Umphrey’s McGee Honors David Bowie & Glenn Frey At Beacon

Last night Umphrey’s McGee kicked off a three-night run at the Beacon Theatre in New York City on the 18th anniversary of their first-ever performance. The band made note of the occasion during the first set and later honored both David Bowie and Glenn Frey, two iconic musicians who passed away in the time since UM’s last show.

Umphrey’s came on stage with the intro “Goonville” playing over the historic venue’s PA and picked up their instruments just in time for the end of the show-opening instrumental which led into “Plunger.” The band mixed classic material and newer compositions throughout the first set. Guitarist Brendan Bayliss told the crowd a story about UM’s first show from Bridget McGuire’s Filling Station in South Bend, Indiana following a performance of “Kimble.” The instrumental “Kimble” was played that night at Bridget McGuire’s and hadn’t been performed in New York City since October 20, 1999 at Wetlands. Bayliss mentioned the group was so excited to make their debut in South Bend, but the power quickly went out and things turned weird when a male stripper strutted his stuff as part of the setbreak. Umphrey’s then gave a look into the future of the band by playing one of their newest compositions – “Attachments.”

The second set began with a standout version of “All In Time,” one the most played songs in the band’s history and one that was debuted just two weeks after the group’s first public performance. “Booth Love” followed with a dance-rock jam that saw UM work portions of Glenn Frey’s solo hit “You Belong To The City” into the mix. A massive “Bridgeless” > “Remind Me,” “Tribute To The Spinal Shaft” > “Bridgeless” sequence brought the second set to a close. Guitarist Jake Cinninger led the band on a tribute to David Bowie as the encore. The UM debut of “Space Oddity” gave way to “Fame” which hadn’t been played by the sextet since November 14, 2014 – a span of 103 shows. Umphey’s McGee returns to the Beacon on Friday and Saturday nights. Both shows are sold out.

Watch fan-shot footage of the Bowie encore captured by MKDevo:

Here’s fan-shot footage of “Booth Love” with the “You Belong To The City” quotes and jam captured by Kyle Miller:

Photos (By Stephen Olker)

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”164″ gal_title=”20160121 Umphreys Beacon Steve Olker”]

Setlist (via All Things Umphreys)

Set One: Goonville > Plunger > 40’s Theme, In The Black, Roulette > Kimble, Attachments, Rocker Part 2

Set Two: All In Time, Booth Love[1], Bridgeless > Remind Me, Tribute to the Spinal Shaft[2] > Bridgeless

Encore: Space Oddity[3] > Fame

• [1] with You Belong to the City (Glenn Frey) jam and quotes
• [2] with Xxplosive (Dr. Dre) teases
• [3] debut, David Bowie

Notes:

• Jake teased YYZ (Rush) before Booth Love