Umphrey's is absolutely a talented group of musicians and I definitely make the trek to see them live when they play relatively near my area or at a festival. In this sense, they are a mainstay for me. However, my personal opinion is that their live show experience does not vary nearly as much as the phish experience does. UM draws from just as many genres as phish, and often you will get a totally erratic (yet cohesive?) show that spans the horizons of many genres, yet somehow when you see them again, and again, and again, the show simply does not sound so different. Setlists don't vary THAT much from every 2 or 3 shows. Dont get me wrong, UM has the power to jam and most certainly can deliver the goods. They are also soon releasing a new album, which will freshen things up for me.

I will say that their back to back sets at summer camp are always a f***ing rager. And 1:30 AM to 4:00 AM UMPH at all good after four hours of furthur was just what I needed.

if you get the chance, see these boys! They are incredibly talented and will no doubt have you groovin' out in one way or another. However, I for one wouldn't expect myself to start following UM on tour around the U.S. for a summer...