Umphrey's McGee caught my attention with a sound that was more aggressive, progressive and thrilling than other bands on the jam circuit, cavalier attitudes belied by tight, precise playing and composed jamming. Funk, jazz, metal, reggae, classical music, electronica, the blues — every genre is touched upon with an A.D.D.-like ferocity and without any noodling or aimless jamming. The lights are vivid, saturating the stage with all manner of color, but the music is just as hard and driving as that at any rock show. The Chicago sextet is led by two guitarists who shred their way through song after song, though they can just as easily produce licks as fluid and sublime as the Allmans. The rest of the band backs them up with focused interplay and ever-changing time signatures combined with hip-shaking grooves and plenty of synth action. Umphrey's is constantly in flux and I keep returning again and again because they're always surprising me, always getting better, always trying out something new, and always taking the music — but never themselves — seriously. See them at State Theatre this Thursday — you won't regret it. Thurs., Feb. 22, 8 p.m., 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, 727-895-3045, $20, 727-895-3045, umphreys.com.
This article appears in Feb 21-27, 2007.