Umphrey’s: Live at the Murat

UMPHREY’S MCGEE KICKS OUT THE JAMS WITH FIRST OFFICIAL LIVE ALBUM,
LIVE AT THE MURAT, IN STORES OCTOBER 16

Umphrey’s McGee

The ascension continues for Chicago’s Umphrey’s McGee, not only in terms of their commercial success but in creative accomplishment and instrumental achievement as well. Their performance on Live at the Murat (SCI Fidelity), their first official live release, is as impressive as anything they’ve recorded to date, with the power and finesse, the yin and the yang, that have come to characterize their by-now classic material.

Recorded in Indianapolis in April 2007 and produced by longtime “sound caresser” / honorary seventh member Kevin Browning, the two-disc set features fan favorites like “Push the Pig,” “The Triple Wide,” “In the Kitchen,” and “Nothing Too Fancy” along with rare tunes like the set-ending “Padgett’s Profile” and the brief but torrid “Angular Momentum,” centered on the combo of drummer Kris Myers and guitarist Jake Cinninger. The band also dusts off tunes like “Hajimemashite” from ’98s Songs for Older Women, and the Yes meets Little Feat-influenced “40’s Theme,” a live favorite for the band and its fans.

Throughout the show, UM’s invention brings the progressive instrumental chops of Zappa and the stylistic savvy of Steely Dan. It is innovative without being indulgent, exhilarating without losing control, and there are plenty of improv passages that keep the band and their fans off-balance. Clearly, logging 120 gigs a year, “live” is where UM lives.

The current list of confirmed tour dates is as follows:
09.13 Orpheum Theatre Madison WI
09.14 Canopy Club Urbana IL
09.15 Taft Theatre Cincinnati OH
10.04 Liberty Hall Lawrence KS
10.05 Granada Theater Dallas TX
10.06 Stubb’s BBQ Austin TX
10.14 The Echo Project Fairburn GA
10.16 Toad’s Place – Lady Byrd Hat Building Richmond VA
10.17 Nightclub 9:30 Washington DC
10.18 Magic City Music Hall Johnson City NY
10.19 Nokia Theater Times Square New York NY
10.20 Nokia Theater Times Square New York NY
10.22 Harro East Ballroom Rochester NY
10.24 Higher Ground Ballroom Burlington VT
10.25 Higher Ground Ballroom Burlington VT
10.26 Orpheum Theatre Boston MA
10.27 House of Blues Las Vegas NV
10.28 Vegoose Las Vegas NV
10.31 Fillmore Auditorium Denver CO
11.15 Amos’ South End Charlotte NC
11.16 City Hall Nashville TN
11.17 Work Play Soundstage Birmingham AL
11.18 Bear Creek Music Festival Quincy FL
11.29 Orbit Room Grand Rapids MI
12.01 Michigan Theatre Ann Arbor MI
12.13-17 Caribbean Holidaze Runaway Jamaica
12.29-31 The Aragon Ballroom Chicago IL
03.16-18 Jam in the Dam Amsterdam Netherlands

More dates to be announced.