Party at The Palace: Umphrey's McGeee and STS9

Last night was not just a concert. It was a show--with climaxes, sequences, and development--and that's what you can expect in an Umphrey's McGee and STS9 show consistently. After a short amount of time, you forget that these guys are playing songs because, to this audience member's ear, it sounds like a modern symphony from outer space. Everything was flowing together, alternating between ambient, flowing segments and hard rock, riff based jams. There were so many sounds coming from the same instruments. Their tempo was nicely balanced and their showmanship (for bands with a lack of lyrics) was great. Both bands were crowd pleasers. Covers of The Police, Blue Oyster Cult and The Rolling Stones capped off a rip-roaring hit spanning show.

Both of these bands are pure entertainment. You can enter a show for either of these bands never having been exposed to their music and you will, to say the least be stimulating. If it's not the gorgeous music, it was be the light show. I saw this reflected in the people in the seats. It was actually a diverse crowd. For bros to hipsters to older couples to a couple of teenage girls, The Louisville Palace did not just house a concert, but a production. A production of 21st century fun. It may take time to understand their creativity but once you enter a state of mind where you can relax and just dig deep into the music, Umphrey's McGee and STS9 will take you over.

The Umphrey's McGee/STS9 co-headlining bill continues tonight in Indianapolis and Chicago after that.