August 2010 - Posts
Some
nights are just magical.
On
February 6, 2010 Umphrey's McGee took the stage at The Tabernacle in Atlanta,
GA for a now legendary performance in front of a rabid sold out crowd.
The energy in the historic room was so contagious that it created a
palpable band-audience synergy, propelling the music to incredible heights.
Luckily, the band's HD video camera captured the show from the soundboard
and now you can experience The Tabernacle, a short film
directed by the band's lighting designer, Jefferson Waful, who has worked in
television, radio, and print media for more than 20 years. The 3-part
documentary takes fans behind-the-scenes, in the dressing room and on stage
during the night. Also included are musical highlights, in-depth
interviews with the band and crew, and humorous outtakes that truly capture the
band's collective personality.
"It was
one of the most magical and most energetic rooms and crowds that I've ever been
a part of," says bassist Ryan Stasik. "I could feel and hear the
crowd and when that happens, I can't really describe how that is, but it's the
most amazing thing in the world."
(Click on the YouTube logo in the bottom right of video to watch in full screen mode)
In what's rapidly becoming a tradition here at UM, manager Vince Iwinski and monitor engineer Bob Ston sub in for the National Anthem on the south side. Shot and edited entirely by Andy Farag on his iPhone, oh how we love technology.
We have done a lot things over these 12 years but we encountered a new one on this tour, playing in the round on a rotating stage. Trust me when I tell you it is a bizarre experience from our end for the entire band and crew. From the band's vantage point, your point of reference is never the same. When any one of them opens their eyes after a quick solo that cute girl in the front row is now a bearded wookie. No offense wooks but you're not quite the ideal eye candy. From the crew's standpoint you find yourself constantly adapting to the new center. The lights have to be managed from four sides instead of one. The audio changes significantly depending on which way the amps are facing and how close the drummers are to any one portion of the audience. It was a novel and enjoyable experience but not one we'd want to do everyday. We'll leave that to In The Round pioneers Yes.
I wanted to try and give all of you fans playing along at home a sense of our perspective on the evening. So what you have here is one complete revolution of the stage at 8x the normal speed. This 360 took place during all of #5 and a small portion of Mulche's Odyssey. Enjoy the trip. Make sure to watch in HD for optimal viewing.
Audio of #5 and the rest of the night can be found here.
Backstage at Penn's Peak, Jim Thorpe, Pa. 08/06/10 (in the stairway)
This Monday we spent
a gorgeous summer evening off at Fenway. As we departed the stadium, Kris agreed to our sit in request and joined up for a quick bucket jam, complete with Stasik dance party cameo.