Progressive jam band Umphrey's McGee have announced three shows in Reykjavik (March 20-22, 2020):
Umphrey’s McGee presents RÖCKJAVIK, a three-night residency in March 2020 that will see them take over the stunning Eldborg Hall within the Harpa Conference Center in Reykjavik, Iceland during peak Northern Lights viewing season.
The four Umphrey’s McGee shows at Atlanta's Tabernacle (December 28-31) are offered as pay-per-view webcasts.
Umphrey’s descends upon the tabernacle for four nights of hell raising to usher in 2019. And you can join from wherever you may find yourself with high definition webcasts complete with pristine soundboard audio. If you miss any of it real time, all four shows will be available on demand for two weeks after the shows. Bundle all four nights and save 15%. The Tabernacle is known for its electric energy and UM takes no prisoners on New Year’s runs. Let’s rock.
Jam band Umphrey's McGee have released It's You, ten tracks that were recorded during the sessions for their latest album it's not us:
After completing the latest recording sessions and digesting the volume of material we had tracked, it grew increasingly clear that a single album wasn’t realistic. The collective level of enthusiasm around the majority of these tunes made us reluctant to leave much on the cutting room floor (rarely the case). And that is why today we’re elated to continue our 20th Anniversary celebration by unveiling the new, new album from Umphrey’s McGee, it’s you.
It's You is available thru the digital outlets.
HCTF review of it's not us.
Jam band Umphrey's McGee never committed themselves to full scale jamming, and always kept their eyes set on the mainstream as well. All their studio albums contain a few tracks to could make it to AOR stations and their latest effort it's not us is no exception, with songs about rocky relationships (The Silent Type, Looks) and even a power ballad of some sort (You & You Alone).
On the other side of the coin they are prone to progressive and metal excursions and that's where the real meat on this new album can be found. It all comes together in Remind Me, a composition that starts out as a sad funk song before exploding into percussive and guitar pyrotechnics, the kind of song that be fully enhanced by synced strobe lightning when performed live as a hybrid of Metallica and King Crimson showcase.
Jam band Umphrey's McGee have posted lyrics video for Half Delayed, a track from their 11th studio album It’s Not Us scheduled for release on January 12th. Prog guitars galore and am ad rather unexpected fade-out that suggests that there could have been an interesting coda.
Jam band Umphrey's McGee have unveiled video for The Silent Type, a track from their 11th studio album It’s Not Us scheduled for release on January 12th. The clip was directed by Pete Herzog.
It's a mix of augmented reality using POV and real life shots. Nothing is real, but that's not entirely true either. Who can remember all the detail of a wild night in Chicago?
Jam band Umphrey's McGee will release their 11th studio album It’s Not Us on January 12th, pretty close to their 20th anniversary as a band (January 21st). Expect tons of guests during the current tour.
Live dates:Jam band Umphrey's McGee have posted a pro-shot video of their late night set at the Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, TN (2017/06/10). Frank Zombie is mashup medley, including Frankie Goes To Hollywood (Relax) and Pink Floyd (Have A Cigar).
Setlist:Watch Umphrey's McGee tackle the Metallica classic ...And Justice For All. Drummer Kris Myers handles the vocals. Recorded live @ The Fox Theater in Oakland, CA - March 11, 2017.
Progressive jam band Umphrey's McGee have announced their itinerary for this year's Summer tour. Expect a night of rock, jazz, funk and an eclectic taste in covers.
Live dates:
2015 was a rather good year for music. HCTF lists the 20 albums that will be in regular rotation for many years to come.
Today: countdown from number 15 to 11. Go here for 5-1 | 10-6 | 20-16.
15 Hey Mandible: The Arse
Noise rock trio proofs that not everything is sunny in Florida.
They have a beef with pretty much everybody and everything - women, kids, religion - and are trying to smother their dislikes with howling feedback and distortion. It could have resulted into an album filled with flat sounding, brickwalled songs, but they have a good ear for dynamics, hooks and slow moving melody lines.
14 Thirty Pounds of Bone: The Taxidermist
Something quite sinister is lurking in the shadows. Your guide Johny Lamb is here to explain.
He went in at the deep end using analog synths to soften the blow of his vengeful lyrics, going all out in angry shoegaze mood for songs like The Expelled and using vaudevillian rock for Pasganger, Or The Wagon. Lamb thrives when his voice is a couple of notches above a whisper in the neo-psychedelic despair of Before I’m Done and All Your Sons. Quiet desperation is indeed the English way.
13 Lost Bear: Monkey Pop
Gnarly out-of-the-box stuff from the Netherlands. Eclectic weirdness with a beat.
