Umphrey's Mcgee - 1/16/2010

Set 1: 1348, Much Obliged > 2nd Sef, Ringo, Hangover, Fussy Dutchman, Reelin' In The Years

Set 2: Nothing Too Fancy > Divisions, Plunger > The Pequod > Plunger, Rastman Chant > Mantis > Bright Lights > Mantis, E: Miss Tinkle's Overture

Yes. Mantis into Bright Lights into Mantis. That happened and I was there. It was awesome.

I'm glad guitarist Brendan Bayliss apologized to the San Francisco crowd for not making a stop in the city in over 1 year. I felt I deserved an apology. And that Miss Tinkle's Overture.

Ozric Tentacles 5/27/2009 The Independent - San Francisco

The Ozric Tentacles are the masters of melt your face - psychedelic - trance - rock. They are "legends of the UK underground."

I first saw Ozric in 2004 at All Good Festival in West Virgina. They blew me away. I didn't even know who they were and found myself drawn to the music and lights being pumped out from the stage on the top of Marvin's Mountain. They didn't disappoint.

I bought a few cd's and became familiar with their material. Then, they came to Higher Ground in Burlington, VT on March 18, 2005 (w/ Lotus as an opener!) and I made the trek from Franklin Pierce College to the show. A much more intimate venue then at a festival like All Good, the Higher Ground show really showed me what Ozric could do live. I was once again blown away.

So when I saw that they would be coming to the Independent here in SF - I marked my calendar and ended up at the show Wednesday night just before they came on stage. The first thing I noticed was that Jon Egan was not on stage with them - but I thought he would be coming out a bit later in the show. Brandy Wynne was playing bass - I had seen her play synths with them in 2005 but not bass - she is an extraordinary musician. Also, a very young lad was playing the synths at the Independent show (only for the first set - after that they came out as a trio) - I'm told his name is Silas. All this did not seem too odd to me as I'm aware the band has had a long list of rotating members in the 30 years they have been creating music - and as a UK based band playing a small venue in the states - its not uncommon to see a lineup change or a stripped down set.

The crowd was full of what I could only imagine were loyal Ozric fans. I noticed a guy wearing a tour shirt from the 05 US run and asked him if he knew why Jon Egain wasn't with them. He told me he left the band a few years ago - after the 05 tour. He agreed, Jon's abscence seems to have left a gap in the band.

Ed Wynne has remained the only constant member of the Ozrics (he's married to Brandy). His guitar playing is some of the best and most creative I've ever witnessed. He makes his guitar sound like a synth and has mastered effects like delay and phaser to complement his shredding metal style. He also has a few synths next to him that he uses in conjunction with his guitar playing - incredibly impressive stuff.

For all this though - I really wasn't feeling the show as much as I had the last two times I saw the Ozrics. It's not that they weren't impressive - they were. But something was missing - maybe it was Jon Egan and his flute/woodwind madness disappearance that was responsible for this. Maybe I wanted to see Brandy on the synths and Vinny Shillito on the bass. There just wasn't the connectivity that I love to see so much with a band and during the second set in particular, it just seemed a bit lifeless. I loved Brandy on the synth during that second set - she was awesome - but it would have been cooler to keep the momentum from the first set going and keep all 4 members on stage.

The set list was great - so no complaints there. And really, I'm not complaining at all. I got to see one of the best bands in the world play in a small venue for $20. They rocked - but I've seen em' rock harder.

Video coming soon...

Soulive 5/14/2009 The Independent - San Francisco, CA

These kats always put on a tight show. The last time I saw Soulive was at the Pearl Street Nightclub in Northampton, MA back in 2007. So needless to say - I was eager to see them here in San Francisco with the Shady Horns (Ryan Zoidis and Sam Kininger).

The Independent is a great place to see a show. Its a small and intimate venue and even when the shows sell out - the place isn't overcrowded, its comfortable. Soulive had a good turnout on this Thursday evening.

For me, the highlight of the evening was Cannonball - one of my favorite tunes to hear these guys jam. High energy and tight! El Ron, Outrage, and Hat Track also hit the spot for me.

Busting out a Beatles cover that will be on Krasno's solo ablum - the band did an impressive version of "Get Back" with Nigel Hall conducting the horn section. It was a whole lotta fun watching these guys play this with Krasno's guitar singing the verses and choruses.

They ended the night with a James Brown medley that left the crowd grinning from ear to ear and dancing. Hall really nailed the James Brown showmanship. He worked the microphone cord and stand, screamed like the godfather, and wanted to know how the band was feelin'.

"How you feelin Neal?"
"Feelin good"
"How you feelin Neal?"
"Feelin good"
"Now how many times Neal?"
" 5 times Nigel"
"Well alright"

5 hits from the whole the band and then right back into the jam! While most of the band stuck with more conservative hits like 3, 5, or 6 - Ryan Zoidis wanted 20! And he (and the crowd) got it!

Great show. If you've got a chance to see Soulive w/ Nigel Hall and the Shady Horns, don't pass it up. The chemistry between the trio is always there - but throw in Kininger and Zoidis and add the vocals and showmanship of Nigel Hall and you've got a hell of a show.