Universe Peoples Share ‘Cosmic’ 2nd Set From April 2021 Concert In San Diego

Southern California jam quartet UNIVERSE PEOPLES (uP) shared pro-shot video documenting the second set of a recent concert that took place on April 3, 2021 (4/3/21). The second frame of the cosmic-themed concert at Connect San Diego features covers of “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” Goose’s “Earthling Or Alien?” and more.

With a show set for the serendipitous date of 4/3/21, Universe Peoples — drummer Garrett Morris, guitarist Nathan Reinert, bassist Paul Hiller and keyboardist Albert Margolis — recognized an opportunity the numerical anomaly presented.

“When we booked the gig through our buddy Chuck, who’s a San Diego promoter, we set the date for April 3rd, 2021. We were like ‘four, three, two, one blastoff!’” Morris explained in a press release. “So it’s like we had this concept to begin with. Instead of counting songs off one, two, three, four, we counted them off backwards.”

The show kicks off with the Phish-covered “Also Sprach Zarathustra” (aka “2001”), with uP putting their own spin on the funky version of the theme to the 1968 sci-fi classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. The band then segued into their debut of “Earthling Or Alien?” from Connecticut jam quintet Goose, whose keyboardist/guitarist Peter Anspach helped mix the audio for the set, which saw uP spontaneously returning to the “2001” theme throughout.

“It was fun because it wasn’t planned,” Morris said. “It was like, ‘okay, here it is again.’ And then we would all go into it and try to catch it. ‘Are we gonna go to the big hit at the end or not?’ We didn’t know. And so every time was kind of like a rollercoaster ride, you’re just hanging on waiting to see what happens.”

The set, which featured the light designs of Trip Current and JZEN, also boasts gems from around the jam universe including STS9’s “Wika Chikana” and a blazing version of the Grateful Dead’s “Fire On The Mountain.” Additionally, Universe Peoples pay homage to Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg with their debut of the hip hop classic “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang.” The set also features the Universe Peoples original “Arizona Dawn.”

The final song of the evening saw uP fielding a request for the Grateful Dead’s disco-tinged tune “Shakedown Street,” and the cosmic occurrences kept coming.

“So we were supposed to hard stop at 11:30,” guitarist Nathan Reinert recalled. “They said we could go later. So we did and rightfully so. ’Shakedown’ was called out and when I sang ‘maybe because it’s midnight,’ a friend in the crowd looked at his phone and it was midnight on the dot.”

Watch Universe People’s cosmic second set on 4/3/21 below via the JamBase Live Video Archive:

Setlist (Second Set & Encore)

Set Two: Also Sprach Zarathustra, 2001 [1], Blaze On, Ramble On Rose, Scarlet Begonias, Wika Chikana, Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang [2], Wika Chikana, Arizona Dawn, Weekapaug Groove, Fire On The Mountain

Encore: New Speedway Boogie, Good Times Bad Times, Shakedown Street

Notes:

[1] uP Debut, briefly go into: Earthling Or Alien?

[2] uP Debut