There is little comparison to the excitement of the thumping house beats, the funky rumble of a low bass line shaking the building and the infectious sonic articulation of synthesizers that can be found at a rave. Imagine that being topped off with soaring guitar licks and the interplay of four ...view article
We rose some time after dawn in a small bed and breakfast lodge in Sacramento and I was still suffering a bit of barrel fever from all the whiskey I'd drowned myself in the night before. We had traveled East from San Francisco through the night to get a jump on the day. We'd be riding plum through ...view article
“Happy birthday America!” exclaims Brendan Bayliss, lead singer and co-lead guitarist of all-American proggy tonk boys Umphrey’s McGee after a captivating, full band a cappella rendition of ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ at the Denver (area) Gothic Theatre on Independence Day 2010. Yes, the ...view article
The Aragon Ballroom in Chicago was a storm of rock and roll energy on the second to last day of 2009 as hometown heroes Umphrey's McGee laid musical carnage on a few thousand lucky ears. This New Year's run marks the 12th anniversary of the momentous three days of fury that is to Umphrey's fans ...view article
It is nearly 2 a.m. in a gleaming warehouse perched at the Northeast edge of the San Francisco Bay. On the dock, infernos rage from steel barrels, spewing molten fireflies by the dozens with the wind’s every frigid breath as the building’s vibrations and rumbles only hint at the possibilities ...view article
Anticipation builds as we wind through the mountains along highway 70 from Denver to Aspen on the way to see arguably the best live band on the circuit today: Umphrey's McGee. It is somewhat trademark of Umphrey's to not just play these remote venues, but to make everyone who came all the way out ...view article
The Independent in San Francisco played host to a night of musical pageantry as former String Cheese Incident keyboard wizard Kyle Hollingsworth and Animal Liberation Orchestra's song writing prodigy Zach Gill played an uninterrupted evening of cheerful songs and joyous jams.17356
It is comforting to hear those magical words "Welcome to the Fillmore" as the excitement peaks for the next episode of the San Francisco musical saga. On this Thursday night Moe. returned to the hallowed hall of rock and roll for the who-knows-how-many time to give fans of the band, fans of rock ...view article