Umphrey’s McGee Welcomes Horn Section At Night 2 Of 3 In NYC

Words by: Jeffrey Greenblatt

Photos by: Jeremy Gordon

Umphrey’s McGee :: 1.20.18 :: The Beacon Theatre
New York City, NY

On Saturday night Umphrey’s McGee hit the midway point of their first ever three-night stand at the historic Beacon Theatre on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Last night’s sold out show saw the Chicago-based band go acoustic in the first set as well as welcoming a pair of horn players.

The prog-jam rockers got the night underway with just the 28th version of “You Got The Wrong Guy” since it was debuted back in 2013. The relative rarity kicked-off a lengthy seamless run that also featured “Spires” and setlist staple “Walletsworth.” “Utopian Fir” followed with Umph dropping in a brief tease of Guns N’ Roses “Paradise City” in the middle of it with drummer Kris Myers singing “Take me to the other side” as the band jammed on the Appetitie For Destruction track. As they worked through the outro jam of “Utopian Fir” guitarists Jake Cinninger and Brendan Bayliss strapped on acoustic guitars before delivering their sixth ever take on “Memories Of Home,” from their 2007 release The Bottom Half.

The pair remained on acoustic guitars with Bayliss dedicating “You & You Alone” to his wife, who was in the audience. The sextet went with back-to-back songs from it’s not us offering up “Whistle Kids” next. UM had one more trick up their sleeve for the opening stanza as they welcomed out a pair of horn players – Snarky Puppy’s Mike Maher as well as Peter Apfelbaum, whose credits including touring with Trey Anastasio’s band, to help them out. With the horn players in tow, the augmented ensemble first offered up “Attachments” and then delivered a cover of Sturgill Simpson’s “Call To Arms” for just the third time ever. The decision to play the closing-track from A Sailor’s Guide to Earth was seemingly teased from the beginning of the night by bassist Ryan Stasik’s clothing choice as he was wearing a “Who The Fuck Is Sturgill Simpson” t-shirt.

Umphrey’s McGee opened up their fourth set of the run with their third new tune of the night “Maybe Someday.” From there the band stuck to a number of classic UM songs offering up the pairing of “Wappy Sprayberry” > “Wife Soup” and “In The Kitchen.” Another rarity followed as Umphrey’s served up “Little Gift” from 2014’s Similar Skin for just the 25th time. Their second frame of the night came to a close with “The Linear,” which segued back into “In The Kitchen.” Umphrey’s McGee brought the night to an end with a pair of old-school workhorses – “Hajimemashite” > “Pay the Snucka” with the latter featuring Cinninger teasing Van Halen’s “Eruption.”

Check out photos by Jeremy Gordon and the setlist below:

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”701″ gal_title=”20180120 Umphreys McGee Gordon”]

Setlist (via All Things Umphrey)

Set 1: You Got the Wrong Guy > Spires > Walletsworth, Utopian Fir > Paradise City[1] > Utopian Fir > Memories of Home[2], You & You Alone[2], Whistle Kids, Attachments[3], Call to Arms[3]

Set 2: Maybe Someday, Wappy Sprayberry > Wife Soup, In The Kitchen > Little Gift, August, The Linear > In The Kitchen

Encore: Hajimemashite > Pay the Snucka[4]

Notes:

• [1] one verse, last Paradise City 10.21.2004 (1,493 shows)
• [2] with Jake and Brendan on acoustic guitars
• [3] with Mike Maher on trumpet and Peter Apfelbaum on saxophone
• [4] with Eruption (Van Halen) tease from Jake