My Widespread Panic Concert Experience

Formed in the early nineties, Widespread Panic has developed a following of epic proportions. Recently I went to one of their shows, and I was surprised by what I saw. I had been urged by coworkers not to attend. Rumors of rampant drug overdoses, violence, and theft fill the city whenever they are in town. Whole shifts of off duty police are brought in to control the organized chaos that would inevitably ensue. However, I saw none of this.

I wanted to get the complete experience, so I actually paid to park in the city garage. Generally I fore go the four dollar fee and walk the extra hundred yards, but I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I eagerly looked for the hippies selling grilled cheese sandwiches from the backs of vans painted to resemble the Mystery Machine. I found none. What I did find were tailgate parties where people willing gave out bottles of red stripe beer.

I saw older men putting on Mardi Gras beads and newly purchased grateful dead shirts. I saw hippies, freaks, punks, and a plethora of other types filing into the show. Everyone, even if only for the one night, was family. In the words of one concert goer, "This is Widespread Panic! We have to all stick together." Older men and women partied with teenage boys and girls, each dancing in their own way. Both united by the love of the music, neither denying the transcendental feeling, the power it creates, the hold it puts on you.

I've listened to their albums before. I acknowledged their genius, but I never fully understood until I saw them live. It's just not possible to get the energy and force of the crowd on a CD. In person, the music grabs and shapes you, moving you in ways you yourself never thought to move before.

I stood in the pit, two rows from the front of the stage. I danced; I witnessed. I did see drugs flowing freely, but I witnessed no overdoses. There were no half-naked girls passing out. No convulsions or aspirations took place. While one guy did try to start a fight with a security guard, the whole of the audience took him and pushed him out. We were a family, and you don't mess with family.

It was easy to see how they had developed such a following. It's a ripple that keeps going in the waters of fandom. While I have never been to a grateful dead show, I have spoken to those who have. The energy, the feeling, the sounds, the whole of the experience was something I always wanted to have. In my estimation, Widespread Panic put me as close to that event as possible.