Monkey Pop is a soft-spoken, disturbing and claustrophobic album. Think The Cure having a sleepover with Pavement, with marching drums and keyboards and guitar rolling down the road like tumbleweed filmed in slow motion.
12 Big Lazy: Don't Cross Myrtle
Big city jazz that you can dance too. Yes, that's still a thing.
From the spaghetti western Minor Problem via the slow swagger of The Low Way to the speakeasy vibe of Avenue X, the drecnched in echo Swampesque, the album makes it to Adrian Belew meets an angry brass player title track Don't Cross Myrtle before closing the door with the melancholic Whereabouts. A high quality all-you-can-eat album for gourmets.
11 Umphrey's McGee: The London Session - A Day at Abbey Road Studios
Progressive jam band had some time to kill before a string of shows in the UK. So they made a record.
Umphrey's McGee overcame jet lag and nerves to end up with an album that is a 101 for musicians that lock themselves in a pressure cooker of sorts. The London Session - A Day at Abbey Road Studios sounds like a superb live record. It will be hard to capture this kind of intensity and fun when they go back to traditional studio recording methods for the next one.
Watch progressive jam band Umphrey's McGee discuss and work on four tracks from their latest album The London Session - A Day at Abbey Road Studios: Glory, Cut The Able, Out Of Order and Bad Friday.
HCTF review of The London Session - A Day at Abbey Road Studios.
Progressive jam band Umphrey's McGee doesn't shy away from a big challenge. They got a chance to record at the renowned Studio 2 @ Abbey Road in London last year and cut a full album within 12 hours. Safe for the vocals (those were added at a later stage in Chicago and LA) The London Session - A Day at Abbey Road Studios takes full advantage of the superb acoustics and dynamics. Given the limited time they had, the sextet opted for stuff that they have been playing live a ton, but never got around to recording in the studio plus a cover of The Beatles classic I Want You (She’s So Heavy), the famous users of Studio 2.
Recording live from the floor is tricky - one band member can screw up a take, but the hallowed "one take wonder" is something that never can be matched with overdubs, edits and such. To up he ante even further, they went for a variety of moods and styles, thus making things way more complicated for the engineers. Acoustic songs (No Diablo, Cut the Cable) sit comfortably next to full-on freak rock (Plunger, Rocker Part 2) and funky jazzy prog stuff (Glory, Bad Friday).
Umphrey's McGee overcame jet lag and nerves to end up with an album that is a 101 for musicians that lock themselves in a pressure cooker of sorts. The London Session - A Day at Abbey Road Studios sounds like a superb live record. It will be hard to capture this kind of intensity and fun when they go back to traditional studio recording methods for the next one.
Umphrey's McGee:
Brendan Bayliss: guitar, vocals
Joel Cummins: keyboards, vocals
Ryan Stasik: bass
Andy Farag: percussion
Jake Cinninger: guitar, vocals
Kris Myers: drums, vocals
The London Session - A Day at Abbey Road Studios is released thru Hanging Brains Music. Buy it from their website. The 2LP vinyl has a live version of In the Kitchen recorded at the Brooklyn Bowl in London on June 19, 2014.
Tracks:Progressive jam band Umphrey's McGee are sharing the funky Bad Friday, the opening track from their forthcoming album The London Session - A Day at Abbey Road Studios.
Want a signed copy of the new Umphrey's McGee album The London Session - A Day at Abbey Road Studios? The new record features nine originals and a cover of The Beatles classic I Want You (She’s So Heavy). The Chicago based jam band recorded the tracks live from the floor, some of them in a single take.
Please answer this simple question. Name the exact date of this 12 hour marathon session.
» Send in your answer (competition closes on March 24th 23:59 GMT +1).
The London Session - A Day at Abbey Road Studios will be released on April 7th. Pre-order from their website. The 2LP vinyl has an exclusive live version of In the Kitchen recorded at the Brooklyn Bowl on June 19, 2014.
When jam band Umphrey's McGee was offered the chance to record at the renowned Studio 2 @ Abbey Road in London last year, they didn't think twice. They were in London to perform three shows a the Brooklyn Bowl (June 19-21) and used their day off before stage time to cut a full album within 12 hours.
Featuring nine originals and a cover of The Beatles classic I Want You (She’s So Heavy), the famous users of that studio, the tracks were recorded live from the floor, some of them in a single take.
The London Session - A Day at Abbey Road Studios will be released on April 7th. Pre-order from their website. The 2LP vinyl has a live version of In the Kitchen recorded at the Brooklyn Bowl on June 19, 2014.
Tracks: