In My Ears

The new favorite band this week: Umphrey's McGee.

Like where I get most of my new music from, University of Pennsylvania radio 88.5 WXPN, I discovered them when I was illegally streaming at work. Hey, it's part of the benefits package, they just don't know it.

Category: crunchy jam band. The sticker said something about "sunshine vocals". Hmm, not really The Partridge Family but the vocals are good with Walt Whitman simplicity and Paul Simon poignancy coupled with synchronicity and tight muscianship a la Phish and Allman Brothers yet all their own.


From their site:

Devotees of “all cool music,” the band identifies
The Beatles and Led Zeppelin as primary influences with a reverence the
members describe as “biblical.” They also share a love for the music of Yes,
Gabriel-era Genesis, King Crimson, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Miles Davis,
and Jaco Pastorius. Their own playing and writing reflects these influences,
yet maintains its own contemporary originality through a diligent avoidance
of clichés (both musical and lyrical) and a willing patience to wait for the
freshest expression of an idea to emerge. Sometimes song ideas sit dormant
for years before finding a place in the band’s vast repertoire. Using 8-bar
segments and progressions (building blocks they have dubbed “legos”),
primary songwriters Jake Cinninger and Brendan Bayliss construct their songs
piecemeal and with the active participation of their bandmates. All
arrangements are collaborative. Lyrics, too, are collected over time and
groomed to be thought-provoking and open to interpretation. This is a band
that likes its audience to think while they’re dancing. Solid songcraft is
the first crucial step in that process.

I'm in possession of one ticket for their show Wednesday, May 4th at The Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach. A concert on a Wednesday night, doors open at 7:30, show scheduled to start at 9. Such decadence.