Three years after playing their last shows together, the OM Trio reformed for a three-night run in its adopted hometown of San Francisco. Drummer Ilya Stemkovsky was kind enough to write down his thoughts about getting together with his old bandmates for a two-part edition of Tour Diary:

Friday, February 16th, 2008 9 PM
Fillmore Auditorium
San Francisco, CA

All photos by Larry Mills

Dust Up opened the second show. We love playing this tune because, simply, it’s badass and dispells any rumor that we’re “jazz.” Maybe a collection of our most epic tunes graced this night. Anew —- Bulbous>Mesh>Bulbous —– Phobophobe with Jake from Umphrey’s on guitar (something that worked well back in the day). We felt even more comfortable the second night. We didn’t want it to end. Read on for more of Tour Diary…

Set: Dust Up, Anew, Bulbous>Mesh>Bulbous, Phobophobe (with Jake Cinninger from UM on guitar)

Friday, February 17th, 2008 11:30 PM
The Boom Boom Room
San Francisco, CA

The opening number L was perhaps the musical highlight of the weekend. It was slow, funky, tripped-out and set the mood of the show perfectly. The place was packed and we really fed off the energy of the crowd. The second set was filled with special guests… Kris Myers and Joel Cummins from UM, Brian’s father Steve Felix, and Particle keyboardist Steve Molitz. It was loose, fun, and a great way to end a short run of shows we’ll never forget. A big thank you to all the people who flew from across the country for the shows, Chanda for the kit, to Umphrey’s McGee for the generous invitation, and to Brian Glick for being the Man.

Set 1: L, Romeo, Clydedogg, Brekfist, Old Guard

Set 2: Cherub Rock, Improv with Guests (Myers, Cummins, Steve Felix), Dust Up > Bulbous (w/ Steve Molitz) > Anew

Thanks to the OM Trio for giving us an inside look at their reunion. Our fingers are crossed for some more gigs soon. You can purchase their sets from the Fillmore at Live Downloads.