Copy cat blog 7

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The band I chose to copy cat is Umphrey’s McGee posted by Alex. I chose this band because they are one of my favorite live shows I’ve gotten the pleasure of seeing a few times. The first time I got the chance to see them was four years ago at a music festival. My sisters friend is a die hard fan of theirs and dragged me to see their set and within the first five minutes I was blown away. Umphrey’s McGee are constantly touring and never play the same show twice. The band is improvising as their live sets go on and usually don’t have a preconfigured set list. Even if you are unfamiliar with their music, which I was the first time I saw them, you can still appreciate their ability to take you on a journey with their technical domination of their instruments. They are all wizards at their crafts. The thing I love most about this group is that they are able to jam, but still have the hard heavy distorted sound. These guys are like the metal version of the Grateful Dead. Each piece of theirs transcends into so many different genres that they cannot be grouped into any one genre comfortably. One song may begin with a jazz like feel, soft and smooth, until suddenly the guitar comes in with the gut busting crunch and instantly we are submerged into metal. I really appreciate the fact that they as a band also let their music speak for itself. They are not people who push their opinions on you, they simply are here to play music to make you move. If you enjoy heavier music that still has a groove then Umphrey’s is the band for you. Here’s one of their most known tunes “Puppet Strings” live at Red Rocks.

4 thoughts on “Copy cat blog 7”

  1. Though I’ve heard of Umphrey’s McGee, I’ve never really taken the time to listen to their music closely. I have to admit, like you said their sound is really diverse. It does sort of remind me of the metal Dead, their instrumentation is really impressive, the slap bass that comes in around 1:45 is awesome. These guys are pretty rad, I’ll have to give them a listen on my own again soon.

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  2. Richard, I thought it was really interesting that you chose this song and band. I have never heard of them before and now Im really glad you did because I was really blown away by them. I like how you said the band never plays the same show twice. It just shows how real musicians are truly original. I also like the aspect that the band is improvising on their shows. I think that it really shows their true talent when they can just jam and go off of what the other band members are doing. Its a really cool concept too! Im glad you posted about the guys, Im going to see if I can find some more good stuff from them. Great post!

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  3. I’m glad there is a fellow Umphreak enrolled in this class! Or at least a few people mildly interested in their sound, I lost hope when nobody commented on my Umph post. I first heard them about two years ago and have seen them five or so times since then. I would say that they aren’t very similar to the dead, even though they may be a part of the same “jam” scene. These guys have developed a sound that can be compared to nobody else in my opinion. There are recent bands that try to replicate UM’s sound but rarely come close. Their hybridization of genres is mind-boggling. Their live sets are definitely pre-determined but they jam from song to song which is the best part. There are only a few songs with huge chunks cut out of the middle for pure improvisation like in “Phil’s Farm” (another super good song). Their guitarist Jake Cinninger is definitely a wizard.

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