Well I’m glad you still come out to a show when it’s convenient for ya. For me, I just don’t see a reason to be so critical about their work over time. I’m trying to think of a good comparison. Like, I love 70s prog rock rush as much as I love 80s synth rush as much as I love the cool ass shit they were doing in the 90s and forward. Or King crimson, same thing basically. I can recognize they have different eras and sounds, and love them for different reasons.
Also, I’m not a musician nor play anything seriously. I fuck around on my buddy’s ableton push sometimes at afters. So I wonder if maybe that plays a role in my not being so critical? Idk. I love it all
yeah I mean I strongly disagree but you are clearly who 2024 UM caters to. Young fans who love all their songs, don’t give a flying fuck about extended improv and are willing to buy their merch.
yeah, difference is Rush fucken rules. Same with Zeppelin and Floyd, you may not love the synth action from In Through the Out Door or the heavily psychedelic stuff from the Piper Gates at Dawn but the difference is these three band’s works ranges from B+ to A+
I am really not that bad anymore though. Music is supposed to be fun. I can be critical of something without actually feeling any malice towards it
Edit: with UM, too, i think a lot can be said about how/why you got into them. I have friends who like them but never liked jambands. The current formula works great for them. I discovered them because i am a phish and grateful dead junkie so 80s hair band rip offs with little-to-no improv does nothing for me
I think this is what it boils down to. Some people care about improv, and its what made them fall in love with the band. Other use jams as their time to be annoying chompers.
They’ve been my favorite band for 16 years. I mean yeah 32yrs old is young to some, but I definitely love extended jams, their improv/jazz/metal/fusion is what got me into them. Everything they continue to do keeps me here. Idk, it’s a personal thing, I’m at my happiest at an UMs show than anywhere else (other than my home of course lol). And hell yeah I’m buying merch, it’s the only way bands make any real money anymore between penny streams and ticketbastard.
Damn near flipped for me. I appreciate GD and Phish now as I didn’t really care for em before. My parents were gen X’ers and my dad was a rockin dude, a lot of hair metal but also stuff like rush and genesis too, which attracted me more.
I really enjoy myself at 100% of the UM shows I go to but I’m also pretty honest about what I like. I’d love every show to have a industrial dance jam like the 2/18/11 Robot World but I know that’s not gonna happen. Sometimes they deliver a stinker, sometimes they set the venue on fire.
It’s okay to be honest about what you specifically like and don’t like, especially when a band has this range of variety available in their wheelhouse. I’m not gonna lie to myself and think every show is an A+ though just because I love them as a band.
I got into UM for the songwriting and jams, and the fun of going on a run of shows was seeing different songs and improv every night. But once you’ve seen all the old songs a million times, the new ones aren’t good, and the improv is lacking in both quality and quantity, the drive to see them, especially multiple nights in a row, goes away. Being critical at a certain point doesn’t serve any purpose since they are who they are now, but it just means I will virtually stop listening and seeing them. I’ve only seen 6 shows since covid and don’t see that changing as things are.
Damn, see they’re the one band I know I’ll catch every time, little to no questions asked. Literally playing back the cinci show at work right now reliving that bliss in my brain lol.
And the shows this tour have been the most sober (and staying that way) I’ve ever been to any previous UMs show I’ve been too. Some edibles, a weed vape and nic vape, and 2-3 cocktails max at the venue. I have crippling social anxiety and that moderate mixture kept me in a great level without going overboard. Bloomington was one drink lol, I looked backward at the sea of people crammed behind me and was like “nah, I’ll sip on this ice to keep my tongue wet til their done”.
And I’m enjoying them and myself way more. Like I said, a lot of my love for UMs is personal, whatever they’re transmitting hits my brain and heart receivers perfectly. No other musician or group hits my ears like they do.
Edit: wanted to say “had” crippling social anxiety. I had some pretty bad agoraphobia, even before covid after my dad passed in 2017. This tour run of mine this year shed a lot of baggage I’ve been needlessly carrying around. It was a very layered trip, beneficially.
outta here.