Widespread Panic Rambles Along to Bond With Fans

The Athens, Ga., band Widespread Panic is pushed by so many currents that it’s hard to tell which way it’s heading. Its five albums, including the new “Bombs & Butterflies,” are grounded in muscular Southern rock with an overlay of roots influences.

But the group goes against type by collaborating with its eccentric neighbor Vic Chesnutt (they did an entire album together under the name Brute, and the singer-songwriter contributes a song and a vocal to the new album).

From the records alone, Panic would appear to be one of several young bands, including 7 Mary 3 and Collective Soul, endeavoring to stay true to Allman and Skynyrd values without lapsing into archaism. But another revived tradition has come along to complicate matters: the jam-band ethos carried on by the likes of Phish, Blues Traveler et al.

At the Palace on Wednesday, Widespread Panic tabled the focus and substance of its records and rambled along through long instrumental improvisations. This is not the band’s strength, but it seems to be the bond between the group and its neo-hippie fans, who packed the Palace and partied in the manner established by the Deadheads over the years. The best moments were the ones that kept the songs from sprawling--notably the Chesnutt tune “Aunt Avis” and a version of Pops Staples’ “Hope in a Hopeless World.” Widespread Panic’s real personality is in its songwriting and John Bell’s vocals, which are soulful in the studio but were merely gruff on stage. The band’s jamming is generic.