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Widespread Panic have announced a month-long summer tour to begin with single sets on June 21st and 22nd at the Bonnaroo Music Festival and end with three nights at Berkeley's Greek Theater, July 26-28. The tour includes the band's traditional three-night run at Red Rocks.
Whether going on the road with the group or just hitting one or two shows, fans should think twice about bringing drugs and might want to plan for stepped-up security and increased police presence at upcoming concerts -- especially in venue parking lots -- after the somewhat turbulent end to the band's last tour. One death and approximately 200 arrests took place during three sold-out shows at Oak Mountain Amphitheater in Pelham, Ala., April 26-28. Approximately 34,000 fans attended.
Twenty-nine-year-old Erica Robins Young of Chattanooga, Tennessee, died of an apparent overdose of ecstasy (MDMA) during the second of the three shows. Another fan, twenty-four-year-old Jennifer Susan Moe, of Steamboat Springs, Colo., was discovered at a nearby Red Roof Inn following the final show, having committed suicide by hanging. Friends of Moe informed police that she had been taking a combination of drugs, including ecstasy, cocaine, alcohol and marijuana.
The 200 arrests (half of which were felony charges) were part of an undercover effort called "Operation Don't Panic," initiated by the Pelham Police Department and the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
In a statement released shortly afterward, the band denounced illegal activity and defended the police efforts and offered condolences. "Throughout the fifteen years the band has been performing, this is the first time we have encountered this type of incident," the announcement read. "With full cooperation of concert promoters and local authorities, Widespread Panic makes every possible effort to ensure a safe environment for everyone attending a show. Furthermore, we fully support the actions taken by local police to eliminate drug dealing and underage drinking at all Widespread Panic concerts."
The police and promoters clearly do not hold the band directly responsible. Moe's mother has contacted the band via a heartfelt letter, in which she gives the impression that she does not blame the band either, but rather the environment in which her daughter got caught up on tour. In obvious grief for her loss, however, she does encourage the band to speak out to fans about drug use.
The incidents and media attention have prompted discussion of changes by the band's organization. "We have no definite plans," co-manager Buck Williams says. "We know there are steps that need to be taken. We learn as we go. We're a growing band. We know eventually we need to [hire security], and maybe that time is now."
Williams, who has worked with Widespread Panic since 1991 and as a co-manager since 1995, is still quick to defend the band's fan base and the general good of the pre- and post-show "lot scene." "The Panic scene is somewhat of a social scene," he says. "I, to some degree, liken it to going to a football game, where you have tailgating. People gather and come in from different parts of the country and socialize prior to the concert and can enjoy the music and then leave. It's a great way for people to get together and enjoy some really good positive music, which is what Widespread Panic plays -- good, positive music."
Clay D., twenty-six, of Birmingham is the founder and webmaster of "The Gateway," an independent group of drug-and-alcohol-free Widespread Panic fans (much like "The Phellowship" for Phish, "The Jellyfish" for the String Cheese Incident, and "The Wharf Rats" for the Grateful Dead and related bands). "Without the lot scene it would just be a concert," Clay explains. "Really the culture of the whole thing is one of the biggest elements of the Widespread Panic tour experience. Most of the social interaction of the scene itself does take place in the parking lot."
Fellow Gateway member Patrick W., thirty-six, of Louisville, Ky., adds: "The tour-heads look after each other and are extremely loyal to one another. It is really cool to see this band of followers roam the countryside from city to city, mostly intact, and doing no harm to each other." For Clay, it's the "beggars, scalpers and people who are there for other reasons than to see Widespread Panic and hang out with cool people" who detract from the scene.
Williams also points to a bad element within the community with concern that the police and media focus on that element might leave a negative impression of the band's fans. "It makes it look like this is the general fan and that's not true," he says. Moreover, he worries that media misinterpretation and embellishment might have an adverse effect on the band itself.
"People that write about these things don't really care about the truth," he accuses. "They only care about the incident. Certainly they don't look at the positive things Panic does like all the money they raise, because the band members refuse to talk about the good just like they don't talk about the bad."
Widespread Panic have always been notoriously quiet about their volunteerism, but the fact is that they try to leave a mark everywhere they go, to the order of thousands of dollars. "In the fall they made donations to almost every town in which they played and they refused to take credit for it," Williams admits. "They send an anonymous check. That's just the way they are."
Former owner and founder of Oak Mountain Amphitheater Tony Ruffino, sixty-five, has seen a lot of bands come and go in his thirty-five years in the industry, but Panic have a special place in his heart. "I'm for the band," Ruffino states matter-of-factly. "They're unbelievable to work with. They're really special people who try really hard to do the right thing."
According Ruffino, the Pelham Police will welcome Widespread Panic back to Oak Mountain in the future, but dealers and buyers beware. "I think what will happen is that people will be more careful," he predicts. "The ones who follow the band and try to make a living selling drugs to the kids at the shows -- basically the police are saying, 'When they come, let's make it uncomfortable for them.'"
Widespread Panic summer tour dates:
6/21-22: Manchester, TN, Bonnaroo Music Festival
6/25: Dallas, Smirnoff Center
6/28-30: Morrison, CO, Red Rocks Amphitheater
7/2: Cedar Rapids, IA, US Cellular Center
7/3: Milwaukee, WI, Summerfest
7/5: Kansas City, MO, Starlight Theater
7/6: Indianapolis, IN, Summer Stages
7/7: Rochester, MI, Meadow Brook Music Theater
7/09: Cleveland, OH, Tower City
7/11: Portsmouth, VA, Harbor Center
7/12: Columbia, MD, Merriweather Post Pavilion
7/14: Maryland Height, MO, Riverport Amphitheater
7/16: Little Rock, AR, River Fest
7/18-20: Austin, the Backyard
7/21: Woodlands, TX, Cynthia Woods Pavilion
7/24: Los Angeles, Greek Theater
7/26-28: Berkeley, CA, Greek Theater
ROBIN A. ROTHMAN
(May 9, 2002)