Perennial jam heavyweights, Umphrey’s McGee are getting ready for their fall tour, kicking off October 2 in Michigan. Notable stops along the way find two-night stands in Burlington Vermont, Knoxville Tennessee, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and four-nights in New York City (all dates below).
In case you haven’t picked it up yet, the band released Jimmy Stewart 2007 this past June. This digital-only release features the band’s best improvisations of the past year. Jimmy Stewart 2007 is a limited edition release, first available at the Bonnaroo Music Festival and thereafter available digitally through UMLive.net and iTunes. Plus, the UM download will offer up a companion podcast with an additional 70 minutes of material that did not make the Jimmy Stewart 2007 album.
Jimmy Stewart 2007 is an ambitious effort to compile a year’s worth of the band’s inspired improvisations into two seamless 70-minute “mixtapes.” At over 100 shows a year, Umphrey’s McGee delves into these spontaneous compositions, engaging their fans as they feed off each other’s energy. A Zappa-inspired language of body gestures and hand-signals allow the band to break structure while creating an entirely new arrangement. As Umphrey’s McGee continues to evolve, each live performance showcases the band’s “Jimmy Stewart” approach to structured improvisation.
Also, Umphrey’s McGee released a digital-only live series titled CompendiUM. Available through iTunes and UMLive.net, CompendiUM offers live recordings of the band’s favorite ten shows of 2007. Included in the series are the band’s Boulder, Colorado show from March 6, their Portland, Oregon show on June 7, and the Chicago show from December 30, among others.
The current list of confirmed Umphrey’s McGee tour dates is as follows:
10.02 State Theatre Kalamazoo MI
10.03 Emens Auditorium Muncie IN
10.04 CEFCU Ctr. Stage @ The Landing Peoria IL
10.09 Northern Lights Clifton Park NY
10.10-11 Higher Ground Ballroom Burlington VT
10.13 Moog Fest / Grand Ballroom @ Manhattan Ctr New York NY
10.14-16 Blender Theatre at Gramercy New York NY
10.17 Smith Opera House Geneva NY
10.18 Electric Factory Philadelphia PA
10.23 Richards on Richards Vancouver B.C.
10.24 Crystal Ballroom Portland OR
10.25 Showbox at the Market Seattle WA
10.27 Crystal Bay Club Casino Crystal Bay NV
10.28 House of Blues West Hollywood CA
10.29 House of Blues San Diego CA
10.31 Warfield Theatre San Francisco CA
11.01 Slim’s San Francisco CA
11.14 Eagles Club Milwaukee WI
11.15 Cannery Ballroom Nashville TN
11.16 The Music Farm Charleston SC
11.18-19 Bijou Theater Knoxville TN
11.20 The National Richmond VA
11.21-22 Nightclub 9:30 Washington D.C.
12.11-15 Caribbean Holidaze Jamaica
12.29-31 The Auditorium Theatre Chicago IL
