[Photo by Michael Weintrob]

As the number of hemp necklaces I’ve hand-threaded declines and my visits to OhMyRockness increase, I’ve realized that I’m not the die-hard Umphrey’s fan — or “Umphreak” — that I used to be. I’ve moved on from the carefree, limb-flailing hippy dancing of yesteryear, and have actually accidentally wound up at a Yonder Mountain String Band show in skinny jeans without realizing my faux pas until I was ironically complimented on my multicolor shirt by three girls in the bathroom. (Aren’t free spirits supposed to not care about fashion? Or know what clothes Urban Outfitters carries?)

But, regardless, Umphrey’s McGee isn’t just a “jam band” — a term often used to blanket group of guys who play extended instrumentals by people who don’t understand their music, or by those who do in order to avoid a minute-long explanation. I continue to enjoy Umphrey’s for their amalgamation of influences ranging from jazz to heavy metal and the sheer talent and ability of the group’s musicians, not for stereotypes like the type of weed their fans might sell or how the “scene” socially allows frat boys to slur their words and refer to things as “rad, man.” (After all, the boys are sitting in a slightly decrepit, defaced skate park — not the earthiest abode, eh?)

It comes down to this: I love Phish. I don’t like the Grateful Dead. I’m totally into Umphrey’s. I have missed six moe. sets on purpose. They’re not all the same. Give their prog-rock tunes a listen, even if you think you know what they’re all about. 

Stop, Look and Listen:

Umphrey’s McGee’s website

Umphrey’s McGee’s MySpace

Notes ‘n Quotes:

“Not as exciting for Jake, though, is the pop-rock music that reigns supreme on MTV countdown shows - he considers the network’s transformation of music into a visual entity to be nauseating.

‘It’s not really about the music or being a musician, you know?’ said Cinninger. ‘Sure, some of these kids can play … but they really can’t play play. They don’t really know the ins and outs of rock and roll, they don’t know the ins and outs of jazz, they don’t know the ins and outs of funk, classical, and to really get a broad scope, you gotta go there for a little bit.’

Cinninger, who favors old-school types of recording, also dislikes the way those aforementioned bands release and record music. ‘It’s just sort of backwards now. You don’t really have to pay dues and get good, you can just use ProTools and make your stuff sound perfect … and then you sound like crap live!’ chuckled Cinninger. ‘I think it’s all about keeping it real, you know … the way Pink Floyd would record, or Led Zeppelin would record - that’s the right way of doing it. It costs a little bit of money, but that’s what separates the men from the boys.’”

— Feature article on UM guitarist Jake Cinninger that I wrote last year. (Full disclosure: I use the term jam band once, but only because it’s within context and  ”jazz-metal-rock-influenced-prog-rock-band” gets old, fast.)

Too Lazy to Read?:

Umphrey’s McGee with EOTO featuring Michael Travis and Jason Hann of String Cheese Incident at Canopy Club, 9pm, $25 in advance