Widespread Panic

Stalwarts of the national jam scene Widespread Panic will return to Akron for the first time since 2011 tonight, dishing up the Southern goods. The band’s latest, Street Dogs, came out just last month, a blistering series of fiery, funky blues tunes. Opener “Sell Sell” is among the best of the band’s output during these past 10 years, and “Jamais Vu (The World Has Changed)” leans heavily on the their penchant for slowly drifting melody and polyrhythmic percussion. The new songs should translate well to the stage. Like we wrote last year, Widespread Panic bears a lot of gravity in the jam scene. They picked up the Allman Brothers-influenced corner of the community and bent it to their pleasure. Put simply, the essence of Widespread Panic is sort of a world music take on something like "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed," ramped up to 11 and cut with psychedelia. (Sandy)