"Who?" you're possibly asking yourself right about now, and I can't say I blame you for as much as I like to think I pretty much keep up with what's going on in the rock world, I had never heard of Widespread Panic. When you consider that the band released its first album in 1988, is still recording and performing, and still tours internationally, this is a little surprising.

Widespread Panic are now a five-piece outfit (guitarist Mikey Houser lost his battle with pancreatic cancer just a month ago at the time of writing) from southern USA. Essentially a rock/jam band, to say they have a significant and dedicated fan base is an understatement, as one look at the size of the crowd in attendance the night Live at Oak Mountain was recorded, will prove. Widespread Panic is a rock band, and comprises the standard drums, bass, guitar, piano, and percussion line-up. Lead vocals are shared around and there are some nice harmonies happening. The players are accomplished musicians who enjoy playing for each other as much as an audience.

It's a little difficult to compare this band to acts we already know, but occasionally they sound like a fusion of Fleetwood Mac circa 1975, Credence Clearwater Revival, Steve Earle and Tom Life is a Highway Cochran. The music is not overly aggressive, though they know how to play it hard. There is some funky bass playing thrown in for good measure, some solid percussion form the dedicated percussionist, and some fine ragtime piano and organ playing for those that love that kind of thing.

The songs are generally listenable, though most tend to stretch out a little bit, with fewer lasting less than six minutes, and several banging on for more than ten. Still, the fans seem to expect it and accept it as par for the course. Widespread Panic make no secret of the fact that they do jam some of their songs up a bit, and this is often quite rewarding, as they feel and play their way through the long instrumental breaks.

The show itself is not going to leave you in awe, but the band is quite fine at what they do. Visually there are no fireworks, and band members are unlikely to grace the cover of GQ magazine anytime soon. Still, for those that love their rock and roll played with emotion, dedication, and feeling, then you could do a lot worse than Widespread Panic - Live at Oak Mountain.

Surely when placing a live music DVD title in an ever-competitive market, you would go out of your way to guarantee a cracker of a transfer? Well, not necessarily it seems. Firstly, this is an NTSC DVD, and you will need to have NTSC compatible hardware (disturbingly, Warner Vision are following the lead of their movie-orientated namesake it would seem). This is also a full frame presentation, and therefore not 16x9 enhanced, but that was how it was filmed, so that is forgivable. The actual video transfer is pretty average at best.

The sharpness varies from quite good to rather poor. The overuse of red and blue stage lighting is frustrating, but not a fault of the transfer. The stage lighting itself is the downfall of this DVD in many areas such as colouring and shadow detail. Colours vary depending on the lighting, and there is some bleeding. Shadow detail drops to rather poor levels, especially when the band members drop their heads, but this is mainly a fault of the poor stage-lighting.

Black levels are fine, and there is no evidence of noise. There is some very slight aliasing of the usual suspects such as guitar strings, but at least the picture is free from marks, dirt, and white specks and flecks. There is no layer change as, interestingly, the show is spread over two discs.

Audiowise, things are much better. There is a choice of Dolby Digital 2.0 and a rather nice Dolby Digital 5.1. The 5.1 mix is very front heavy, but purists will love that. The rears are used mostly for crowd appreciation, and the smallest amount of music overflow, to fill up the room with sound. Occasionally, there is the smallest intrusion from the percussion instruments.

The sound range is quite impressive too. The bass levels are deep and rich, and are distributed between the front speakers and the subwoofer. High end sounds such as the piano and percussion instruments are clear and sharp. Vocals are spread across the front speakers and there is some separation of piano and guitar to the two front speakers. The 5.1 mix will be sure to please listeners.

The stereo mix also sounds good, though it lacks a little of the presence of the 5.1 mix in that it sounds slightly duller. The crowd noise is also slightly more intrusive, but the overall sound range is good.

As for extras, they are minimal, and of little overall interest. The Band Interviews are a fine touch though. Interviewed in pairs, the total running time of 16 minutes is divided evenly across the three pairings. They are not overly revealing, but fans will love it, especially considering that Michael Houser is no longer with us. All are a mix of black and white with colour vision from the show, are full frame, and in Dolby Digital 5.1. Why 5.1 though is a mystery, as only the centre speaker is utilised.

The Photo Gallery is accompanied by live music from the feature, is self-navigating and runs for approximately three and a half minutes. Fans have submitted photos, so they are generally quite dull.

Weblinks gives you Internet addresses of the band's official site (which you can probably guess) and the web site of their record company.

DVD Credits are included and are just what you would expect.

Offering up their brand of rock/jam music, Widespread Panic are accomplished musos that know what their fans want, but just who those fans are in Australia is perhaps a bit of a mystery. The songs are all rather lengthy, allowing each band member to do their thing, and the sound is loud and clear. The video transfer is disappointing, NTSC, and is spread over two discs. The concert did have an interval so the placing of the break is logical. For the rock and rollers amongst us, and those who enjoy seeing musos that know what they are doing and how to play in and around other musos, this release is mildly interesting but at two and a half hours runs the risk of creating widespread boredom.