Valdosta 1989 (Live)

Here are 26 songs recorded by field recording experts the Oade brothers on April 8th, 1989 at The Armory in Valdosta, GA. This is the second release from the Widespread Panic archives and the amazingly clear-sounding two-track recording harks back to when the band were a quartet comprising members John Bell, Dave Schools, Todd Nance and the late Michael Houser. The threadbare mellow groove of the opening “Porch Song” gives latecomers a glimpse of what Widespread Panic sounded like before they acquired more members to dynamically flesh out their sound. “Space Wrangler” moves and skips with a down-to-earth chemistry among the band members who seem to share an ESP-like communication. Fan favorites “A of D” and “B of D” are here back-to-back in all their prototypical glory as the band’s penchant for jamming right off the deep end and into the abyss unravels beautifully before all falling back into place (and then crumbling apart again) on an extra trippy version of “Impossible.” Released in late February of 2009, this engaging account of the band serves to commemorate the 20-year anniversary of a seminal performance.