Ramblings from a WC Ter Rat

Umphrey's Discussion
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TLDR: enjoy “March 2024 WC Yams” I made on @nugsnet
nugs.net Shared Playlist : March 2024 WC Yams

Background: my fandom started as a college kid in 2002-2006. I caught a handful of shows, but I wanted the other big jamband of the time to be playing, so I didn’t quite get it until 2007 when I moved to Portland, OR (6/7/07). I’ve been a huge fan ever since and manage to catch 3-8 shows a year. Life caught me at the right moment and I turned my usual 4 PNW run into a solo mission and did all 9 WC shows. Here’s a recap.

Show Rank: (because wtf are we doing here if not ranking shit)

  1. Stateline
  2. Portland 2
  3. Eugene
  4. San Diego
  5. SF
  6. LA
  7. Seattle
  8. Boise
  9. Portland 1 (the only show that I didn’t really enjoy)

Clear standouts at 1 and 2. 3-5 and 6-8 could all be rearranged depending on mood. 8 above average shows. 1 stinker

Venue Rank:

  1. The Observatory (SD) - big theater, big tiered floor. Great sound. Huge stage for light rig.
  2. Tree Fort ( Boise) - great room if not in Boise. Sitelines and sound A+
  3. Bellwether (LA) - great sound. Easy flow. Big smoking deck.
  4. Harrah’s Tahoe - an in interesting room with amazing sound. Easy to get close. Casino
  5. Shoebox Seattle - this is a great spot for an UM show. Best venue in the PNW
  6. McDonald Theater - I like this place, sound only ok. Staff excellent and makes for an easy night
  7. Crystal - meh. Sound meh.
  8. Regency - it’s like worse Crystal with no bouncy floor and a normally positioned stage

City Rank (subjective based on current life situation)

  1. SF - #1 in my heart 4 eva
  2. Tahoe - fun crowd, great scenery. Party vibes
  3. San Diego - beautiful, friendly fun crowd. Less visible city problems
  4. Seattle - SF and LA’s love child.
  5. PortlAnd - hometown. Fun place, party vibes. It has its problems
  6. Eugene - little Portland
  7. LA - honestly. Much more enjoyable crowd than I expected. Good times in LA
  8. Boise is still in fucking Idaho.

Jams to listen to, not ranked
There is a lot going on in PDX2 and Tahoe. I recommend giving those whole shows a spin
Eugene Hourglass
Eugene Phil’s Synco
Eugene Attachments
Eugene Puppet
Pdx1 Hourglass
pdx1 Pure Saturation
Seattle Bridgeless
Seattle HBB
Seattle Staircase
Seattle Bad Friday
Boise IDM
Boise Escape Goat
Boise Tribute
SF Silent Type
SF #5
SF August
SF Similar Skin (if for the recovery alone)
LA Pure Saturation
LA Crooked
LA Staircase
LA SOYCD
LA Small Strides
SD N2F
SD IC
SD Attachments
SD Fenced In
SD All in Time

I probably got a little liberal with adding jams, but I didn’t add every piece of improv. I tried to just add the goods

Overall. I thought.the band played amazing. Very loose, pushing jams, very little chugging from Jake. Really solid jamming in many of the new songs, which immediately grew on me in the live setting.

I am hoping this playing continues for the rest of 2024, but either way, this was the trip of a lifetime. Thanks for coming along for the ride and thanks to the band.

UMPHLOVE from the PNW

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Same

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I don’t really know either. Listen to Tahoe

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I always enjoy spending obsessive amounts of time dissecting insignificant subjects

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This post was written in under 15 while pooping and smoking a bowl

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I know that game, too. Double respect

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As far as the Seattle show was concerned, I thought Staircase was a highlight as well.

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so glad this thread is about jams and not a first person long form essay

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Will revisit and add. Thanks Pook. I forgot about this Bad Friday, Joel really shines here. Set 2 in Seattle was a good one

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I’m writing a book about my life as an undervalued member of a niche music community titled “Who?”

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IMG_4653

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That’s why we’re here

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On first listen I liked that SF show a lot. Thought they played better and better as the WC tour progressed.

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Fuck yeah bro! :sunglasses:

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Check out this playlist “WC top top yam yams ( officially unofficial)” I made on @nugsnet
nugs.net Shared Playlist : WC top top yam yams ( officially unofficial)

Alright fam, this is the (unofficial) official playlist of the yummiest yams from Eugene through San Diego. 9 shows, I narrowed it down to 7 jams.

My Top Jams:

  1. Syncopated Strangers - Eugene - exotic slinky dance over a simple Pony line gives way to some Sonic the hedgehog disco vibes from Joel. This vibe builds nicely until they mellow it out with some major key bliss. This section finds it’s way to a glorious peak, before we return from wence we came, the slinky jam. Then they find their way to finish out SS, well done boys.

  2. Draconian - Stateline - some.may prefer the Hiccup. And I’m not sure I don’t prefer the ‘mainline UM’ that JaJunk gives us, but I like the depth and substance of the Draco. The first section, driving space funk, I really enjoy. It was one of those moments where Jake really caught me off guard with that wild chorus effect, I love it. The juxtaposition of the B section. The moody emo slow rock, actually works really well for me. And I’m sending a theme with these big jams, big A section. A very different B section, and a nice return to the A section after B is well fleshed out. Good stuff

  3. Resolution - Portland 2 - I really wanted to put Fences In from SD here, but this reso offers quite a few different sections. The first jam not defaulting to Norwegian wood was nice. And the section jam has a few interesting parts that aren’t the traditional big UM peaks.

Honorable Mentions:
Fenced In & IC (SD), Pure Saturation (Pdx2), Hiccup (Tahoe)

Almost made it in: N2F, red Tape, JaJunk, IDM, HBB seattle

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MT

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This is an awesome break down of what I should check out. I don’t really listen to full UM shows (current ones)

Thank you

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