Widespread, I say take a chance on the Panic. Their studio albums are always quality (a thankfully increasing trend among j-bands). These boys have been around as long as anyone else in the game and there is a reason they are still packing houses from one side of the map to the other. Backed by a throng of faithful fans, Panic is a love-boat that sails on the waves of the beauty in art forms. They rock, certainly, but they incorporate worlds of sound to the mix and take their compositions beyond the realm of simple explanation. Movements from subtle to herky-jerky provide head-nodding tunes that become powerful shakedowns and do so with a lyrical scheme that will have you singing along to John Bell's whiskey steeped croon.

      A noticeable commonality among these improvisational squads is the ‘arc’ that can be drawn overtop of the setlist for any given live show. Think of it as the band's pulse. One night it will be all over the place and another it may be way north or stay in the shallow south. Because so much of the music relies on chance, circumstance, mood, and feeling, the arc changes from night to night-hence these rabid fans going to extraordinary lengths to see “their” band. The arc is the lure of infinite possibility.

      Kicking things off for this 2-disc set is one of my all-time Panic favorites, "Ain't Life Grand". This is a very standard version on all charts and measures, but a song that sets up the show nicely. There is a distinct rock to Widespread Panic. More often times then not, it nods back to some of the great southern music of decades past. On the opener’s heels is Conrad The Caterpillar, another Panic staple. The band makes it’s first jammish foray here and doesn’t look back. On the fuzzy-wuzzy’s heels for the rest of disc one are solid takes on Panic mainstays both self-penned and penned otherwise. The set ends with guest guitarist John Keane sitting in on three tunes, including "Dirty Business" (New Riders of the Purple Sage) and "Stop Breakin' Down Blues" (Robert Johnson). The segue from one to the other as well as the songs themselves are a testament to the historical stew that Panic has been pulling spoonfuls of since their inception. The down of "Dirty Business", coming out of "Don't Wanna Lose You" is the kind of show-movement, slow it down-but keep it going on, live approach that make these shows so enjoyable. In the world of jambands, covers happen often (in the grand scheme of things, anyway) but how they are chosen often says as much about the band as many of the songs in their cannon. NRPS and Robert Johnson, certainly two distinctly different musical entities, but here they are brought together, one song married to the other by the collective listening experience and appreciation of the Widespread minds.

      Sometimes Widespread can wear the banner of funk in their songs, most often led by the keyboard stylings of Jo Jo Hermann, but Live At Myrtle Beach has more of a classic sound than some of the live moments I have heard and witnessed. Hermann brings the straightforward piano approach brilliantly to the mix. If one thing stands out about this here album, it's that it reminds me of older live rock releases.

      Disc two. Here's where your attention span gets a pretty good test. If you are willing, the first track, "Papa's Home" is very rewarding. A great choice to open the second disc because of it's slow start, beautiful build, and lively payoff, the jam reaches such great heights before relenting just shy of the 24 minute mark. Still classic keys and wailing guitar, matched ultimately here by heroic bassist Mr. David Schools and the percussion of Sunny Ortiz. Percussion and drums eventually work alone to make their way right into another Panic standard, "Henry Parsons Died". Inspired and just long enough, the track makes good carry into two more brief numbers that drop before the band starts to think about wrapping things up. "Action Man" and "Postcard" come and go quickly, but serve their purpose fully. The energy coming out of "Henry" and into (read: ">") "Action Man" is what makes the middle of this disc so much fun to listen to. All of the power that is achieved somewhere amidst the long jams and segues is found in a four and a half minute number that dares skeptics to pigeon whole them as a marathon band.

      Finishing with what is presumably the show's encore, the band has some fun during, "Bowlegged Woman" (rightfully so, I suppose) in which a bit of the aforementioned funk creeps out (Schools thumping and slapping an effected bass guitar is an entertaining change from mostly straightforward playing otherwise here. The tune rises to a grand finale and leaps quickly into another well-known Panic tune, "Chilly Water". The classic rock-n-roll feel is just as evident here as it was on disc one. Some of the bluesy-ness is still hovering over the other disc, but regardless, the band sounds full here-they sound huge. And with that the show is over and the crowd roars. Just another night on the road for people on and off of the stage.

      As would be expected, the energy of Widespread Panic has translated wonderfully to disc on yet another live album. While it may not stand at the top of the list of their live releases, this is certainly a great collection of songs from a solid performance. While I have to admit that this band has always been more of an acquired taste for me, the solid playing here is definitely craving inducing. "Live At Myrtle Beach" will not just lay somewhere in the background of your bedroom or living room, it will command attention and demand volume. Obey.

-Joel Armato 02/19/05