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
An acoustic moe. show at the Belly Up Tavern possesses a certain double dose of rarities. On the one hand, just to have moe. play there is downright unique in its own right. Their first visit here wasn’t until about seven years into their career in 1997, but they haven’t returned since ...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
Get it while it’s hot people! Yep, Umphrey’s McGee is as fiery as ever, and was hot as blazes in the ragin’ cajun and cool as a cucumber House of Blues in New Orleans. After a wild day and a half of Bourbon Street seafood, cover band, stripper and overdosed slushy shenanigans (I’m talking ...view article
Over the past three years, Bear Creek has increasingly become the staple festival of the southeast. With festivals such as Langerado taking steps towards extinction, Bear Creek has flourished, and has put together lineups that seem to outdo years past, which seems hard to believe. The heavy hitting ...view article
Located on the banks of the Des Moines River, the Simon Estes Amphitheater was the site of yet another Umphrey’s McGee ‘musical-Mona Lisa’. A truly beautiful setting for a night that would include some of summer’s most electric moments. The ever-present feeling of the impending Fourth of ...view article
Coming off of one of their most prolific tours in recent memory, selling out nearly every show they played (including The Fillmore in Denver, Colorado), Umphrey’s McGee descended on the ever-familiar frozen tundra of Minneapolis for two consecutive nights at the First Avenue.
In the previous volume of the Umphrey's McGee Colorado Chronicles, I mentioned that Umphrey's made it possible for me to spend almost my entire day in Denver with them. I didn't get to hang out backstage and shoot the breeze while drinking Colorado micro brews and smoking Denver nuggets, or take ...view article
A good friend of mine tells me that he has always experienced any troubles getting to a show as a good omen that said show is going to be a barn burner. This could all be in his mind, but the adage has rung true for me over this past week while following around Umphrey’s McGee. I’m a bit ...view article
Fourteen months ago, on Halloween, Umphrey's McGee played one of the most impressive shows I'd ever seen. The buzz surrounding the event was undeniable and the actual show was religious. At the time the band was on the precipice of some major changes. Light design artist Jefferson Waful was ...view article