The Battalion
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Page 3
Thursday • April 10, 1997
idespread Panic, a rock band from Athens, Ga., was scheduled to play tonight at Rudder Auditorium.
Lack of Widespread
support prompts
last-minute axing
of concert
The Widespread Panic concert
cheduled for tonight at Rudder Audi-
orium was canceled Tuesday because
f poor ticket sales, a representative
f Pace Concerts said. Pace was spon-
oring the concert in conjunction with
ISC Town Hall.
Brad Roosa, a talent buyerfor Pace, said
Videspread Panic and Pace made a “mu-
ual decision” to cancel the show.
“The band really wanted to play in Col-
egeStation,” Roosa said. “But we had sold
jnder 1,000 tickets. We went to them (Wide-
fM spread Panic) with the facts and said we can
idd this and maybe come back and try to
Jo this right.”
He said the band and Pace were aim
ing for a sell-out show.
Stacy Pogue, Town Hall assistant vice-
Ichair of club shows and a senior geog-
iraphy major, said she never expected the
show to se\\ out because ticket sales
tad been slow for weeks.
I’m kind of surprised and disap-
sointed that it was canceled at the last
ninute,” Pogue said. "It’s certainly not
iomething Town Hall wanted to happen.
Ve are sorry.”
Refunds for tickets purchased at the
iox office in the Rudder complex will be
ivailable beginning at 9 this morning,
hose who bought tickets at other loca-
ions should try returning their tickets
rhere they were purchased.
Athens band raises level
of chaos on latest release
By Karen Janes
The Battalion
W hat do you get when you
cross a Yankee, a Texan, a guy
nicknamed “Panic,” the All-
man Brothers and Santana? You get
Widespread Panic.
Widespread Panic is a six-member
band with roots in Athens, Ga.
The band, whose members have
been together for almost 11 years, be
gan when guitarists John Bell and
Michael Houser played acoustical duos
together while students at the Universi
ty of Georgia. After acquiring a bass
player and a drummer, the group
agreed on the name “Widespread Pan
ic,” after Houser’s nickname.
“In a way, the name Widespread
Panic seems to accurately reflect what
we’ve always done,” Bell said. “When
we’re playing, it’s a moment of chaos
and communication — it’s the chal
lenge of carrying on a six-way musi
cal conversation. That’s what brought
us together in the first place, and
that’s what keeps us going.”
Dave Schools, bassist and vocalist,
said the band’s sound has been influ
enced by many years together.
“When we started out, there was nev
er any plan,” he said. “We just wanted to
get away with having our freedom, and
over the last 10 years we’ve grown up to
gether. That’s really what’s responsible
for the band sound.”
Widespread Panic’s latest album,
Bombs and Butterflies, is the long-
awaited follow-up to Ain’t Life Grand.
Percussionist/vocalist Domingo Ortiz
said the band had 20 songs ready by
the time they recorded Bombs and
Butterflies, but could pick only nine for
the compact disc.
“It was a tough decision,” Ortiz said.
“The ones that didn’t make the cut will be
put in the next album.”
Ortiz credits artists such as Neil Young,
Yes, The Neville Brothers and George Clin
ton as Widespread Panic’s influences.
However, the band members’ histories
also contribute to the band’s style.
“Being from different areas of the coun
try, we are big influences on each other,”
Ortiz said.
Widespread Panic’s music has
reached a broad audience partly be
cause of radio play.
“Radio play is an important key,” Ortiz
said. “It’s helped us reach a lot more peo
ple. When we perform all-ages shows, we
have folks there that are 10 or 11 years old.
They get real excited about the music and
going to see a band perform.”
Both Ortiz and Bell expressed a
thrill for performing live.
“When we’re playing a song live, we
don’t just regurgitate what’s on the al
bum,” Bell said. “We try to blow the
doors off. That challenge—the desire to
elevate it to a different level—that’s what
gets us out of bed each morning.”
Ortiz said the best way to experience
Widespread Panic is live.
“It’s hard to recreate the excitement
(of the music) in the studio—it’s a sterile
environment,” he said. “When we play
live, the audience excites us—they make
it happen.”
Thursday
Rpril 10
Ruthie Foster, a blues musician from Bryan-
College Station, is playing at the Palace Theatre
at noon.
