Umphrey’s McGee Sees ‘Red’ With King Crimson Cover Breakout In Raleigh

Umphrey’s McGee brought their 2024 Winter Tour to The Ritz in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday. The band dusted off King Crimson’s “Red” for the first time in 504 shows to cap the concert.

UM — who recently welcomed drummer Kris Myers back into the fold following shoulder surgery — launched the show with “Cut The Cable.” Classic “Out Of Order” then kicked off a three-song seamless sequence including a nearly 13-minute rendition of oldie “FF” and concluded by “Walletsworth.” A pairing of “Looks” and “Hurt Bird Bath” wrapped the first frame.

The 18-minute “HBB” was a harbinger of things to come as Umphrey’s opened the second set with a 30-minute “Der Bluten Kat” voyage. “It’s Not Your Fault,” off the band latest studio album Asking For A Friend, followed.

The band then cycled through “Prowler” and “Bad Friday.” Umphrey’s McGee sealed the second set with a branching “Utopian Fir,” which included elements of Sammy Hagar’s “I Can’t Drive 55.”

UM returned to ignite the encore with “Got Your Milk (Right Here),” a song originating from the catalog of guitarist Jake Cinninger’s Ali Baba’s Tahini. King Crimson’s “Red” then emerged.

The instrumental is the title track to the English prog-rock pioneers’ 1974 album. Umphrey’s had not played “Red” since February 4, 2017 in Detroit, for a gap of 504 shows. The 2024 Ritz performance marked UM’s 20th time playing the song since debuting it in 2005, as per All Things Umphreys. The King Crimson cover put an exclamation point on the show.

Listen to official audio of Umphrey’s McGee’s Raleigh concert below via nugs.net:

Setlist (via All Things Umphreys)

Set 1: Cut the Cable, Out Of Order > FF-> Walletsworth, Looks > Hurt Bird Bath

Set 2: Der Bluten Kat, It’s Not Your Fault > Prowler > Bad Friday, Utopian Fir[1]

Encore: Got Your Milk (Right Here) > Red

Footnotes: [1] with I Can’t Drive 55 (Sammy Hagar) quote

Show Notes: last Red 2017-02-04 (504 shows)