List: Eight Reasons To See Umphrey’s McGee’s Eighth Red Rocks Show
By Team JamBase Jun 6, 2013 • 11:30 am PDT
WE TAKE A LOOK AT PAST UMPHREY’S MCGEE RED ROCKS SHOWS
This Friday marks the eighth time Umphrey’s McGee will take the stage at Red Rocks. It’s been a steady upward trajectory since their first appearance as part of the Big Summer Classic tour in 2005. Next they supported moe. (2006) and Gov’t Mule (2008) before their first headlining gig in 2010 and finally their first two-set show in 2011. With their near capacity outing last year, UM is now part of the annual Red Rocks schedule.
For their upcoming eighth performance at this legendary venue, we wanted to throw together a list of eight memorable moments from the previous shows. The list basically wrote itself as the band has really stepped it up since graduating to two sets. UM’s Red Rocks setlists are always littered with top-notching improvisation, cover bustouts and nods to the all-time rock greats. Let’s get started. Note: UM podcast curator Jon McLennand contributed to this post.
September 4, 2012
Ocean Billy
After a raucous first set, the band emerged with “Ocean Billy,” a song whose dynamics fit in perfectly at Red Rocks. The eight-minute improv section is a patient Umphrey’s McGee, further proof that they’ve settled in nicely at Red Rocks, they can command the stage and execute flawlessly. Of course, you couldn’t possibly make it through a review of Umphrey’s McGee live without commenting on Jefferson Waful…the change at around 10:51 (with audible crowd reaction) is a nice example of him getting comfortable in the improv, too.
July 3, 2011
Red Tape
Their first two-set show, and UM demonstrated they had earned it. A Red Rocks worthy “Divisions” plus two rare covers (“Sledgehammer” and “Release”) complemented this “Red Tape.” In a year that had “Red Tape” assert itself as one of their biggest jam vehicles, this version is arguably the best.
September 4, 2012
Puppet String
A band and fan favorite alike, “Puppet String” quickly established itself as a fan favorite after its debut in 2011. But it wasn’t until Red Rocks 2012 that the song was truly opened up. The experiment was so successful that it was included as part of the Raw Stewage set at this year’s UMBowl (in addition to “All In Time” from the same show.) This rendition of “Puppet String” opens podcast #131 which you can stream here.
July 2, 2005
Another Brick in The Wall jam
Not only a historic day for the band, their first Red Rocks gig, but a historic day for rock and roll as Pink Floyd reunited for the first time in over 20 years to perform as part of Live 8. As the band was playing “Hajimemashite,” Pink Floyd was playing live in London, viewable from TV monitors beside the stage…how could they not fall into an “Another Brick in the Wall” jam?
July 3, 2010
Mantis
When UM came to Denver back in January 2010 and hosted one of their S2 events at the Fillmore, one of the fan- submitted themes put up on the board read, “1st Song You Will Play When You Headline Red Rocks.” The band responded by playing a section of the title track from their 2009 studio release Mantis. This took place before the announcement of that year’s Red Rocks show and one certainly wouldn’t have thought less of the band if they had reconsidered this decision, as it appeared to be decided onstage within seconds. But there they were about six months later as UM finally took the stage as headliners after playing the venue four times as support and the opening guitar riffs of “Mantis” reverberated throughout The Rocks. Not only did they open with it, split it up into three separate sections in their two hour power-set, but they also skipped the usual music box intro “Preamble” so they could immediately get down to business.
September 4, 2012
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi & Kashmir
Always ones to bring new covers into the fold at big shows, last year’s Red Rocks show saw debuts of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” and Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir.” Weird Fishes, with Kris Myers helming the vocals, was touched on at sUMmer school the previous month. “Kashmir” had appeared in various abbreviated forms over the years, but this version backed by Railroad Earth was a fleshed out arrangement of the entire song.
July 3, 2010
Don’t Stop Until Crosstown Traffic
For the encore of their first headlining performance at Red Rocks, UM played a brief but strong rendition of dance- jam “The Triple Wide” before welcoming Galactic, who along with The Wailers, opened the show, for the event’s finale. Fans were asked to vote on what cover the two bands should collaborate on and the result was selecting two of the covers and creating an original mashup of Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Crosstown Traffic.”
August 31, 2008
Dear Prudence
There have been a few sit-ins during UM Red Rocks sets, but UM members have also sat in with moe. (“Don’t Fear the Reaper”) and Keller Williams (“Kielbasa Sausage”), but it’s hard to top Brendan’s sit-in with Gov’t Mule on “Dear Prudence.”
