The rock music community has spent the last few days celebrating and reflecting on the legacy of Eddie Van Halen, who died earlier this week at the age of 65. While the late, great EVH inspired countless future musicians during the 1980s and 90s, few have ever been able to reach the levels of technical playing capabilities for which the Van Halen guitarist was known.
On Wednesday, prog-rock/jam outfit Umphrey’s McGee, a band which has its own pair of talented guitarists capable of shredding abilities to the highest levels, shared a pro-shot video highlighting their cover of Van Halen’s “Panama” as performed during a show at the Palace Theatre in St. Paul, MN on October 20th, 2018.
Related: Umphrey’s McGee Pays Tribute To Neil Peart At Beacon Theatre Night One
The performance of the classic Van Halen song came towards the end of the band’s second set that night as led by drummer Kris Myers, who did his best David Lee Roth impression to launch the band into the high-energy arena rock anthem.
“He changed what was sonically capable at the time, everything else sounded like Clapton in the rock fields,” Umphrey’s guitarist Jake Cinninger said about the late EVH in a statement shared with the video. “What really shines about Eddie Van Halen was his genius rhythm playing, just symphonic and swaggering. So much polyphonic energy, there is no need for any other melody instruments. Gonna take a while for his passing to set in on this musical world.”
Revisit the band’s 2018 cover below.
Umphrey’s McGee – “Panama” – 10/20/18
[Video: Umphrey’s McGee]