On Saturday night Umphrey’s McGee once again returned to the stage at The Fillmore Philadelphia to close out a two-night run at the 2,500 capacity venue. The prog-jam rockers focused their energy exclusively on their original material throughout the two set show, which saw them deliver a number of tunes from their catalog for the first time in 2018.
The Chicago-based band paired one of the shortest tunes in their repertoire “Bathing Digits” with “Dump City” to kick off the night. Next, the band delivered their first take on “Piranhas” in 2018. The tune which appears on their recently released studio album it’s not us had gone missing since March of last year – a span of 81 shows. Two songs later UM offered up their second take on “It Doesn’t Matter.” The song, which is based on a past “Jimmy Stewart” improvisation, was debuted in Pittsburgh back on January 11. The band continued to work in material that had been sitting on the shelf. Towards the end of their opening frame, they served up their first take on “Alex’s House” since April of last year.
Umphrey’s McGee saved their biggest surprise of the night to begin their second set as they opened it up with “Sludge & Death.” The beloved obscurity was played for the first time in 102 shows and was just their tenth take on it since it was debuted all the way back in February of 2004. The band segued straight into another semi-rarity next with “Robot World.” The one-time setlist staple, which features an industrial jam, had been played just three times last year. The band filled out the rest of the second set with a pair of notable jam-heavy stretches. First up came a 17-minute pairing of “Puppet String” > “Partin’ Peeps” while they closed things out with a segue-filled run of “The Silent Type” > “The Triple Wide” > “Glory” > “Puppet String.”
Umphrey’s wasn’t done with the bust outs as their two-song encore opened with “Last Man Swerving.” The tune, which hadn’t seen action in 68 shows, segued into “Mad Love” to bring their time in the City of Brotherly Love to a close.
Listen to full show audio, watch fan-shot video and check out the full setlist below:
Audio | Taped by opsopcopolis
Videos | Captured by Brett Walford
Setlist (via All Things Umphrey’s)
Set I: Bathing Digits > Dump City, Piranhas, Slacker, It Doesn’t Matter > Crucial Taunt, Blue Echo > Alex’s House > Fussy Dutchman
Set II: Sludge & Death > Robot World > Out Of Order, Puppet String -> Partyin’ Peeps, The Silent Type > The Triple Wide* > Glory > Puppet String
Encore: Last Man Swerving > Mad Love
*Rhiannon and Stairway To Heaven teases
