Umphrey’s Brendan Bayliss and Kevin Browning talk Songs For Older Women.
In less than two weeks, Umphrey’s McGee will release Death By Stereo – the group’s long-awaited sixth studio album which features a mix of road-tested material and never-before-heard tunes. The
[Originally Published: April 12]
Pattie Boyd man. How could one woman be the inspiration for so many epic rock songs? We’re talking Bell Bottom Blues (Cover Wars), Wonderful Tonight, Something, and believe it or not – a few others as well. Layla was released in 1970 by Derek & The Dominos on their incredible LP Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs. In 1992, Clapton rearranged the tune for MTV Unplugged and took home the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. And it keeps going from there, one of Clapton’s arrangements is just a couple of days old, at the bottom of this Cover Wars you’ll see some videos from April 9th’s performance at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis. And, if you haven’t seen Goodfellas, well. . .
The Contestants:
Duane Allman died less than a year after he lent his legendary slide guitar skills to the original Derek & The Dominos studio take. Thirty-three years after its release, The Allman Brothers Band started covering the song, a nod that some attributed as a tribute to both Duane and the producer of the original record Tom Dowd, who died months before the Allman’s debuted it. Guitarist Warren Haynes handles the vocals. Audio Source: 9-25-2004
[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/allmanslayla.mp3]Video from 2003:
READ ON for more covers of Layla from the likes of The Charlie Daniels Band, Derek Trucks, Phish, Umphrey’s McGee and Herbie Mann…
Dave Matthews Band Caravan @ Lakeside Chicago – July 8-10
The Dave Matthews Band’s roving music festival Caravan made its second stop at Chicago’s Lakeside on July 8 – 10. The festival featured 38 bands spread over three days and three stages, and the Dave Matthews Band (DMB) closed out each night with three-hour performances. For DMB fans I am sure the experience was heavenly; as for the rest of us Caravan was exhausting, yet it had its perks. I was drawn to Caravan for primarily two reasons: The Flaming Lips were performing The Dark Side of the Moon and the festival was at a new, never-before used site on the south side of the Windy City.
Chicago geography is strange in that one side of the city may as well be a different state from the other. Those who live anywhere north of the Loop, aka downtown, rarely venture south of the Loop and vice versa. Caravan was stationed at an old U.S. Steel Plant near 83rd street off Lake Michigan, roughly nine miles south of downtown. The festival’s location was a great tactic to draw life and money into the under served community.
Initially I was pumped about Caravan; Flaming Lips and a south side adventure! Being a Chicagoan I tend to travel by bus or train. The press release for the festival read “easily access Lakeside” by public transportation. Alright, sounded easy enough. The first red flag was when I Googled directions, the site did not register on the map. Weird, but no problem, I thought. I would just hop on the train and hope for the best. The second red flag raised when it took me two to three hours each way to get to and fro the grounds. I participated in a pilgrimage revolved around a band I did not necessarily care for.
READ ON for more of Allison’s take on DMB Caravan Chicago…
While we already knew the name of the new album forthcoming from Umphrey’s McGee (Death By Stereo) and the release date (September 13) thanks to a tweet from the band’s
HT faves Umphrey’s McGee and Yonder Mountain String Band teamed up for a co-bill last night at the Saranac Brewery in Utica, NY. The two bands came together on stage
Chicago-based prog-jammers Umphrey’s McGee ended a long-standing tradition last year when they announced that their 2010-2011 New Year’s Eve show at the Riviera Theatre would be the band’s last in
Prog-jammers Umphrey’s McGee have just finalized plans for an ambitious September of touring that kicks off at the Raleigh Amphitheater in Raleigh, NC on September 1 and runs until a
Umphrey’s McGee @ Red Rocks (July 3) and Boulder Theater (July 4)
Words: Emily Alderman
Photos: Matthew Speck
While Many bands are blessed with the opportunity to perform at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, very few can fill the vast space with sound and compete with the natural beauty around them. On Sunday night, Umphrey’s McGee easily accomplished this challenge with Jefferson Waful manning the light rig as they returned to the gorgeous venue for the second year of Red Rocks and Blue.
[All photos by Matthew Speck]
Opening the first set with a melodic Jazz Odyssey that filled the amphitheater with sounds that tingled auditory senses and lights that sent chills up your spine, the thousands of fans in attendance got a taste of what they were in for. Umphrey’s started off set one with some classic “jammy” tunes, playing songs such as Bridgeless and Professor Wormbog early in the show, but as the evening progressed they showcased some of their new prog-heavy originals – Puppet Strings, No Comment and Deeper. Even though these newer songs definitely have a different feel to them they still continue to showcase the outstanding musical abilities of the members of Umphrey’s McGee, from the soulful belting vocals of Brendan Bayliss to the rock-god shredding of Jake Cinninger, each member had an opportunity to flaunt their talent in mini solo jams sprinkled throughout the set.
Just as everyone began to become restless from what seemed to be a never-ending set break, Umphrey’s returned for set two with one of their newest songs, Nipple Trix. A composition featuring a slow build up, Nipple Trix almost seemed to be a cue from the band to stand up and stretch out those rock fists to get ready for what they had prepared for us…and oh boy did they have a treat for our rock fists. With special guests Curtis Fowlkes and Jennifer Hill from Easy Star All-Stars on horns, Umphrey’s kept the second set moving with their cover of the Peter Gabriel classic Sledgehammer. As the horns echoed throughout the amphitheatre, the crowd shouted the well-known lyrics and pumped their rock fists.
READ ON for more on Umphrey’s Colorado run…
Photographer Chad Smith has only been shooting bands for the past three years, but over that time he’s gained a reputation as one of the best in the scene. His work has been used in a variety of publications and even on official releases from some of our favorite artists including the cover of Umphrey’s McGee’s Hall of Fame 2010 album.
Back in March we asked HT photo editor Jeremy Gordon to put together a list of the 10 best shots he took and to share the stories behind the images. Jeremy did such an amazing job that we’ve contacted a few additional photographers about doing the same. So, for this week’s B List and for a future B List Chad Smith will share his ten favorite (five at a time) photos and the stories behind them. Here’s the first five…
1. Bassnectar @ The Metro 2008
[All photos by Chad Smith]
Let’s start of with this photo of Lorin (Bassnectar) at The Metro back in 2008. One interesting thing about my little concert photography career, aside from being a relatively short one thus far (started on Jam Cruise 5 in 2008), is for the majority of 2008/2009 I didn’t have a legitimate photo pass for many of the festivals and shows I shot. A few pointers for those of you just starting out: make friends with promoters as well as club/venue owners and shoot at small bars that allow you to bring in a digital camera.
For this show, I got a pass from the promoters whom I happened to be friends with. This shot helped open up all sorts of new arenas for me. I shot this on a Canon 40D with a Sigma 30 mm 1.4. Shooting into strobes can always be a challenge and I shot about 100 shots winding up with about 75 that ended up in the garbage, but there were a few keepers among them along with this beauty. I sent it to Bassnectar’s management and have a great relationship with them that continues today.
READ ON for more of Chad’s favorite photos and the stories behind them…
