UMPHREY'S McGEE
As six-piece jam band Umphrey's McGee took the stage at the 9:30 club last Thursday night, the crowd took a deep breath in and didn't exhale all night.
The entranced crowd began to sway and dance as the band played the first notes of "Intentions Clear," a song off their newest album "Safety in Numbers," released in April of this year.
The band followed up with "Blue Echo" and seamlessly segued into a jam, known to Umphrey's fans as "Jimmy Stewart," so named for the Jimmy Stewart ballroom where the band had one of its first successful jam sessions while playing a wedding.
The crowd roared as the band members walked on stage and the notes of "JaJunk" filled the air, signaling the start of the second set. As in the first act, the lighting, created by the group's designer Adam Budney, added immensely to the show with its dead-on cues that accentuated every subtlety of the music.
Following "JaJunk," the group played "Women, Wine and Song," which flowed directly into another jam. The energy of the group and the audience became even more electric as the night wore on. The group played a cover of Van Halen's "Running with the Devil," as the crowd sang along.
The group followed the cover with an original, "Great American." Kenny Liner of The Bridge, the night's opening act, beat-boxed to the group's next jam. His abilities astounded the audience and the interplay between his vocals and the instrumentation was especially impressive, inciting more dancing from the already moving crowd.
The excitement only escalated when Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" was incorporated into the jam. The band then closed the set with "Thin Air," leaving the audience breathless.
Cheers ensued, and the crowd began chanting "Umphrey's," calling the band back onto the stage. A few minutes later they reemerged and an unmistakable riff rang out from the guitars. It was Derek and the Dominos' "Layla." The crowd sang their hearts out every time the song reached the chorus, subsiding slightly during the verses, and the band took the song into a jam to finish the show.
Umphrey's McGee has an open-taping policy, so anyone interested in the band's music can download it legally online or trade it with other fans, an easy way to first hear a band that could become a new favorite.
-MADALYN WASILCZUK
CURSIVE
Cursive is a household name for any fan of the Saddle Creek record label, and the band brought their sound to the 9:30 club late last Tuesday night.
Opening acts Detachment Kit and The Thermals managed to keep the crowd's interest until Cursive took the stage. Their enthusiasm and energetic riffs engaged the restless fans. The lead singer of Detachment Kit, Ian Menard, poked fun at his bandmates and his unruly long locks. The Thermals showed themselves to be a group with integrity. In 2005, they declined a $50,000 offer to use their song, "It's Trivia," in a Hummer commercial.
Regardless of the redeeming qualities and talent of the opening acts, fans were all too anxious for Cursive. When the band finally arrived on stage, the crowd was greeted with a refreshing breath of air. The four main members didn't don skinny jeans or argyle sweater vests. Instead they more closely resembled a bunch of plain-looking guys with receding hairlines. At any rate, they did deliver their genuine music complete with heartfelt lyrics.
Halfway through their relatively short set, lead singer Tim Kasher asked, "Are you guys tired yet? I mean it's not [like] it matters for us, we have no work tomorrow, and that's fucking sweet."
With six albums and various EPs under their belt, there is plenty of material to sing along to and fight off any possible fatigue. While playing staples like "Art Is Hard," "The Radiator Hums," and "A Gentleman Caller," Cursive also played songs from the newly released 2006 LP, "Happy Hollow."
Despite it being such a worthwhile show, there were a few drawbacks. Kasher's voice started off quite scratchy and off-key, but as he kept singing, his voice returned to the familiar melodious chord that everyone is accustomed to.
Another slight disappointment was the poor execution concerning the cello and the interlude sounds that fans often expect on Cursive albums. While there was a DJ filling the silence with the ubiquitous sounds of nature or other oddities, it didn't create the same eerie mood.
But Kasher certainly does know how to croon. He manages to lull fans into a romanticized, hypnotic state, and then slams them back into an unrelenting, gut-wrenching reality that cannot be ignored. Throughout the show, there would be periods of an energetic frenzy which cut to a soothing lull of swaying movement.
Thankfully, the band didn't spend too much time on interrupting the music with much conversation between songs. They simply thanked the audience for coming and kept on churning out the hits.
-FAHIMA HAQUE
BE YOUR OWN PET
Be Your Own Pet polarized a Thursday night crowd at the Black Cat with help from openers The Black Lips and The Points. Avid, young, brace-faced fans staked out the front of the stage, giggling with excitement.
When The Points took the stage, the buzz in the crowd exploded. The D.C.-based band was not particularly original. The sound was just typical garage rock. The band made up for a small crowd with their unstoppable enthusiasm. The members of The Black Lips and Be Your Own Pet's bassist Nathan Vasquez joined the crowd in their dancing.
Atlanta garage rockers The Black Lips took the stage next, displaying influences ranging from The Troggs to The Yardbirds. In the front the young kids could be seen jumping around and letting loose, and around the fringes were the older fans, still captivated, chugging beers and bobbing their heads.
As their set went on, the crowd became more and more enthused. The Black Lips are performers. Toward the end of the set one of the lead singers and the bassist (who proudly sported a gold grill) decided to make out between songs just for the hell of it. The crowd went nuts. Taking advantage of the energy they inspired with their homoerotic stunt, they proceeded to play their single "Dirty Hands" off of their most recent album, "Let it Bloom."
As Nashville natives Be Your Own Pet began the set, the show took a drastic turn for the worst. It took a pretty long time for the band to take the stage. When they did eventually come on, Jemina Pearl, BYOP's lead singer, stumbled out looking under the weather. She didn't seem too enthusiastic to be on the stage. After playing their first song, Pearl started to gag and hocked a lugee on stage.
"Fuck you! Play some real music!" someone in the crowd yelled. The set continued with Pearl weakly stumbling around the stage occasionally getting bursts of energy, screaming out lyrics like "I'm an independent motherfucker! And I'm here to take your money!" There were several attempts made by Pearl's bandmates to distract the crowd from her weakened performace by stage diving and moshing.
After about five songs Pearl and her other bandmates had a conference on stage. John Eatherly, BYOP's drummer, could be seen trying to reassure Pearl "only two more songs." At this point, someone in the crowd yelled out, "Maybe you should eat something, for God's sake!"
The very thin and petite Pearl, slumped over and obviously ill, responded, "Maybe you should suck my anus!" The loyal fans in the front cheered. After two more songs the set ended with no encore and Nathan Vasquez screaming to the crowd, "Thanks for nothing D.C.!"
-NATALIE HARRIS
