Umphrey's McGee - Troy (was it?)

[3-LockBox]

I think its Troy that likes these guys. I just heard Anchor Drops and these guys are, how shall I say, very agile. Reminds me of Echolyn to a degree, but where Echolyn leans more towards prog ala Kevin Gilbert, Umphrey's leans more toward the Dixie Dregs side of Steely Dan.

How does the newer one, Bottom Half stack up? Anyone here have this or the last one, Safety In Numbers?

[Hyfi]

I think its Troy that likes these guys. I just heard Anchor Drops and these guys are, how shall I say, very agile. Reminds me of Echolyn to a degree, but where Echolyn leans more towards prog ala Kevin Gilbert, Umphrey's leans more toward the Dixie Dregs side of Steely Dan.

How does the newer one, Bottom Half stack up? Anyone here have this or the last one, Safety In Numbers?

I have Safety in Numbers. I heard several live tracks from them on internet radio and was kinda really excited. I picked up Safety in Numbers to find that there is absolutely no jamming at all and every song had vocals. Nothing like the live tracks I had heard. It grew on me and I do like it in spite of the vocals. Do you have any of the jamming stuff?

Hyfi

[3-LockBox]

I ownly know someone who has this album. I own no albums.

[Finch Platte]

I gots 'em all. The Bottom Half, as you probably know, is 2 discs. Side 1 is like a regular ol' UM disc, reflecting many eclectic styles, and they keep the songs short & to the point. (see this). Side 2 is composed of alternate/outtakes/accoustic/demo tracks of 28 of songs. I'm not a huge fan of that disc (yet), but the 2-disc set is priced as a single disc, so why not? Sh!t, there's 39 songs on it, there's bound to be something you like on there, right?

In my opinion, you should get the 2 DVD set UM Wrapped Around Chicago. It's from their live New Year's Eve 2004 show, and is pretty damn spectacular (over 3 hours of show footage). Sound is good, video is good, and they really jam their songs out. Lots of extras, too (plus an hour of bonus stuff I can't figure out how to get to ) Obligatory footage of midgets dressed as Kiss, too!

They're great musicians (except the drummer's double bass frequently seems off to me), and though sometimes they come off as prima donna-ish, you can't help but admire their ability to survive as a band w/ all the egos intact.


Buy it today. Tell 'em I sent ya. Buy Bonds. Hugs Not Thugs.

fp

P.S. Djangos has used copies for $10

[Troy]

Wasn't even aware Bottom Half existed.

I guess I need to find that DVD set too. I think I got it around here someplace. Or did I send it away?

Yeah, I liked "Anchor Drops" a whole lot. Jajunk, Robot World, Miss Tinkle, great, instrumental-art-rock. Very American- compared with most prog/art rock.

Saw them at the Fillmore shortly after buying it and thought they were a spectacular live act. Facile, quick and unpredictable. Bright and fun. Great cover songs including a rousing version of Pink Floyd's "In the Flesh."

Saw them again shortly afterwards and thought they sucked. Meandering, repetitive jamband nonsense. I didn't recognize the covers. They sounded impenetrably dense. It's funny how the 2 live shows couldn't be more different. Hyfi is right, this band can be all over the map. Sometimes it's glorious, sometimes it's a mess.

I found "Local Bad does OK". It's early and is very jammy, not my bag at all. Still, there are some great grooves hidden on there, but you gotta dig for them.

Safety in Numbers is also really good. More similar to Anchor Drops. The track Ocean Billy shows this band at it's best. Jump on that one 3LB.

[Hyfi]

Safety in Numbers is also really good. More similar to Anchor Drops. The track Ocean Billy shows this band at it's best. Jump on that one 3LB.

I spun Safety again after replying the first time. Like Troy said, it is real good and it continues to grow on me. I also spent some time on YouTube after reading Finch's reply and found lots of what I thought I was buying. I'm gonna have to look into getting the DVD set also.