Anyone who says Uphrey’s is not a progressive rock band can kiss my ass. Ok, I just got home from the show and have had a beer or two, but these guys kick such total ass, yet get dissed by much of the prog community that I just don’t get it. Anyway……..they brought it and killed it tonight. Full review to follow when I get time (probably tomorrow).
I agree with everything you just said, Steve!
I've NEVER thought of them as a jam band (I don't like many) because they're simply too good for that label. I'll put my ass out there to be kissed as well.
I can think of several prog guitarists that could take lessons from Jake C.
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
Can't wait for the review!
I love these guys, and their latest disc is phenomenal.
To me it really doesn't matter if anyone labels them PROG or not. They are all incredible musicians, and incredibly tight live. And Jake C. is one of the top 3 or 4 guitarists I've seen in my life, and I've seen alot of greats! The only thing that took me a little getting used to with them was the vocals. But surprisingly, their vox live are better than on their studio recordings. The energy level they sustain for 3hrs. is just off the chain too! I've seen em 4 times, and now that I've got my wife hooked, will be seeing them everytime they come close! So now that I've moved, they better come to the Houston, Texas area as much as they did the Chattanooga,TN. area. I saw where they had to schedule 2 shows for next Feb. in Chattanooga, cause they sold out there last year! If they come anywhere near you, GO SEE THEM! P.S. I promise this wont be the last time Steve sees them! Nobody just sees them once!
I saw them last year in Orlando, FL for the first time at the Plaza Live. Fantastic sold out show! They are a progressive rock band disguised as a jam band. Brilliant! Too bad they caused the cancellation of NEARFest. Oh wait, they didn't, it was "progressive rock fans" who did. Never mind.Originally Posted by SteveSly
Going to see them in January with my daughter (home for winter break). What did they play?
(also a fan of the new album)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A gentleman is defined as someone who knows how to play the accordion, and doesn't.
Actually, I've only seen them once, a few years ago, but I'd like to see them again. NEARfest would have been my second time.
I wouldn't say they get dissed by much of the prog community, just a vocal minority. That being said, they're not a prog band, they're a jam band. They're much more aligned with the likes of the Dead or Phish than King Crimson or ELP. But who needs labels eh? They do just fine with their current fanbase and don't need to play in seated only venues to a bunch of pot-bellied geeks who will analyze the fuck out of every note they play, just looking for flaws.
...and then they'd have to meet and greet these dweebs and endure their insufferable critiques in person!
Now I don't want to paint all prog fans with one broad brush stroke, but, to paraphrase a well-know idiom: " If the 1973 Yes World Tour T-shirt doesn't fit...."
Last edited by Yves; 11-07-2014 at 08:42 AM.
"Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."
-Cozy 3:16-
They have little in common with the Dead or Phish musically...they do share a similar touring culture and the habit of playing different set lists every night.
Whether or not they're labeled "prog", they're absolutely worth seeing. For those in the NYC area this coming January 16-18, they will be joined with jazz great Joshua Redman on sax who will sit in for the entire set of shows and the gigs they've played previously with him sitting in have been STELLAR.
Daily jazz vinyl reviews on Instagram @jazzandcoffee
I really don't think that they have that much in common with Phish or the Dead, other than at a superficial level. A friend of mine who worships both of those bands, can't stand Umphrey's.
And I have seen them several times, and they are amazing live.
I'm having a real hard time with the new album, though. Just can't get into it at all, and I've liked to loved everything that they've released previously. Strange.
neil
I echo the positive statements here. One of the best bands around today and really cool people to boot with diverse tastes in music! See them if you can, they always deliver and the light show is one of the best you will ever see. I enjoy them more than Phish or The Dead, and I do like both.
Saw them a few years back at Pearl St. here in 'Hamp and left after the first set, bored out of my gourd. Seemed to me to be a lot of aimless noodling going on and too much patchouli in the air. Might have enjoyed it more if I had been, beer didn't help much. YMMV.
I've been watching the couch tour streaming live on TourGigs the last couple of weeks, and it's been a blast. Last night was a very diverse set list, to say the least. They played 2 covers (Ozzy and Tool). Mega prog points for Wizard Burial Ground, and the encore jam in JaJunk was just off the hook.
Tomorrow night is their 2000th show and it's going to be streaming free on TourGigs. I recommend everyone check it out! Here is the setlist from last night:
Thursday, Nov. 6th, 2014
Kalamazoo State Theatre
Kalamazoo, MI
SET 1 Le Blitz > Eat > The Pequod > Eat, Words, Little Gift, No Diablo, Liberty Echo > Bad Poker, No More Tears, Hajimemashite
SET 2 46 & 2, The Weight Around > Triple Wide > Cemetery Walk > Cemetery Walk II, Syncopated Strangers > Dirty Love > Syncopated Strangers > Wizard Burial Ground
ENCORE JaJunk
Yeah, for some reason I'm in this camp too. I've watched loads of YT vids but I just can't seem to get into these guys at all. Maybe seeing them LIVE would do the trick. I haven't given up all hope yet.Seemed to me to be a lot of aimless noodling going on and too much patchouli in the air. Might have enjoyed it more if I had been
The thing about UM is that they aren't any one thing. I wouldn't call them a prog band at all. Prog is one aspect of what they do, however it's not the only thing. The prog element isn't present in every song. In a live situation they can go from a twangy country hoedown into a full on EDM rave dance party without skipping a beat. Last night's set was a great example of that diversity. When they are playing in a particular genre or style, they fully commit to it, and play it quite convincingly.
