The Dock Will Rock With Panacea Fest

Panacea is a word for healing, whether it be physical, mental or even spiritual.

And one of the greatest overall panaceas is music.

The man behind Panacea Concerts, Ryan Litzinger, understands this and that’s why he’s staging Panacea at the Dock, a three-day music festival at the former Spokane Marketplace.

The series of concerts, featuring some of the brightest talents in the region, starts today and continues through Sunday.

One of the goals of this ambitious endeavor is to remedy the woes of the under-represented all-ages scene.

And by having three days of music, Panacea at the Dock also strives to represent different rock genres. So head-bangers, punk rockers and “alternative” rockers will all be able to enjoy at least one of the days.

The event kicks off today at 3 p.m. Seattle’s Tad and Sleep Capsule and a slew of local rockers such as Cringe, Snaut, Wiser Sin and Cotton Mouth will sandblast metal-heads and noise-mongers.

On Saturday, Seattle’s Gas Huffer will flex its finely-tuned punk/garage rock muscle. Also strutting their stuff are Spokane’s Makers, Fumes, Flies, Big Comb and Fatty Lumpkin.

Then Sunday, Coeur d’Alene’s Shoveljerk, Seattle’s Inflatable Soule, Portland’s Waterman’s Hollow and Spokane’s Roadside Prophets, Spring Chamber and Blood Blue will give local ears one last thrill.

Gas Huffer has always been a favorite to the area, though the quartet hasn’t played here in almost two years because of the lack of all-ages venues.

Since the last time the band turned up its garagey, often witty, blend of punk rock, it signed to L.A.’s Epitaph Records (the independent label that struck it rich with bands the Offspring, Rancid, Bad Religion and NOFX.) and released its third album, “One Inch Masters.”

Two cuts from the album, “Crooked Bird” and “More Of Everything,” even made the play list at MTV.

In September, the foursome along with fellow Seattle pal Steel Wool opened for Van Halen at The Gorge.

No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. Gas Huffer, who’d rather see Van Halen and the rest of the slick and contrived rockers disappear into oblivion, played the Plaza Stage in the food court at The Gorge.

A couple of hundred people milling around the area, curious to see what obnoxious music was giving them indigestion, stood and watched the band’s 45-minute, aerobic workout.

“All five people rocked out,” said drummer Joe Newton by phone from his Seattle home. “I think they had a record low for pizza sales that day.”

At the end of the band’s set, all four huffers - Newton, guitarist Tom Price, bassist Don Blackstone and vocalist Matt Wright - joined hands raised them to the sky and bowed before the tens of new fans. The ridiculous stunt was meant to be a mockery of Van Halen, which has traditionally ended its shows the same way for years.

According to Newton, the band landed the gig because Steel Wool’s booking agent/manager also worked for MCA Concerts Northwest, which owns The Gorge. And MCA asked her to book a couple of bands on the Plaza Stage.

So would the band do it again?

“I wouldn’t. If they were going to pay us a lot to come over there and play, I would,” said Newton. “We just thought it would be funny to go over there with Steel Wool.”

Only two weeks ago, Gas Huffer completed its fourth album, which will be in stores in February. Once again, the album, yet to be titled, was produced by Fastbacks guitarist Kurt Bloch at Egg Studios in Seattle.

Tonight’s headliner Tad also is no stranger to Spokane.

Tad, which opened for Alice in Chains and Soundgarden in the past, last asserted its beefy presence in the Lilac City in June supporting its new album “Infrared Riding Hood.”

The album marked the band’s best effort since 1991’s “8-Way Santa.”

Tad, plagued by industry setbacks for the last five years, was just dealt another crippling blow. The band was dropped by its label Elektra/East West. But Tad’s dismissal had nothing to do with album sales, which is usually the case when a band is dropped.

According to a source at Elektra, the label fired the artist and repertoire representative, Wendy Berry, who signed Tad. So with her went all of her bands, which also included Clutch.

Headlining on Sunday is Shoveljerk. Shoveljerk fans may notice a new face in the band. Drummer Zia Uddin has replaced Jim Bruce on the skins.

Today’s and Saturday’s concerts are from 3 to 10 p.m.; Sunday’s from 1 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 for each day and are at all G&B outlets, Vinyl Garage and 4000 Holes.