Umphreys McGee Performs Anchor Drops In Entirety

Staying true to their word, and tweets, last night Umphrey’s McGee fulfilled their promise of performing one of their albums live in its entirety at one of two shows held this week at Track 29 in Chattanooga, Tennessee by recreating their 2004 third studio LP, Anchor Drops.

Anticipation as to which album UM would cover grew since the band’s keyboardist Joel Cummins made clear in several tweets that Wednesday or Thursday night would showcase a full replay of a studio album from their discography. Which show and what album was anyone’s guess, though after Wednesday night’s Local Band Does O.K. fake out it seemed apparent that particular 2002 LP was no longer in the mix and that Thursday night was indeed the chosen gig.

After a day of bowling with tourmates Tauk, UM took the stage and as the introductory guitar riffs signaled the arrival of “Plunger” to open the show, Anchor Drops appeared to be primed. Unlike the previous evening’s shenanigans, it was clear four songs into the first set as frequent collaborator, vocalist and trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick lent her vocals to “Bullhead City,” the folks gathered in Tennessee were in for a special treat.

Throughout the first set the band rolled through seasoned cuts like the title track, “Miss Tinkle’s Overture” and “Uncommon.” UM’s only deviation from the album in the first half was the set closing, Hartswick-led take on the Heart classic “Barracuda,” using the album split up “JaJunk” to splice in not only the aforementioned non-album cover, but set break as well. It was the fourth time JHa had taken the reigns on the tune (originally slated for the encore slot according to a pic of the stage setlist prepared before the show) and first time since November 2010.

Kicking off the second set with “13 Days,” the band then finished “JaJunk” at the same point it picks back up on the record and continued through the rest of the tunes on Anchor Drops, “Walletsworth,” “Robot World,” > “Mulche’s Odyssey,” “Wife Soup” and “Pequod” before taking on the fillers “The Triple Wide” and “Cut The Cable” to close out the second set. The show ended with the night’s second cover, an encore rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Breathe.”

Umphrey’s McGee keeps the Tennessee vibe going tonight with a sold out show at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

Listen to taper Z-Man’s audience recording of “Barracuda”:

Z-Man has dedicated his recording of the show to Eric Vandercar, a fellow taper who was tragically killed earlier this week.

Setlist (via All Things Umphreys)

Set One: Plunger > Anchor Drops, In The Kitchen, Bullhead City[1], Miss Tinkle’s Overture, Uncommon, JaJunk > Barracuda[1]

Set Two: 13 Days > JaJunk, Walletsworth, Robot World > Mulche’s Odyssey, Wife Soup, The Pequod > The Triple Wide > Cut the Cable

Encore: Breathe

[1] with Jennifer Hartswick on vocals

Notes:
this show featured Anchor Drops performed in its entirety over two sets
last Barracuda 11.12.2010 (452 shows)