Jam Central Station 3.13.10: Buzzworthy Concert - Umphrey's McGee - 3.5.10

Posted by Jeff Modzelewski on 03.13.2010

Umphrey's McGee brought their jam to the Ohio State campus. Could the Newport successfully contain the jam?



Thanks for checking out another week of Jam Central Station. For the second week in a row, we've got a concert review this week! I know you're excited as I am. It was actually supposed to be three in a row, but my plans to go see John Mayer with Michael Franti & Spearkhead fell through, sadly. But, at least we've got Umphrey's McGee. So here it is, my review of Umphrey's McGee from last Friday in Columbus!





Before leaving to see Umphrey's McGee last Friday at the LC Pavillion here in Columbus, I mentioned to some folks that I hoped that the band didn't do something so mind-blowing that I wouldn't be able to review the show. As fans of the band know, an Umphrey's McGee show often can leave you at a loss for words. Although they fall well within the broad scope of a "jam band," Umphrey's has as much in common with late 80's metal and 90's grunge as they do with bands like The Allman Brothers and The Grateful Dead. Possibly more than any other modern jam band, Umphrey's McGee brings visceral rock and roll to their songs and to their shows, which makes for a very unique experience.

The band drew a near-capacity crowd for the show. I've been to a bunch of shows at the Newport, and I honestly can't remember it ever being more packed. Fans came from all over Ohio and even some surrounding states for this one, and with good reason. Umphrey's is known to put on phenomenal love shows that go late into the night. The Ugly Suit opened the show respectably enough, and the crowd was happy to have them there. As solid as their performance was, however, by the end of the night, I don't think anyone was talking about those guys.

The band came onto the stage to the theme from "The Natural" before heading directly into "The Haunt." This song is a great example of how Umphrey's has the sound and tone of a straight-up rock band mixed with the style and musicianship of a great jam band. The extended solos sound nothing like what most traditional hard rock bands would do, but the heavy feel of the song still fits that genre. The jam took on a heavy blues feel before closing out with a truly epic guitar solo and percussion run. Umphrey's does a great job of bringing their music up to a towering crescendo and then bringing it back before the audience gets burned out, and the end of "The Haunt" and the segue into "Passing" is a great example of that. The version they played was more straightforward and stuck closely to the studio version. The contrast between the two opening songs, one heavy with an extended solo and the other more relaxed and basic, really prepared the audience for the rest of the show.

The band went back to their heavy side with "1348" off of their most recent album, Mantis. I was extremely happy to hear this one, since I missed it at Rothbury last year. The song had an extended heavy opening and a solid groove. At about the halfway point of the song, they transitioned into a 15-minute version of the instrumental "All Things Ninja" before finishing off "1348." "All Things Ninja" was a great way to show the band's prog-rock roots with a spacey rock jam sandwiched between a heavy "1348." There were about 3 or 4 awesome peaks in "All Things Ninja" along with plenty of breakdowns and more relaxed jams. It's not easy keeping a 20 minute jam going, and the band had no problem with these two songs, changing tempos and styles almost seamlessly.



The band went into the more relaxed "August," another long song that clocked in at nearly 15 minutes and had multiple extended jams around the "core" of the song. The song showcased plenty of percussion fills. Nothing overpowering in the jams, but good stuff to keep the audience engaged, and a really great guitar solo to close the song. A bluesy "Sociable Jimmy" segued into "Sweetness" next. This great jam, named for former Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton, fit very well with "Jimmy" and kept the crowd dancing and partying. There were a couple of peaks in the song and plenty of laid-back valleys between. "Sweetness" segued into the brand-new track "Booth Love," a song that is reminiscent of 70's soul. The first set closed out with the band playing tribute to some of their 90's alternative heritage covering The Smashing Pumpkins' "Cherub Rock." The cover was really a spot-on rendition, and the audience loved the selection. While no one can quite match Billy Corgan's vocal style, Umphrey's did a good job with the vocals and a spectacular job with the music.



The second set was just as good as the first, with even more segue's, teases, and awesome jams. They opened the set with "40's Theme," a fast-paced jam that really goes all over the place musically. The crowd was singing along all throughout the song, and the band really encouraged the crowd interaction. From there they went into a run of songs strung together, starting with "Push the Pig." The song was bass-heavy and funky with guitar and keyboard solos that highlighted some of their prog-rock influences like Pink Floyd and Genesis. They cut the song off at about 8 minutes and went straight into a "Jimmy Stewart" jam, which is just a long time euphemism that means an extended jam for the band. This version had lyrics (which isn't all that common), and a nice groove that alternated between heavy and relaxed. The heavy parts still had a groove, and the relaxed parts were still upbeat enough to keep the crowd moving.

