WRAPPED AROUND CHICAGO

Umphrey's is back in Chicago for their second DVD. This time it's in the middle of winter instead of summer.

This is an appearance at a New Year's Eve/New Year's event, recorded 2004/2005. While you only get a stereo and surround sound mix, they've upped the music quantity from the first to nearly double, and they really played their butts off that night, three hours worth. Also, after an additional two years of creating music, they now have a bunch of new material to offer up. Since this is really just a big party, you also get some nice covers: Ophelia, Sledgehammer, and the obligatory Auld Lang Syne. 26 tracks of the show on two DVDs! Mostly songs you'll recognize from the albums, if you have them, yet still a few only performed live so far. For this one they provide better with the bonus material, five additional original songs plus one cover with Huey Lewis.

What's really impressed me with the two concert DVDs I've seen so far, besides the excellent quality of the filming of the performances, is that you can see from the audience shots that these guys attract a really diverse group of music fans. There really is plenty of diversity in their original music to please the prog and non-prog fan, for this show and quite likely in general. A large amalgam of influences around which they put their own stamp on.