Umphrey’s McGee Honors Keith Emerson & Welcomes Skerik In Seattle

Friday night Umphrey’s McGee continued their tour of the West with a stop at The Moore Theatre in Seattle. The show saw the sextet honor the late keyboardist Keith Emerson and welcome a special guest in the form of saxophonist Skerik.

The first set at The Moore was highlighted by a “Miss Tinkle’s Overture” that saw guitarists Jake Cinninger and Brendan Bayliss going toe-to-toe while the latter laid down a melody the band coalesced around. The set closing trio of “2×2” > “Little Gift” > “Alex’s House” drew an enthusiastic response from the assembled Seattle audience, which Bayliss noted was one of the best crowds the band had played in front of in the Emerald City.

The second half began with “All In Time” that dropped into “Attachments,” before moving into “Wappy Sprayberry” which was dedicated to a fan who was at the UM show in Idaho Thursday night. The “Wappy” jam eventually returned to close out “All In Time.” Next up was “The Crooked One” that was succinctly followed by “Mail Package.” At this point a microphone stand was placed on stage ahead of UM launching into the first cover of the evening, a take on The Rolling Stones’ “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking.” Mid-song Skerik emerged to lay down the sax part originally played by the late Bobby Keys, lifting the set closer to a frenzied peak.

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As they’ve done several times in the past, UM delivered a fitting musical tribute to a music legend in response to their passing, debuting a cover of “From The Beginning” by Emerson, Lake & Palmer in honor of keyboardist Keith Emerson who died Thursday. The memorial performance featured a solo by UM keyboardist Joel Cummins and was followed by the show ending “In The Kitchen.” UM will appear tonight in Portland at the sold-out Crystal Ballroom with TAUK again slated to open.

Setlist

Set One: October Rain > Conduit, Miss Tinkle’s Overture, Anchor Drops > Resolution > 2×2 > Little Gift > Alex’s House

Set Two: All In Time > Attachments, Wappy Sprayberry > All In Time, The Crooked One > Mail Package, Can’t You Hear Me Knocking*

Encore: From The Beginning > In The Kitchen

* with Skerik