Umphrey’s McGee New Album Preview & 2009 Tour

Chicago’s Umphrey’s McGee enters its second decade together with their hardest, darkest, and most artistically cohesive album to date. The new album hits streets on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009.

Over 2 years in the making, Mantis pushes the envelope in composition, arrangement and group interplay.  In an Umphrey’s McGee first, the album offers 100% new material – a drastic change of pace for a band whose typical modus operandi is to work out the material live on-stage before recording studio versions.

In addition to a one-of-a kind pre-order campaign where fans can participate in “unlocking exclusive bonus material, Mantis incorporates PUSH(TM) technology by Digital Insert to deliver new content throughout 2009.  PUSH requires no software installation or serial number; by simply putting the Mantis CD in your CD-ROM drive, the disc will act as a “key” to an Umphreys.com micro-site where fans get access to exclusive 2009 content as it becomes available.

Here’s what the bands had to say on their website:

Our approach to this studio project has been very different than with those preceding it. While you may find one or two vaguely familiar passages on the new album, for all intents and purposes, this is an album consisting entirely of new music. And while it retains the hallmark Umphrey’s McGee sound, we feel as though we have produced a body of work that pushes the envelope in composition, arrangement, and group interplay. Because of this, we view this album as the centerpiece of a new era in the evolution of Umphrey’s McGee.

Check out one of the never heard before tracks off of the new album.

“Made To Measure”

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http://www.umphreys.com/mantis/

Make the jump for 2009 Tour dates:

2009 Tour dates supporting the release of Mantis:

Jan 22 / Ft. Collins, CO / Aggie Theatre

Jan 23 / Boulder, CO / Boulder Theater

Jan 24 / Denver, CO / The Fillmore Auditorium

Jan 30-Feb 01 / Minneapolis, MN / First Avenue

Feb 12-15 / Madison, WI / Barrymore Theatre

Feb 19-20 / Atlanta, GA / Variety Playhouse

Feb 21 / Asheville, NC / Orange Peel

Feb 22 / Charlotte, NC / Neighborhood Theatre

Mar 04-05 / Birmingham, AL / Workplay Soundstage

Mar 12 / Detroit, MI / Royal Oak Music Theatre

Mar 13-14 / Indianapolis, IN / Murat Egyptian Room

Mar 25 / Tulsa, OK / Cain’s Ballroom

Mar 26 / Lawrence, KS / Liberty Hall

Mar 27 / St. Louis, MO / The Pageant

Mar 28 / Memphis, TN / Minglewood Hall

Apr 01 / Buffalo, NY / Town Ballroom

Apr 02 / Wilmington, DE / Grand Opera House

Apr 03 / Jim Thorpe, PA / Penn’s Peak

Apr 04 / Baltimore, MD / Ram’s Head Live!

Apr 05 / New Haven, CT / Toad’s Place (acoustic)

Apr 07 / Providence, RI / Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel

Apr 08 / Northampton, MA / Calvin Theatre

Apr 09 / Boston, MA / House of Blues

Apr 10-11 / New York, NY / Nokia Theatre

Apr 30-May 01 / New Orleans, LA / House of Blues

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