Umphrey's Mcgee

Umphrey's Mcgee is one of my favorite bands, and a band that I have seen multiple times and never get boared with. Their shows are mind blowing and the energy is amazing (jake cinninger is a beast!). They don't get talked about that much on this forum and a lot of people either love them or hate them (or think they're ok - for you mitch hedberg fans out there) but I really encourage everyone to try and see them live if they come by your town. Its a real fun show. With SCI possibly soon to be gone, phish gone (for now), and panic lacking (though i havnt seen them with herring yet), Umphrey's is one of the major bands im counting on (along with moe) to deliver me great music.

 

UMs are talented players, terrible song writers. i think thats what is wrong with alot of the jambands coming out.....they can noodle and jam until the cows come home, but there is no good song for the jam to break from. my opinion that is all. UMs will not break it big for that reason. the obvious examples Phish and the Dead, on top of being phenomenol players, they had the song writing to go with it.
New Monsoon is too much of niche band. they have a very specific style and sound, the Grateful Dead and Phish (once again just the obvious examples) had an extreme amount of diversity, this is what gets the bands to "that" level. Don't get me wrong drumminmama, I love New Monsoon (only partial to UM) they are phenomenol, but they are a niche, they are of a specific genre...and because of this they will never be playing an 80,000 person festival of their own, its just the way it is. but maybe thats not what you were refering to by "breaking to the next level".

 

i think they sound more like a prog rock band then a jam band. from what ive heard i dont get much of a warm feeling from thier music like i did with phish and the dead. but i dont think anyone can deliver what jerry,phil,mickey,bill,bob,pig,trey,mike,page,and fish can.

 

I could do without them.

 

I picked up their Safety in Numbers CD last summer, and though I haven;t heard any live stuff, their studio material is impressive. I guess it is somewhat cold; maybe because it's so measured and precise; like what Guyute625 said - it sounds like Phish meets Rush meets Steely Dan.

But a song like 'Words" has tremendous potential.

 

im a big fan of UM... i tried to see em live at roo, but i lost my sechedual and was tripping to hard to find which stage they where playing at....
i hate when stuff like that happens.

but anyway they do seem to come through philly every once in a while, and im definatly gonna check em out. i couldnt believe it when i heard they where not going to play with bisco this new years eve... but they got there own new years show! good for UM!

 

they tear shit up for sure.

 

"Dinner and a Movie" written by the Dude of Life.....not really a great representation of Phish....

 

anyone who jsut bashed Umphreys in this thread is very very very mis-informed. I jsut saw them last night and it was without a doubt the all time best show I've ever been to. Ths music was insane, at one poitn i sincerely thought it was fake and they were all just up there pullin a milli vanilli or whoever the hell those guys were. Damn they're sick. I think they're definately gonna become the next big name on the jam scene. I cant wait for their NYE show!

 

listen to the 7.12.91 show with the Giant Country Horns, and you tell me this song doesn't rock. who cares if there's only one line of lyrics, lyrics are over-rated. very over-rated. its not there best by any means, its not like when i'm at a show i hope and prey for a "dinner and a movie"....but its a fun tune for 3 minutes at a show. some times i don't think you get Phish music.

 

I hearda few tracks on public radio and I thought it sucked. I traded for a couple shows and a DVD and I didn't like any of it.

It just anit my bag. Maybe I've heard all the wrong songs.

 

it's funny to me when people hear a song like YEM or Dinner and a movie and think they're getting an accurate lyrical description of the band.

Most of their songs have great lyrics. Case closed fools.

 

its very true, Phish does have some songs with amazing, even profound lyrics...some are wacky. listen to the Beatles, they have some weird ass lyrics, that have no sense what so ever. listen to "come together", there is a jumble of words that has no meaning, beyond it sounding good....

 

if they don't like the jam scene they shouldn't jam. simple as that.

and i don't know about you, but i'd much rather have a bunch of hippies at a show and not as many obnoxious frat boys.

god I hope not.

 

Hey all,

The "drunken frat boy" scene will always be there, no matter what we musical purists and uber-fans might bitch and moan about. Whether it's Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, or insert-20-something-hip-musically-accessible-band here. Drunken frat boys are drunken frat boys for a reason: the pursuit of a good time with little or no responsibility for action or word. It sounds like me in my 20-something days as a self-absorbed hippie.

Thus, we hippies bitched about the frat boys ruining the Dead, ruining Phish, ruining insert-jam-band-du-jour here, even though we were trying to make territorial claims on a music that was intended for all.

Was I sick of the drunken frat boy crowd at Phish shows? Completely; as I was depressed to see the 40- and 50-something crowd slowly vanish from the Dead scene, NOT to reappear at the phish scene.

Still, the concept of having a band all to one's own, especially for aband with huge national or regional appeal, is crap. Just be thankful that UM or Phish never devolved into Woodstock 99.