The only thing you can say definitively is that they are a jam band. They play extended improvisations live with their own hand signs for communicating changes, they have a different setlist every night, and their fanbase consists of mostly jam band fans who embrace that culture. Incidentally, their fan demographic skews quite young, lots of college kids (this can be an annoyance at shows, to be quite honest).
The only reason I think UM isn't a household name is that they may be TOO diverse for a lot of people. In our circle, I can see that a lot of the prog fans find them too jammy, and I'm sure a lot of the jam band fans find them too proggy. If they were to commit to one or the other style, they'd probably be a household name. But I think it's their diversity that makes them great.
Yeah, I was going to miss that one for other reasons, and was felt very guilty that I hadn't bought a ticket (as if my one ticket would have made the difference...). However, they were the band I was most interested to see, if I could have gone. The cancellation actually didn't surprise me though.........."prog" fans don't generally like to be challenged, musically ;-)I saw them last year in Orlando, FL for the first time at the Plaza Live. Fantastic sold out show! They are a progressive rock band disguised as a jam band. Brilliant! Too bad they caused the cancellation of NEARFest. Oh wait, they didn't, it was "progressive rock fans" who did. Never mind.
Dirty Love is a cover too! Wonderful set, must grab this.
Saw UM for the first time (or 3) this year in London. Fantastic nights of music throughout. I can understand that the vocals and changing styles won't be to everyone's taste but they are fantastic!!
Should also add that Eat is very much related to Red by Krimson.
Far be it for me to split hairs with all you connoisseurs.. I always lumped UM in that "jam band" category, and was always lead to believe that The Dead and later Phish were at the top of the pyramid in that subgenre. At the end of the day, they're an enjoyable band. I've never seen them live but I don't recall them ever playing here in Montreal.
"Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."
-Cozy 3:16-
If the show you saw was in 2005 (and it must be considering it's the only time they've played that venue, according to their tour history database), you should definitely give them another chance. I saw my first show in 2005 and I have to admit that I got bored as well at times.Saw them a few years back at Pearl St. here in 'Hamp and left after the first set, bored out of my gourd. Seemed to me to be a lot of aimless noodling going on and too much patchouli in the air. Might have enjoyed it more if I had been
However, I recently saw them earlier this year, and I can tell you that their improv skills have improved by leaps and bounds since then. They've learned how to structure and build the jams in a way that keeps your attention. There is no longer much aimless noodling, but rather a sense of creating an actual song that goes somewhere in real time. There was nary a dull moment in the jams. They have also become more mature, diverse, and tasteful as musicians.
Nearly 10 years is a long time, you should give them another chance. Of course, it does depend on the setlist (which can be highly variable) and your personal preference of material.
If you were there all three nights then I most likely met you ... there weren't many of us who did that!
I love UM, and there are plenty of tracks to prove that they're Prog, not least the title track from Mantis, which is for me one of the great tracks of the century. Still, you could just as easily prove that they're something else from their repertoire, since they seem to embrace a lot of styles. If the prog community don't want them, plenty of others do.
Yeah, I was there all 3 nights, probably did chat, there weren't many there night one. The third night was the best (for me) but it's a shame that Guthrie Govan didn't get up to play on the Thursday.
Mantis is a wonderful song and album, perhaps their best for me. It's a shame that the prog community doesn't pick up on them more!
Don't care what YOU classify them as in you personal Wikepedia but I enjoyed them live and on recordings.
As already mentioned Umphrey’s McGee totally kicked it last night at my favorite concert venue, the State Theater in Kalamazoo MI. Every Umphrey’s show is different so you never know what you are going to get, but this one was heavy on material that a prog fan would love and for me may have been one of the best set lists of any time I have seen them. The band did basically 3 hours with an intermission. The light show was as good as I have ever seen it, and the band were smoking all night. As always Umphrey’s does a few covers in their shows and this time choose Ozzy Osbourne’s “No More Tears”, Tool’s “Forty Six and Two” (which totally kicked ass), and Frank Zappa’s “Dirty Love”. The band did a nice selection of their own material as well with plenty of proggy stuff with “Cemetery Walk Parts I and II” “Eat” and “Wizard’s Burial Ground” particularly standing out. What is always amazing about this band is how they can switch from one form of music to another without a hitch going from blazing metal to country twang to blistering prog and make it all work. As usual the crowd was pretty young (about 80% 20 something’s), but there were a few old fogy’s like me scattered around the crowd too. The show was all general admission and we got there early enough to get front row of the balcony which was the perfect vantage point. Looking out over the main floor it was getting pretty crazy down there by the end. Umphrey’s are still one of the best live touring acts out there IMO and last night’s show ranked right up with the best I have seen them.
Here is the set list:
LE BLITZ
EAT
THE PEQUOD
EAT
LITTLE GIFT
NO DIABLO
LIBERTY ECHO
BAD POKER
NO MORE TEARS (OZZY COVER)
HAJIMEMASHITE
INTERMISSION
FOURTY SIX & TWO (TOOL COVER)
THE WEIGHT AROUND
THE TRIPLE WIDE
CEMETARY WALK
CEMETARY WALK II
SYNCOPATED STRANGERS
DIRTY LOVE (FRANK ZAPPA COVER)
SYNCOPATED STRANGERS REPRISE
WIZARD BURIAL GROUND
ENCORE
JAJUNK
Here is a video that a guy basically standing right next to me shot of the Tool cover. You can briefly see me and my sister in the shot when he shows up into the balcony.
Yeah, i'll Say, I have seen them twice this past years, 2 completely different shows and they blew my socks off each time. One of the best live shows out there present day. I doubt I'll miss any opportunity to see them live when they come around. Outstanding!
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks