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By Times-Dispatch Correspondent Leigh Buckley Fountain

The secret’s out.

Chicago improv-rock icons Umphrey’s McGee—a band that seems to be able to effortlessly switch keys, tempos, and melodies at the drop of a hat – actually uses hand signals to achieve these often sudden and often delightful musical results. 

Well, anyone who’s sent the band perform a few times in its nascent 10-year existence could have probably told you that the lanky, boyish guitarist on the left (Jake Cinninger) seems to do a lot of gesturing.

But now the band actually has a shirt for sale celebrating these hand signals, which are kind of a short-hand for conductor’s signals, also notably practiced by Frank Zappa throughout his career.

The signals range from the implicit (if Jake leans back , it means to move up a key, forward, down) to the explicit (if Jake rubs his nipple, it means ‘milk it’ – or take advantage of the energy we’ve got here and use it to the max). 

The band hit the stage of The National Thursday night about 9:40 and looped into “Higgins,“ a gleeful reggae bounce named after the “Magnum PI” character.  During the song they veered into another song, the bluesy “Example 1” – which featured nods to four different classic rock tunes hidden within its folds – “Stairway to Heaven,” “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” “Rhiannon” and Hysteria- before returning to the verse of “Higgins” and finishing out the, um, first, song. 

And on and on Umphrey’s always goes, dipping in and out of genres like so many paint cans and splattering the mixed results all over their adoring fans.

That one opening song example tells more than could be explained by naming every other song on the setlist. 

Though Umphrey’s songs stand alone fine – enough of a rarity in the ‘jam’ genre they’re lumped into for lack of a more precise denomination – it remains the hairpin curves dreamed up at a moment’s whim within the songs that keeps theaters selling out across the country for this band.

That, and a gift for a wide variety of well-placed covers.  Last night’s first set was capped with the Stones’ “Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’?“ and the encore was a perfect rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “ The Song Remains the Same.“

The band appreciated the venue ( the hot-tub in the dressing room never hurts a band’s opinion of the place) – and they showed it by giving a relaxed and typically enchanting performance. 

PHILADELPHIA

On the eve of her divorce, Madonna was business as usual, throwing herself into the spectacle known as the Sticky & Sweet tour with determination you could practically read on her face.

But before any other details about the concert, I have to gripe about the show’s 9:30 p.m. start time, despite it being an 8 p.m. ticket. Yeah, I knew from friends who had already seen the concert in other cities that Madonna graced the stage 90 minutes late every night. That doesn’t make it acceptable.

And normally, I would grouse about a $165 ticket (that yes, I paid for – this was a personal choice to drive to Philly to see the show), but at least at a Madonna concert, you see what you’re paying for.

The soundboard area on the floor of the Wachovia Center Thursday night looked like Mission Control with its rows of computers and monitors triple the usual space and all, presumably, controlling some element of the massive production, from the classic white convertible cruising down the catwalk to the cylinder-shaped video screen that intermittently dropped from the ceiling to the moving platforms that shuffled her band around the stage.

Madonna’s troupe of dancers are, as you would expect, the tightest crew currently gracing a stage. But more impressive than their intricate footwork, flips and rubbery contortions is that 50-year-old Queen M was with them literally almost every step.

Granted, Madonna’s ambition can almost be dangerous in its intensity, and the fact that her body looks more like one of those plastic models from biology class than the sleek leonine figure of her last couple of tours proves that sometimes you can, in fact, overdo it.

But wow, was she incredible to watch bending and breaking during “Vogue” (which cleverly teased her more current “4 Minutes”) and jumping rope on a rising platform, then leaping in, double-Dutch style, during a fresh clubby version of “Into the Groove” without ever losing a step or needing a breath.

And yes, people who expect a Madonna concert to be only about the music and not about the production, her own vocals were voice tracked in the background on several songs, an element she never even tried to hide. Hey, she’s an entertainer, not Barbra Streisand.

When she did sing completely live, most notably on a fantastic remake of “Borderline” done AC/DC style (really, she could have a hit again with her own cover) and the poignant – especially in light of her personal life at the moment – “You Must Love Me,” her voice was surprisingly robust.
But, along with “Borderline,” the highlight of the 100-minute show was a brilliant mash-up of “La Isla Bonita” and the traditional Romanian folk song, “Lela Pala Tute.”

The fact that Madonna is astute enough to have employed native Ukranian fiddler Arkady Gips on this tour so he can add an entirely new element to the Latin-flavored pop song demonstrates that she’s not quite as superficial as some might think – and might actually know something about music.

In that same segment of the show, Madonna then sat with her dancers as if at a fireside gathering, allowing Gips and guitarist Sasha Alexander Kolpakov to uncork “Doli Doli” while her dancers entertained.

It might have been the only three minutes Madonna wasn’t moving during the entire show.

But after that brief pause, it was a tear down the final stretch – “4 Minutes” was designed to look exactly like the video, except Justin Timberlake was a singing, dancing image on gliding vertical screens; “Like a Prayer” was recognizable even as a funky rave-up; and “Ray of Light” felt like Madonna’s Springsteen moment when she implored the crowd to “jump!” Of course the compliance was instant and fervent as Madonna grinned and stroked a few notes from her electric guitar.

As for any defiant proclamations about her soon-to-be-ex, Madonna was mostly mum. However, after she asked the audience to “put a little effort” into singing along with “Miles Away,” the pointed new single that many surmised was written with Guy Ritchie in mind, Madonna sighed, “It’s so hard for some people to put in some effort.”

Who knows about her personal life, but you can never say that Madonna has scrimped on effort as far as her career is concerned.

** Madonna’s U.S. tour wraps in the next week. She performs in Atlantic City Saturday, Atlanta on Monday and Miami on Wednesday before heading to South America.

A new reason to watch Letterman Tuesday night – besides what is sure to be another priceless appearance from animal goofball Jack Hanna: the continuation of Tribute Band Week.

The special musical lineup began Monday night with Purple Reign, a well-regarded Prince cover band.

Tuesday, Cold Hard Cash recalls Johnny Cash; Wednesday brings Mr. Brownstone, <<

paying homage to Guns ‘N Roses (and just in time to somewhat promote the new Guns album that it appears will, actually, be released next week); on Thursday, Super Diamond performs its tribute to Neil Diamond; and on Friday , it’s the Allstarz, which does its best to impersonate James Brown and his music.

If you’re really a fan of tribute bands, check out the schedule at The National (http://www.thenationalva.com). You want to hear the songs of AC/DC? They’ve got the band (Hells Bells). No? You’re more into Journey? Well, then, maybe Frontiers is more your style. Or maybe you’re a Rush fan. If that’s the case and you missed the boys on their last tour – or didn’t have the scratch for a ticket – perhaps a trip to The Nat to see Limelight should be on your calendar.

Me? I’ll take the real thing. Or just stay home and listen to the CD.

From campaign rally to Sunday Night Football, Bruce Springsteen knows how to break new music.

“Workin’ on a Dream” will premiere on NBC during halftime at Sunday’s game between the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys.

The song, performed acoustically during a Barack Obama rally the weekend before the election, is expected to be on Springsteen’s new album, which is expected in January.

Presumably, the version being played during halftime’s package of highlights won’t be acoustic.

If you haven’t yet checked out CMT’s “Crossroads” series, which puts a country and rock artist on stage together to trade songs and co-exist in a mutual admiration society, this might be a good week to tune in.

The latest installment – Taylor Swift meshing styles with Def Leppard – premiered last Friday, but will air many times this week (http://www.cmt.com/shows/dyn/cmt_crossroads/series_showtimes.jhtml).

Once you get past Joe Elliott’s horrible makeup and the fact that Swift looks as if she hasn’t eaten since the last time Def Leppard hit the Top 40, it’s one of the best eps of the series.

Swift’s girlish voice is a sweet contrast to Elliott’s grit, and with the help of the other Lep guys on those trademark harmonies, “Hysteria” sounds fresh enough that someone should release it as a bonus track online.

In between songs, the band sits around with Swift and they discuss how the pairing occurred – most amusingly, the 18-year-old Swift tells the guys that she’s been listening to them since she was “really little” because her mom “was a super freak fan” and later they talk about her schoolgirl crush, Drew, who inspired her breakthrough hit, “Teardrops on My Guitar.”

While Swift’s enthusiasm automatically infuses the Leppard songs with a new giddiness, the band delves into her work with obvious interest (during “Teardrops,” the camera catches Lep bassist Rick Savage sitting in the background, mouthing some of the words).

Of course, a song like “Picture to Burn” could very easily sway from country to rock with a few changes in guitar sound – a notion that isn’t lost on a band whose own music was molded by Mutt Lange, the guy behind Shania Twain’s arena-sized sound.

Swift also deftly handles much of “When Love and Hate Collide” – nicely accented by a string section – as if she had been singing it for decades.

Obviously, the point of the series is to grab the interest of an audience that might not usually tune into CMT (do you think many Maroon 5 or Joss Stone fans regularly stop on the channel?) – but it also reinforces the attitude that all music is universal.

And really, when you hear “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” it isn’t that much of a leap to Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman.”

Kinda like those other castaways on their “three-hour tour,” the crew of “Lost” will return on Jan. 21 with a three-hour premiere. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20081108/en_tv_eo/67838;_ylt=AkPo.CvGi94dF6aGf7vEn3FxFb8C).

Granted, it’s one of those misleading statements from the network, since the first hour is actually a recap of the first four seasons and then two hours of new stuff.

I’m not usually a fan of those recaps – especially that annoying pop-up thing ABC did with the show a couple of years ago – but as “Lost” gets even twist-ier and tougher to follow (is the whole “island disappearing thing” going to change the entire premise, in a way?), it might be worth tuning in for a refresher.

The show will also continue to air on Wednesdays, but has been bumped back an hour to 9 p.m., which I know is a relief to the people who have real jobs and have to be up early for work. You’ve got that hour of sleep back!

Also announced this week was the casting of Reiko Aylesworth, known from her stint as Michelle Dessler on “24.” According to the Hollywood Reporter, she’ll play Amy, a smart, professional woman looking for love on the island.

Does she know anything about that screwed-up crew?

Doesn’t sound as if the producers expect her to find any meaningful relationship, though – she’s only signed for six episodes.

It’s easy to forget that when “American Idol” isn’t commandeering water cooler conversation, the show is still taking place – just not on the air.

The months of mostly horrible auditions that have taken place the past several months will get their due on Jan. 13-14 when “American Idol” returns to Fox for two hours each night (8-10 p.m.).

Then, beginning Jan. 20, “Idol” airs from 8-9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, where it will remain for the rest of its season.

Are you looking forward to this eighth season of the show, or are you “Idol”-ed out?

Do you think the addition of a fourth judge will mess with the magic of Simon, Randy and Paula, or are you in the camp that believes the show needed something to renew interest?

And, still stuck on season seven, do you plan to pick up David Archuleta’s album next week, David Cook’s the week after, neither, or both?

Moments ago, the crucial state of Ohio was awarded to Obama.

On Fox News, Brit Hume interrupted commentary from Karl Rove to break the news, his voice taking an obvious dejected tone as the two conferred about how McCain could now win.

When that same news was announced seconds later on BET, which is offering live election coverage for the first time, the studio audience joining its panel of commentators erupted in cheers before cutting to Pam Gentry, the channel’s senior political producer, who is reporting live from Columbus, Ohio.

Two hours into viewing, and I’m exhausted. But in between channel-flipping, I did manage to have a few thoughts:

A) Does CNN need to jolt my senses at the top of the hour with that hammer-to-steel sound indicating a new state being called?

B) Considering there are 1,293 channels going with wall-to-wall coverage, is there a reason every single one has to break for commercial at the same time?

C) Was CBS’ budget slashed to the point that they couldn’t spring for a decent-sized map, instead making Katie Couric point to what appeared to be a computer screen to indicate poll results?

D) Would anyone expect to see the BBC covering election results from a tiny brick-walled restaurant in Culpeper?

If you’re already on sensory overload from the hyperventilating talking heads on a dozen or so networks, here’s a cool overview of CNN’s election coverage over the years.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/gallery/2008/nov/04/cnn-election-coverage-tv-news?picture=339282729