November 02, 2003
More than fans are following them
“I don’t know anything about the band, but their followers, every time they have a concert, we get a lot of dope.”
Drugs and music will always go hand-in-hand but some bands and their fans get a bigger reputation for the former as popularity rises for the latter. Widespread Panic has had to address this issue in recent years and now the reputation has led many police forces to consider the band’s fans as targets, just as the group is wrapping up their fall tour in anticipation of a 2004 hiatus. In one of the more bizarre stories, police in Charleston on an undercover sting operation gave concertgoers charged with simple possession the option to post bail using a credit card machine, therefore allowing them to return to the October 17th show without spending a night in jail. Three days later, a carload of fans were arrested outside of Macon, leading the arresting officer to make the above statement. Later that week, an article about the Columbia show devoted as much copy to the lot scene as to the actual music played---notice the headline “Widespread Panic show is nonstop party.” On a side note, the same show was later used as a shining example of a successful booking at a struggling venue. The October 22nd show in Asheville drew nine agents from the Alcohol Law Enforcement task force and as a result, 32 concertgoers were arrested for various drug and alcohol-related charges, including 10 felony drug charges. This rash of arrests is disturbing, both in regards to the amount of offenses and also to the fact that police forces around the South seem to be using Widespread Panic’s tour itinerary as a road map to narcotic hot spots.
In much more positive news, the band got a mention in an article about charitable contributions in the music community.
And in other WSP news, the band decided to make the latest album “Ball” its first DVD-Audio release. The Commercial Appeal has a short but entertaining item about guitarist George McConnell. The Vail Daily writes about Panic tribute band The Henry Parsons Project. Here’s a positive review of the recent Richmond, VA show. The band gets a mention in a just plain-bizarre column by Fortune Magazine’s Andy Serwer. Here's a good show review from Monday's New York Times.