Heywood, a rock band from Bryan-College
Station, is playing at Club Ozone at 9 p.m.
Cory Morrow, a country & western artist from
Austin, is playing with Highway 6, a country &
western band from Bryan-College Station, at 3rd
Floor Cantina at 10 p.m.
Surf rock is
catching a wave
into Bryan-College
Station tonight.
Gary Hoey,
a surf music
guitarist, will
play at the Dix
ie Theatre at
9:30 p.m. with
The Almighty
Ultrasound, a
rock band from
California.
Hoey, whose
most familiar
Gary Hoey
Friday
Rpril 11
recordings include the Endless Summer II
soundtrack and Animal Instinct, is playing in
support of his latest release, Bug Alley. Bug
A//ey features Hoey’s standard ocean-inspired
original work, as well as covers of "Wipeout"
and Santana’s “Black Magic Woman.” Hoey
also diverges from his normal instrumental
format and offers his vocals on two tracks.
Dick Dale, an early pioneer of surf music,
called Hoey one of his all-time favorite guitar play
ers in a 1996 interview in Guitar Player magazine.
The Almighty Ultrasound is touring in sup
port of their major record label debut release,
Sonic Bloom. The band describes its music
as a seductive, industrial-rock mix.
“We just like cool sounds,” said guitarist
Britt Wilson. “It’s the not knowing — the ex
perimenting — that makes it so cool for us.”
John Reyna & Tubie Pushee, a classic rock
band from Bryan-College Station, is playing at
Fitzwilly’s at 9 p.m.
Ronnie Satterfield, a rock and country en
tertainer, is performing at Chelsea Street Pub
and Grill at 9 p.m.
Sneaky Pete, a sing-a-long artist from Bryan-
College Station, is playing at Cow Hop at 9 p.m.
Breedlove, a blues/rock band from Austin, is
playing with Jazztop, a rock band from Bryan-Col
lege Station, at Dixie Theatre at 10 p.m.
Pat Green, a country folk singer from Waco,
is playing at Marooned Records at 5 p.m.
MSC Film Society is showing Top Gun at Rud
der Theatre at 7 and 9:30 p.m.
Ronnie Satterfield, a rock and country en
tertainer, is performing at Chelsea Street Pub
and Grill at 9 p.m.
Storyville, a rock band from Austin, is play
ing with Ruthie Foster, a blues musician from
Bryan-College Station, at 3rd Floor Cantina at
10 p.m.
Two Paces West, a classic rock band from
Bryan-College Station, is playing at Sweet Eu
gene’s House of Java at 9:30 p.m.
United Way Night, featuring a jitterbug
contest and performance by the Aggie
Wranglers, will be held at Hurricane Harry’s
at 10 p.m.
The Voodudes, a rock band from Bryan-
College Station, is playing at Fitzwilly’s at
9 p.m.
Saturday
Rpril 12
The Bellamy Brothers, a country & western
band, are playing at a United Way benefit at
Starlight Ballroom in Brenham at 10 p.m.
f , ^ -
Miss Molly & the Whips, a blues/rock band
from Austin, is playing at 3rd Floor Cantina at
10 p.m.
Old Army, a country & western band from
Bryan-College Station, is playing with R. Crea-
ger, at Fitzwilly’s at 9 p.m.
Ronnie Satterfield, a rock and country en
tertainer, is performing at Chelsea Street Pub
and Grill at 9 p.m.
Michelle Solberg, a folk singer from Austin,
is playing at Sweet Eugene’s House of Java at
9:30 p.m.
It s sort of a 1 9th-century
Friends
(with a much better soundtrach).
If you like Ross, Rachel, Phoebe and Chandler, you’ll love Mimi, Rodolfo, Musetta and Marcel
lo, four starving Parisian artists and the main chararters in Puccini’s beloved opera, “La Boheme.”
Performed by the highly acclaimed New York City Opera National Company, “La Boheme”
features lavish sets, beautiful costumes, sumptuous music and English supertitles above the stage.
Grab your friends and go see this opera treasure.
La Boheme
Saturday, April 12, 8pm & Sunday, April .13, 2pm
Rudder Auditorium For tickets call 845-1234
Opera & Performing Arts Society
http://opas.tamu.edu
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