The band quickly transitioned into a fast-paced "Hurt Bird Bath." The quiet jam mid-song moved into a great tease of the intro to "Time" by Pink Floyd." I was waiting expectantly for the band to kick into the song, but instead they used that tease to move the jam from a quiet jam to a heavier one, all while keeping the fast pace going. They segued mid-jam directly into "Walletsworth," with a heavy first half before transitioning to the mellow second half with some good harmonies. The band then moved back into "Hurt Bird Bath" and finished the song with a 6 minute jam.

The band did the opening part of "Utopian Fir" before going into a surprising cover of Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher." Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a Van Halen fan, but I do respect how hard that song is both on drums and guitar, and the band nailed it. They even kept the fun-loving spirit of the song without a problem, with a great David Lee Roth imitation. After finishing up, the band went back and finished "Utopian Fir," which closed with an almost reggae-sounding jam. The second set closed out with "The Bottom Half" and a heavy extended jam. The band came back for an encore of the fast-paced "Miss Tinkle's Overture," and included a tease of "Abacab" by Genesis. The high-energy instrumental was a great way to end an explosive show.

Overall, this was a pretty amazing show. The band mixed up the set between high energy songs, funky dance songs, and laid back jams. It's important for a band that can be as fast-paced and adrenaline filled as Umphrey's McGee to give the crowd a chance to catch their breath sometimes. The set was filled with great crescendo's and peaks and high-energy jams, but the band also let the crowd relax with some great relaxed spacey music. It's a tough thing to pull off, but Umphrey's did it almost flawlessly during their 3 hour set.























Nateva adds big names

The first annual Nateva festival, this year's 4th of July festival on the east coast, added some great names for their inaugural lineup. The festival officially added STS9, Umphrey's McGee, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, and Max Creek to their lineup. Other artists for this event include Further, The Flaming Lips, moe., and Keller Williams. This festival keeps getting better and better. Now I have to figure out if I can do the 14 hour trip to get there!

Conan to play Bonnaroo

Bonnaroo announced their comedy lineup for this year, and it's no surprise that Conan O'Brien is headlining the comedy tent. Other performers include Margaret Cho, Aziz Ansari, Greg Giraldo, Doug Benson, and Paul Scheer. Not a bad lineup, but I don't think I'll be spending much time there unless I need to relax in the air conditioning.

Beale Street Music Festival announces artists

The 34th annual Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, TN announced their lineup this week. The festival will run from April 30 through May 2, and will include performances by Widespread Panic, Jeff Beck, Blues Traveler, The Flaming Lips, Gov't Mule, North Mississippi All-Stars, Colbie Caliat, and Alison Krauss and Union Station, along with non-jammers like Alice in Chains, Goo Goo Dolls, Limp Bizkit (why are they back?), and Earth, Wind and Fire.

Clearwater Fest announces artists

Now that most of the major festivals have announced their lineups, the minor ones are coming out with theirs. The Clearwater Fest, a two-day festival at Croton Point Park in Croton-on-Hudson New York announced that Keller Williams, Railroad Earth, Donna the Buffalo, Shawn Colvin, Pete Seeger, Joan Osborne, Buckwheat Zydeco, and many others will be a part of the festival this year. On top of that, Keller's set will be a "loopless acoustic" set. For two days, this looks like $60 well spent if you're in the area.

Phish goes 3D

Yeah, everyone's doing it today. Phish launched a website and facebook page announcing that they'll be releasing a 3D movie, likely sometime next month, that will feature footage from their Festival 8 over Halloween weekend. I don't know how they're gonna cut 8 sets of Phish into a 2 hour movie, but best of luck to them.

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals join SXSW

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals are out doing plenty of pre-promotion for their upcoming self-titled studio release, due out on June 8. The band is set to play a late-night performance at SXSW on March 18. They've got a handful of other dates lined up, and they'll likely be on the road promoting their album for quite some time after it's release.

Disco Biscuits to stream show

The Disco Biscuits will be streaming their performance coming up on March 16 in Philadelphia. The show will be available on Livestream starting at 8:00 on the 16th. The band has promised a show that's "off the hook" including a variety of special guests from the album.



Before I head out this week, I have to do a plug here for some friends of mine. I spent this past Saturday hanging out with my buddies in the Groove Prophets helping them do some prep work for their upcoming Alice in Quarryland show. They're playing at Nelson Ledges in Garrettsville, Ohio on April 24th, and, believe me, they're getting ready for some mind-blowing stuff. If you're anywhere near eastern Ohio, put that date on your calendar. They're gonna do some great stuff.



Thanks for stopping by this week. I hope I was able to do Umphrey's justice with my review. The long standing quote is that "writing about music is like dancing about architecture" (thank you Ian Wright for introducing me to that), and this show really is an example of that. I wrote about it the best I could, but the show itself was simply an experience. Glad I could be there. Hope to see you next week, and, until then, Jam On!