But again, they sounded like a pure jam band.  When I say pure jam band I mean a band that focuses entirely on building from one culmination to the next through high tempo solos that constantly build upon each other.  The music is just a showcase of the individual player’s talent and the band’s ability to keep pace with each other.  This can be a lot of fun to listen too, especially from a polished band like Widespread.  However, I am sorry to say, but jam bands are a dime a dozen.  And although McConnell's guitar is stunning; talented, high paced guitar players are a dime a dozen too.  Being able to create a unique sound that stands out from the rest of the chatter is what really makes a band and the contributing musicians special.  That special sound is intangible and can not be defined because it is always different.  Widespread Panic is among those special bands that created a distinctive sound, which stands apart. 

Bands are supposed to evolve.  In fact, I believe the best bands are transforming themselves on a regular basis.  If you compare album one to album five of a band and they sound the same, then it would shock me if they made it to album ten.  Bands that have a stagnated sound don't seem to make it very far and I would wager it is because not only do their fans get bored with that sound, but more importantly the band members do.   So, certainly we can't discourage change.  Widespread Panic might be in the midst of a transformation right now.  However, I would point out that this transformation was set into place because of McConnell's addition.  Could this have spawned an unnatural change?  Now if I may make a comparison, let’s take a look at Leftover Salmon.  They are also a band who has a very unique sound.  After Leftover Salmon lost Mark Vann, they added a bevy of new members and they also had a newly energized sound.  However, this seemed to set into motion the closing stages of Leftover.  I realize that this comparison is a bit of reach because Leftover was pretty much a brand new band other than Vince Herman and Drew Emmit.  Nonetheless, when I saw them after they added all these new members, although energized, they also sounded like a pure jam band and that special Leftover sound rarely showed itself through the jamming.  The big question is whether Widespread’s new sound is still developing or if it has set into motion the closing beats of Widespread Panic.