Ok, now Im home again and had a day to recover, a few thoughts on Saturdays Umphreys McGee concert at Londons Brooklyn Bowl: 1. I suspect that many of you Americans would KILL to see UM in a venue this size! (For the those of you unaware, Umphreys McGee can comfortably fill stadiums at home in the US.) That said, the fact that the stage area was right next door to the bowling alleys brought to mind a deeply uncomfortable open mic night I once played where a skittles match went on at the same time in the same room. Luckily, the bowling didnt intrude. 2. Sadly, the crowd wasnt that big: about 120 people Id guess, of whom I reckon about 60% must have been US expats. In fact the gig as a whole reminded me of the video footage I have of UM playing in a club in California back in 2002, available from archive.org 3. Despite the small audience, the Umphreys absolutely played their hearts out. Its difficult to imagine a band in the UK that can touch them for musicianship, wit, verve, versatility, inventiveness, and synergy between the various players. Its also pretty hard to think of many bands who could slip a version of Zappas City of Tiny Lites into a cover of Bob Marleys Exodus and make it sound like it belonged there... 4. Despite the undoubted individual virtuosity of the entire band, where they really score is in the whole being considerably more then the sum of the parts: each musician playing interlocking parts that lay down a godalmighty relentless, fat groove. 5. That said, main lead player Jake Cinninger really is as good as you may have heard! A truly astonishing musician. 6. Both Brendan Baylis guitar and Joel Cummins keys could at times have benefitted from being a bit louder in the mix, but overall the concert sound was amongst the best Ive heard - no woolly kick swamping out a nasty, farty bass sound here! For the most part, everything was wonderfully clear and distinct. 7. Speaking of the rhythm section, despite in my time having the pleasure to witness such figures as Bill Bruford, Neil Peart, Ian Paice, and Gavin Harrison in full flow, Kris Myers is hands down the most astonishing drummer I have ever seen play. Whatever he does, regardless of how complex it is, is always incredibly musical and right bang in the pocket. 8. Bassist Ryan Stasik is much more important to the bands sound than I previously appreciated, and was wearing a particularly fetching leopard skin baseball cap! 9 The played All in Time! (My favourite UM song). 10. In all probably the best gig Ive ever been to. I really hope they come back and do a proper tour next time - be great to see them in a Carling Academy-sized venue...
Posted on: Mon, 23 Jun 2014 10:59:17 +0000
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