2008

As the members of Chicago-based sextet Umphrey’s McGee left the stage on Saturday night at the Electric Factory they all had looks on bliss and satisfaction on their faces. I can’t really blame them, as they had just finished an exceptional run of nine outrageous shows in ten days throughout the northeast. The concerts I saw displayed the best of their improvisational skills, setlist debauchery and a light show that led many jaws to drop to the floor night after night. Excuse the fluffery, but these guys deserve it.

[All Photos by Adam Kaufman]

First up for the UM boys was a stop at Northern Lights which is located in a strip mall in Clifton Park, NY halfway between Albany and Saratoga Springs. From there, the guys headed to Higher Ground in Burlington for a two night stand at what’s turned into their home away from home in New England. I caught up with the tour last Monday at the Grand Ballroom in New York City where they headlined MoogFest 2008.

While I had enjoyed the last few Umphrey’s shows I saw, I felt many of the jams were aimless and I wasn’t as excited for this run as I had been to see them in the past. That feeling quickly faded soon after the band took the stage at the gorgeous room located on top of the Hammerstein Ballroom. Guitarist Jake Cinninger rocked the Moog Guitar all night sporting a shit-eating grin. The members of the band each had a chance to show off their Moog gear with Joel Cummins’ Moog Synth solo in Push The Pig standing out as a highlight. READ ON for more of Scotty’s review of UM’s NE jaunt…

After playing a number of shows with similar setlists Trey Anastasio and Classic TAB broke out the goods last night in Providence at Lupo’s. The quartet opened with a cover

Our old pal The_Rick headed over to Phish.com this evening and was surprised to find the tour dates page displayed a list of dates marked as “Marco Benevento Trio with

One week ago, we had no clue what reCAPTCHA meant, but after tickets for Phish’s comeback shows at Hampton went onsale via Ticketmaster on Saturday morning we all learned how important that word was to our chances of scoring tickets. Those whose browsers weren’t able to load the system that differentiates humans from computers were dead in the water.

[Headiest reCAPTCHA ever via bloo2e]

Yet, ordering tickets online through Ticketmaster.com wasn’t the only way to obtain these valuable ducats. Some lucky MFers actually picked up their Hampton tickets by navigating Ticketmaster’s phone system. Our buddy Festicles was one of those blessed few and we wanted to share his story…

So I called at 9:27am thinking I’d be on hold for a few and then I’d have to BS the operator for maybe 15 minutes. The system said my wait time would be nine minutes, but immediately I was connected. My stomach dropped when I heard “Thank you for calling Ticketmaster this is Omar speaking, how can I help you?”

Any time I speak to an operator, I always ask “Hello, how are you today?” His response was “Much better than yesterday, thanks!”

READ ON for more of Festicles’ incredible story of scoring Hampton tix…

We’d like to welcome C. Jenkins to the team to review a concert in New Orleans that combined two of the best acts the Crescent City has to offer…

[Photo by Erika Goldring]

In a legendary square in the heart of New Orleans where over a century ago countless men fell in duels under the live oaks that still stand, last Thursday night’s show with Bonerama (BNR) and special guest George Porter Jr. was nothing about dueling and everything about two musical forces of today’s New Orleans coming together for an amazing night of musical celebration in a city that appreciates life just a bit more these days.

Once the bones took the stage last night at Lafayette Square in New Orleans, it was clear this would be no ordinary BNR show. Of course these days with the bones gaining so much road experience under their belts, that could be ANY night on a BNR stage. But tonight it would be George Porter Jr. being the catalyst for driving them off the main BNR highway into the uncharted territory that we all love.

READ ON for more of C. Jenkins’ BNR w/ George Porter Jr. review…