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Artist / Heroes,
Umphrey’s McGee Jam On Some Pink Floyd at the Higher Ground Ballroom in Burlington, VT.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Posted by: Roger Smith | Posted in: Artist / Heroes,
In many ways Burlington, Vermont is home to the modern jam movement, and the Higher Ground Ballroom, located smack in the center of town, is ground zero. I travelled to Burlington, to visit a couple music stores and to meet up with the guys in Umphrey’s McGee—they were playing the first of two shows at the Higher Ground. The pictures on the walls backstage tell the story of this amazing club—Warren Haynes, String Cheese, Umphrey’s, all members of Phish, the surviving members of the Grateful Dead, and Dickey Betts are just a few of the hundreds of killer musicians that have graced this illustrious stage. Since it was the only New England stop of their current tour, attendees traveled in from all over the North-East for this brief opportunity to see the band.
Below are a few shots from years past of the Umphrey's guys with their SA pedals.
There were many high points in a show that tended toward the “prog-rock” end of the U-M spectrum. Perhaps the highlight was a cover of “Breathe” from the classic Pink Floyd album, Dark Side of the Moon. Jake Cinninger not only delivered great lead vocals, but led the band through reggae-infused segues that offered up an inspired new interpretation of the timeless masterpiece. The second set launched with the deep dark opus, “Mantis”, the title track of their last studio release. While Jake had moments of super-sick guitar brilliance involving blazing speed, edge, and sweetness, Brendan Bayliss kept right up with his own style that, though a bit less flashy, is every bit as awesome. I often get bored at a 3 hour+ show. Not with U-M. These guys are amazing.
The band has used Source Audio pedals for a few years now—Jake runs through the Hot Hand Phaser/Flanger and the Multiwave, Brendan uses the Soundblox Tri-Mod Wah, and bassist Ryan Stasik uses the Soundblox Pro Classic Distortion, the Multiwave Bass Distortion, and the Phaser/Flanger. It was awesome hearing Jake bust out the often ignored sequencer option on the Phaser/Flanger. At one point he actually “played the effect”, hitting a sustained chord and crouching down to manipulate the P/F sequencer in real time. The result is difficult to describe in words, but unmistakable and unique.
Below is a very cool video (amateur camera work but great audio) from early 2010 of Umphrey's playing Pink Floyd's "Breathe". Check out how Jake matches the sweet sound of David Gilmore's guitar with the Phaser/Flanger (he's using the Phaser side of the pedal for sure). There are also some pretty smoking references to Floyd's, "On the Run" during the jam section - enjoy.
Be sure to check out Umphrey’s McGee the next time they come to your town.
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