Umphrey’s McGee Go Ultra-Interactive

It's just like being a member of the band!

By Blurt Staff

Jamband kingpins Umphrey's McGee recently unveiled their "Stew Art Series" where fans essentially help "conduct" the band's live improvisations. Umphrey's debuted the deal earlier this month and it was a raging success: the first in a series of S2 events was held in Milwaukee's Eagle's Ballroom on October 3rd, 2009, and as you'll be able to see in the 4-minute video below, band and fans alike had one whale of a time. Wait'll you see the whole place turn into a Metallica concert, yo!

The Eagles Ballroom show was received with overwhelming enthusiasm and to rave reviews. The sold-out crowd of 50 fans submitted their ideas by texting descriptive words, phrases, and pop culture references (pretty much whatever came to mind), to the Umphrey's Mozes mobile interface.  The suggestions were then filtered by the band's long time Sound Caresser Kevin Browning and projected on a screen for the band to digest and turn into the next phase of the jam.  The band's music varied stylistically with suggestions ranging from "an afternoon bus ride in Jamaica" to "drinking pina coladas...in a hurricane". As one elated fan commented after the show, "S2 was the coolest thing I have ever been a part of. It's always been a dream of mine to meet the band, and the opportunity to participate in leading the Jam for the band was a dream come true as well."

As highly skilled improvisational musicians known for using a complex set of signals on stage to prompt spontaneous musical changes, S² is proving to keep the band on their toes as they navigate through the audience's prompts. S² events also include a Q&A session providing an opportunity for fans to ask about what they're witnessing (or ask anything else for that matter). As part of the ticket (which will actually be a custom laminate that will be different for each S² event), every attendee will receive an autographed CD of the Stew Art Series they attend - minutes after the event has concluded. To be clear, each S² show is a TOTALLY separate event than the scheduled concert date and will be sold as a separate ticket - getting a ticket to S² does not get you into the show later that night (and vice versa). The S² experiment is just that, an experiment. Keyboardist Joel Cummins explains, "The improvisational elements of our show have always been one of our favorite parts about playing together - and we think the audience feels that way, too. That's our inspiration for the S² series. It's also a great way to stay on top of our chops." S²events take place in the early evening before the respective show start times. Prices and ages vary from show to show - which should last one hour (with Q&A).

The next S² event is slated for Oct. 24 in Portland - see below for details on that and the band's "regular" tour as well.

Tour Dates:

October 21 Knitting Factory Spokane WA
October 22 Showbox Seattle WA
October 23 McDonald Theatre Eugene OR
October 24 Crystal Ballroom Portland OR*** [S² show that day]
October 25 Eureka Theatre Eureka CA
October 27 Crystal Bay Club Crystal Bay NV
October 28 McNears Mystic Theatre Petaluma CA
October 29 House of Blues West Hollywood CA
October 30-31 Las Tortugas - Dance of the Dead IV Groveland (Yosemite) CA
November 11 The Opera House Toronto, Canada
November 12-14 Higher Ground Ballroom South Burlington VT
November 15 Port City Music Hall Portland ME
November 17 Northern Lights Clifton Park NY
November 18 Water Street Music Hall Rochester NY
November 19 Mr. Small's Theatre Millvale PA
November 20-21 9:30 Club Washington D.C.
December 10-14 Caribbean Holidaze Runaway Bay
December 29 Vic Theatre Chicago IL
December 30-31 Aragon Ballroom Chicago IL
March 21-23 Jam in the 'Dam, The Melkweg Amsterdam