The volume of chatter grows, the temperature rises, and the buzz in the room grows palpable. A flicker, then darkness as the house lights descend—the anticipation, the excitement that an entire crowd is about to experience something unknown, together. It’s a feeling fans of Umphrey’s McGee chase night after night, and the feeling of these shared experiences has been sorely missed. With this new release, like the rest of Umphrey’s vast catalog, a call of progressive wizardry might elicit a response of soft acoustic balladry, or a funk groove could be answered by explosive percussion, or heavy guitars can give way to heavier blues. The difference is that YOU WALKED UP SHAKING IN YOUR BOOTS BUT STOOD TALL AND LEFT A RAGING BULL touches on a group of songs that have never gotten the proper studio treatment; the band’s infamous walk-on music.
