Umphreys McGee Welcomes Joshua Redman In NYC

On Friday night, Umphrey’s McGee began a two-night stand at New York City’s Beacon Theatre featuring special guest Joshua Redman. The tenor saxophonist sat in with the band for large portions of both sets at the first of two sold-out performances.

[Photo by Andrew Blackstein]

Redman’s history with the Chicago prog-jammers dates back in 2004, when the saxophonist hit the road with Umphrey’s for a four-night stand. He later sat in with the band at the Riverview Music Festival in 2006 and then during New Year’s Runs in 2008 and 2013, so Joshua is very familiar with Umphrey’s McGee. That familiarity paid dividends on Friday night as the saxophonist picked his spots perfectly and seemed comfortable in his role as special guest.

Umphrey’s third annual visit to the famed Upper West Side venue saw them pack the Beacon with a mix of die-hards, those who generally catch the group when they come to the Big Apple as well as some that were unfamiliar with the band and wanted to see what the hubbub is about. Thankfully for the diehards, Umphrey’s didn’t just stick to their most accessible and familiar material as UM dug deep into an extensive repertoire throughout the evening.

The sextet took the stage shortly after 9 p.m. as a pre-recorded version of their “You Got The Wrong Guy” intro played over the PA. UM picked up where the recording left off for the instrumental opener and soon segued into “Cut The Cable,” a quick and powerful selection that set the tone for the night. Another instrumental, the somewhat rare “#5,” came next. Over the past year, Umphrey’s have finally opened up “#5” and did so again at the Beacon. “Walletsworth” showed off the band’s songwriting prowess and was one of many tunes featuring impressive visuals from UM Lighting Designer Jefferson Waful.

“Red Tape” in an original off “Mantis” that became a fan-favorite in the years after the album’s release thanks to the meaty jams it would produce. However, the song had disappeared from setlists over the past six months. A fan attending his 100th show on Friday night asked keyboardist Joel Cummins if the band would play “Red Tape” and UM obliged with the first version of the tune since July 3, 2014 -a span of 48 shows. Cummins and bassist Ryan Stasik connected on a funk-laden rock progression during “Red Tape” that wound up being one of the highlights of the show. After “Red Tape,” guitarist Brendan Bayliss welcomed Joshua Redman to the stage.

The saxophonist added counter-melodies to “Similar Skin” and the gorgeous “End Of The Road,” but it was on the “Hurt Bird Bird” set-closer where he really shined. Redman was clearly familiar with each tune he played and as mentioned earlier, picked his spots for accompaniment and solos ever so perfectly. “Hurt Bird Bath” saw Josh and guitarist Jake Cinninger engage in a masterful call-and-response section. Joshua did leave the stage in the middle of the 14-minute “Hurt Bird Bath,” leaving the band to build a filthy progression to a memorable climax.

With a midnight curfew looming, setbreak was short and UM came back out for Set Two with one of their heaviest hitters -“Nothing Too Fancy.” The 16-minute “N2F” contained tons of blazing improv with Cinninger’s work in particular sticking out. Towards the end of the tune, Jake made his way over to Cummins’ rig as the song continued with two keyboardists wailing away. Bayliss’s voice was strong on this night as displayed during an “August” that saw the guitarist create a progression on the fly at the start of the jam. The sextet vamped on the groovy progression and then turned on a dime towards a different sequence before bringing the classic to a close. Redman re-emerged for a large swath of the second set that included “Educated Guess,” “Professor Wormbog” and “Ringo,” with the latter standing out for its impressive jam. “Wappy Sprayberry” continued the set’s theme of “big guns” and the dirty funk number soon gave way to a powerful “Hajimemashite” set-closer. Umphrey’s stuck to originals all night long, so when they returned to start the encore with a cover of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,” the crowd went absolutely ape-shit. The evening came to a close with the end of “Nothing Too Fancy.” Umphrey’s returns to the Beacon Theatre tonight and once again Redman will be the band’s special guest.

More Photos

Setlist

Set One: You Got the Wrong Guy > Cut the Cable, #5 > Walletsworth, Red Tape, Similar Skin[1] > End of the Road[1], Hurt Bird Bath[1]

Set Two: Nothing Too Fancy[2] > August, Educated Guess[1], Professor Wormbog[1], Ringo[1], Wappy Sprayberry[3] > Hajimemashite

Encore: Let’s Dance > Nothing Too Fancy

[1] with Joshua Redman
[2] with Jake on keys
[3] unfinished

Notes:
with Voodoo Child (Jimi Hendrix) tease by Jake before Red Tape

[Setlist via All Things Umphreys]