Widespread Panic rebounds from its loss.

Byline: Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard

Don't hit the Panic button.

There are tickets still available for Widespread Panic. The Athens, Ga.-based jam band

returns to town for a 7 p.m. show today at the Cuthbert Amphitheater, in Alton Baker Park off Leo Harris Parkway.

Still reeling from the death of founding member and guitarist Michael Houser, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2002, Panic takes a more introspective approach on its latest album, "Ball." Lead singer John Bell said the music on the new album isn't the only thing that's a little bit different.

"There's an awareness now that stuff can happen," Bell said in an interview with Denver's Rocky Mountain News. "Big stuff can happen that in one second will mean that nothing's gonna be the same from here.

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`If there was a point where we were taking things for granted, that definitely has changed."

Houser's passing affected the band in many ways, including the way the group released its recent album. Instead of road testing the new songs and allowing the group's many concert tapers to share the music before it was released, WSP went right into the studio and recorded the songs.

In addition to keeping the music fresher, the new approach kept the band's attention focused forward - instead of on the way things used to be.

"It was really healthy for us," Bell said. "We were more occupied."

Tickets to Widespread Panic's show are $30.

Coco Montoya

Blues-rock guitarist Coco Montoya returns to Eugene today for a sure-to-be-scorching performance at the Annex, 23 W. Sixth Ave.

Originally a rock drummer, Montoya transformed himself into a blues guitarist under the tutelage of Albert Collins, the "Master of the Telecaster," with whom he toured in the early 1980s. He continued his studies with British blues star John Mayall, contributing to three albums as a member of Mayall's pioneering Bluesbreakers.

In the 1990s, at the urging of both Collins and Mayall, Montoya struck out on his own.

Although Montoya took something away from both of his mentors, it was Collins who played the role of father figure. After meeting in a Culver City, Calif., rock club, the two bonded during a tour of the Northwest.

Montoya stayed on as a member of Collins' touring band for five years.

`We'd sit in hotel rooms for hours and play guitar,' Montoya said in a news release. `He'd play that beautiful rhythm of his and just have me play along.

`He was always saying, `Don't think about it; just feel it.' He taught me to tap into an inner strength.'

Blues-rocker Tommy Castro will open for Montoya at 9 p.m. The California guitarist is touring in support of his new CD, "Gratitude," a collection of others' songs that have influenced his music.

Tickets to today's show are $19.

Back to School Bash

It will be a metallurgist's dream tonight at the WOW Hall, 291 W. Eighth Ave., where a host of local metal and hard rock bands are scheduled to play the KFLY-sponsored Back to School Bash.

Headliner Sik9 will bring its new metal ooze to the WOW stage. The band, which formed from the wreckage of Bethany's Sin when that group broke up in the late 1990s, lists Johnny Cash, Aerosmith and Frank Sinatra as influences, along with Faith No More, the Deftones and System of a Down.

Servants of the End, a five-piece metal band, the hypnotic Grynch and the metal and hard rock act Rezjudikata will open the show at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $7 at the door, or $4 with a Hard Times T-shirt.

Cam Newton

Portland-based, Eugene-born guitarist Cam Newton returns to town for a 9 p.m. Saturday performance at Cafe Paradiso, 115 W. Broadway.

A registered music therapist who studied at the University of Oregon School of Music, Newton plays an unusual mix of jazz, world folk, European classical and Eastern influences.

Tickets are $8.

Local H

When David Scott Lucas and his band's drummer parted ways in the early 1990s, the singer and guitarist developed a way to play the bass and guitar himself with a special guitar pickup. For a while, his band, Local H, consisted of just him.

In 1999, drummer Brian St. Clair joined up with Lucas. Now, Local H is louder than ever.

The band's 2002 release, "Here Comes the Zoo," included guest spots by Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Joshua Homme and Misfits bass player Jerry Only. The group's latest release is an EP, "No Fun."

Local H comes to John Henry's, 77 W. Broadway, on Sunday. Sullen and 2 Bucks Short will open the show at 9 p.m. The cover is $7.

Mike Gunther

Country, blues and soul singer Mike Gunther comes to Sam Bond's Garage, 407 Blair Blvd., Monday for a free 9 p.m. show.

If the title of his debut album doesn't tell you enough - it's called `Every Dream That's Dropped and Died (Heart of a Champion)' - you should know that the Minneapolis artist doesn't so much sing his dark, punchy songs; instead, he delivers them.

He sometimes performs using oil drums, rusty chains and other found objects.

James Taylor

James Taylor's Tuesday night show at the Cuthbert Amphitheater has been sold out since late March, and no wonder. The Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and instrumentalist's sincere tenor is instantly recognizable to melody lovers of all ages.

Taylor is touring behind "October Road," his first new release since 1997's "Hourglass." His tour came in at No. 14 in Pollstar's most recent ranking of summer concerts, earning an average of nearly $600,000 at every stop.

But Eugene fans have another reason to connect with Taylor besides trendiness. His last Cuthbert performance, in September 1996, still is remembered as "magical" by many of those who were there, thanks in part to a well-timed flyover by some of the native waterfowl.

We'll see if they try to sneak into this show, which starts at 7 p.m.

CAPTION(S):

James Taylor will work his magic in a long-sold-out show Tuesday at the Cuthbert Amphitheater.