There are so many things to miss about live music—like seeing old friends, traveling the country, or racking up enormous credit card debt—but one such facet that feels particularly distant these days is the out-of-left-field connections, those unique collaborations and short-lived projects that exist only in that buzzing, late-night, post-show glow. Sure, seeing the main event is always the highlight of the evening, but after that initial adrenaline rush of the main course comes the laid back dessert known as the after-show.
On the night of February 1st, 2019, Umphrey’s McGee delivered a hearty meal at The Palace Theater in Albany, NY. Some of the fans who still hadn’t had their fill of live music made their way to the Pearl Street Pub for a final course of Dookie, the occasional power trio tribute to Green Day‘s 1994 album, Dookie, and other tangential punk and alternative favorites from the era comprised of guitarist Mike Gantzer (Aqueous) alongside bassist Ryan Stasik and drummer Kris Myers of Umphrey’s McGee.
Today, Live For Live Music is proud to debut some never-before-seen audiovisual content from that Dookie show at Pearl Street Pub. Though the video itself is fan-shot (courtesy of Zak Radick), it has been masterfully synced up to high-quality audio mixed by Ryan Nogle. In the clip, after taking on core Green Day Dookie tracks “Chump” and “Longview”, the “day” shifts from “green” to “brown” as the trio caps off the medley with “The Grobe” by Ween.
Related: Watch Members Of Umphrey’s & Aqueous Recreate Green Day’s ‘Dookie’ [Audio/Video]
While the prospect of a Green Day cover band might not conjure more than two-minute, arthritis-inducing romps in the minds of many jam fans, Stasik, Gantzer, and Myers take it so much further. With extensive backgrounds in punk rock, this concentrated power trio is able to do the unthinkable and jam out Green Day song, offering a heady, agro-psychedelic breakdown on the tail end of “Chump” that comes out the other side with Gantzer delivering his best, angsty ’90s vocals. On the tail end is where things get weird as another deep, dark instrumental passage leads into the effects-laden intro of “The Grobe” and Gantzer switches gears completely into both Dean and Gene Ween mode.
“I’m pretty much just here for the Stasik banter, A+ stuff,” Gantzer jokes about the clip to Live For Live Music. “And honestly, I grew up skateboarding to punk music and listening to Umphrey’s McGee, so this is sort of an ideal scenario for me. Fast and loud, baby, that’s how I like it. PLUS I like watching jam kids starting mosh pits—more of that energy in 2021 please.”
Stasik simply added, “I f–king love being able to play punk rock with my friends.”
Watch Dookie piece together Green Day’s “Chump” and “Longview” and cap it all off with Ween’s “The Grobe”.
Dookie – “Chump” > “Longview” > “The Globe” – Albany, NY – 2/1/19
[Video: Mike Gantzer]
In related news, it appears that Gantzer and Stasik are continuing to work together on more punk music. According to social media posts from both artists, this music appears to be completely original rather than a cover project. No official announcement has been made regarding a record or a band, but a video posted to Gantzer’s Instagram shows more of the good stuff that audiences have come to appreciate from these two head-banging kindred spirits.
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Day 18. Strollin’. Grateful for Mike Gantzer and the new punk rock music we are creating this year.
— BassikStasik (@ryanstasik) January 22, 2021
The post PREMIERE: Umphrey’s McGee/Aqueous Dookie Tribute Kicks Out Green Day, Ween Jams In Albany, 2019 [Watch] appeared first on L4LM.
