Longtime lerker since the days of the old bort with very few posts to my name. I’ve been following the recent set list threads and think all the criticisms I’ve been noticing since the new bort went into affect are crazy.
For me, Umphrey’s is the band on the scene that uniquely rises above the rest by far. No other band even comes close to touching their approach to improv IMO.
I’ve been listening to a lot of recent shows on the nugs.net app, and I think this Valentine’s Day show is great! For me, songs like Crucial Taunt, ALB, HBB, and In the Kitchen all placed in the same set is a complete win. I couldn’t stop dancing at my desk throughout most of it and think the improv in HBB had some really good moments with all band members changing on a dime together throughout.
Mitten had an interesting jam segment complete with a Jetson’s tease by Brendon and Jake to start it off. Stasik got into a nasty effects pedal based groove and Joel was layering a dulcimer like effect below the funky guitar lines. Complete with some key changes to freshen things up and then the band was hitting all these punches together. I thought they eased back into the composed part very well with each member listening well and slightly adjusting to each others riffs and bringing everything to a nice peak before dropping back in. Top notch playing.
The whole AIT>The weight around was sweet. The AIT improve was a little meandering at times but dropped into weight around nicely.
The Billy Strings sit-ins are enjoyable, although I much prefer stand alone Umph sans guests. The first jam in GA had some Allman-esque moments and overall the band and guest were feeding off each other well.
17 min + 1348 as pretty cool too. I don’t get a chance to see the band much these days, but judging by the shows I’ve listened too/live streamed this year they are on top of their game.