Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Widespread Panic shows retain intimate feeling

Chris Kornelis Correspondent

Domingo Ortiz says Widespread Panic’s biggest change in almost 20 years has been the size of its living room.

The shows are just as intimate as they were in the ‘80s, Ortiz says, when fans used to listen to the band rehearse in its Athens, Ga., living room.

“You’re in our living room, and we’re just out there on stage ‘cause that’s where they put us,” the percussionist said last week, hours before the first of three sold-out shows at Morrison, Colo.’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

Yet the trip hasn’t always been on a high note.

Michael Houser, the guitarist who founded Widespread Panic in 1986 with guitarist/vocalist John Bell, died of pancreatic cancer in August 2002. But Ortiz said there was never any talk of ending Widespread Panic.

“He wanted us to pursue it for as long as we wanted to,” Ortiz said.

Guitarist George McConnell, who had worked with Widespread keyboardist John Hermann in the band Beanland in the ‘80s and frequently sat in with Widespread when the band played in the South, was chosen to fill in for Houser in the summer of 2002.

“Musically, there’s no difference (without Houser). Spiritually, his spirit is always there. If anything, we’ve only added a new dimension to our new square,” Ortiz said.

Still healing from the loss of Houser and tired from living on the road for 18 years, the band took a break in 2004.

The current tour, which began in March and hits the Gorge Amphitheatre this weekend, is the beginning of a new chapter in the band’s history, Ortiz said.

“We took a little break. This is like the second half of our season,” he said. “With that year off, everybody wrote some good material. We’ll probably have a new product out … (start recording) in January.”

Widespread’s lineup is rounded out by bassist Dave Schools and drummer Todd Nance.

The band’s two-day stint at the Gorge opens at 6 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are available for $35 through Ticketmaster, www.ticketmaster.com or (509) 735-0500. Camper Van Beethoven, Jackie Greene and Signal Path open the show on Saturday. Cracker opens the 6 p.m. show Sunday.

Widespread tours have consistently been among the nation’s top grossing, without the aid of Top 40 radio or a spot on MTV’s TRL. Its turnstile numbers are due partly to the legions of fans that put their lives on hold to follow the band around the country.

Ortiz is quick to acknowledge the fans’ significant presence and importance to the band.

“You gotta remember one thing: You are the music, the fans are. We’re just the band,” Ortiz said. “We wouldn’t be anywhere without these folks coming to the shows.”