My friend Mike, Grande Miguel as he was dubbed for his physical size and moreover his larger than life persona, took me to go see Umphrey's McGee back in late '98 at their first show in Chicago at the Elbo Room (11/27). Since then they've become one of my all-time favorite live improvisational acts.
I interviewed the band for a fanzine I was writing (The Helping Phriendly Phanzine) while following Phish in 1999. I ran into their manager Vince Iwinski (after never meeting prior yet passing his SUV on the Lake Shore Drive seemingly every day, giving a cordial thumbs up to his 'UM' bumper sticker) at a rest stop on the way to a festival in Oswego, New York and he gave me a copy of their album, Songs for Older Woman which became my favorite CD to listen to and turn-on other friends to while driving across the country that summer.
I've likely seen the band perform nearly a hundred times during the past seven years and like fine wine, they just keep getting better with age. I always wished I'd had the opportunity to see Phish play their early home town and east coast stints... Seeing Umphrey's perform at small clubs back-in-the-day and even now in front of mid-sized venues these days is comparable to such a blessing. These guys just continue to propel themselves further, cementing their legacy in the jamband genre. I've ushered in the past two New Years with the band (2005 - The Riviera Theatre; 2006 - Aragon Ballroom) and will likely continue to watch them fill larger and larger halls as their audience continues to grow year after year.
They've made smart business decisions, pair with the brightest names in the industry and compliment art-to-art with leading poster artists, photographers & graphic designers.
I interviewed the band for a fanzine I was writing (The Helping Phriendly Phanzine) while following Phish in 1999. I ran into their manager Vince Iwinski (after never meeting prior yet passing his SUV on the Lake Shore Drive seemingly every day, giving a cordial thumbs up to his 'UM' bumper sticker) at a rest stop on the way to a festival in Oswego, New York and he gave me a copy of their album, Songs for Older Woman which became my favorite CD to listen to and turn-on other friends to while driving across the country that summer.
I've likely seen the band perform nearly a hundred times during the past seven years and like fine wine, they just keep getting better with age. I always wished I'd had the opportunity to see Phish play their early home town and east coast stints... Seeing Umphrey's perform at small clubs back-in-the-day and even now in front of mid-sized venues these days is comparable to such a blessing. These guys just continue to propel themselves further, cementing their legacy in the jamband genre. I've ushered in the past two New Years with the band (2005 - The Riviera Theatre; 2006 - Aragon Ballroom) and will likely continue to watch them fill larger and larger halls as their audience continues to grow year after year.
They've made smart business decisions, pair with the brightest names in the industry and compliment art-to-art with leading poster artists, photographers & graphic designers.
Chicago Theatre
March 10th, 2006
Set I: Uncle Wally*, Pequod*, Eat > Higgins > Out of Order > The Fussy Dutchman, The Triple Wide > "Jimmy Stewart" > Morning Song
Set II: JaJunk, Sociable Jimmy > "Jimmy Stewart"** > Sociable Jimmy > Raymond, August > Mulche's Odyssey, Atmosfarag > "Jimmy Stewart", Liquid*** > "Jimmy Stewart"
Encore: Plunger
* Brendan and Jake on acoustics
** with jams similar to 11.13.04 JaJunk
*** first time played, original/Ali Baba's Tahini
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