Review: Widespread Panic – Williamsburg Waterfront – 9/17/11

One of the south east’s most cherished jam bands, Widespread Panic, took to Brooklyn, New York’s Williamsburg Waterfront Friday before a hiatus starting in 2012. A powerful machine that has a southern-rock personality with a demeanor to jam their hearts out, the six piece brought the New York City crowd to an atmosphere similar to Georgia. Not only was the band rocking out, but the view of the Manhattan skyline behind the crowd brought energy to the city that truly never sleeps (like this show).

Rhythm guitarist John Bell did a majority of the singing, scatting, and humming in a melodic form that certainly classifies the voice as an instrument in more ways than one. Behind him, is a band that features lead guitar god Jimmy Herring, outstanding bassist Dave Schools, John “JoJo” Hermann on organ, drummer Todd Nance and percussionist Domingo “Sunny” Ortiz. The flow of music is crucially dependent on how the musicians jive, and Widespread Panic has that aspect under their belt and with ease.

The jam portions of the night were similar to most other jam bands, although other jam bands don’t have Jimmy Herring. Herring’s talent lies in his noodling capability that’s able to lead to somewhere, whereas other solo-wanking guitarists don’t use emotion or direction in their solos. John Bell’s rhythm guitar work and Herring’s lead work is a current-day pairing of Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia, where Bell’s not the strongest rhythm guitarist, but fits Jimmy’s playing perfectly.

The highlight of the night came with the opening of the second set; “Disco > Tie Your Shoes > Rock.” The band seemed to be the most locked in here, and featured the best John Bell performance of the night, during “Tie Your Shoes.” The leader was Dave School’s, picking along on his bass with ease and precision, setting the moods, tempos, and direction of the improvisation. Though most of the night’s jams were very similar when you break them down, Herring’s playing managed to be intricate enough to keep the crowd alive. Many people don’t find southern-rock amusing due to the bore factor, but Widespread Panic is the exception.

Photo: Tyler Curtis

As for the production, the light show was reminiscent of a Phish show, and added a nice touch given the other lights surrounding the venue, being that Manhattan was just across the river.

It’s a shame that Widespread Panic will find themselves in a direction of departure for an unknown duration soon, however, its sound advice to see them as soon as you can.