Photo via The Capitol Theatre’s Instagram

Umphrey’s McGee brought the second night of their two-night run titled the UMBowl at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y., to a close–leaving fans immensely satisfied. The football-themed performance is unconventional but could be called one of the most creative and innovative performances around.

The evening was comprised of three separate sets. The first set was their seventh-ever “Stew Art Event” and their first since 2015. The set is made from suggestions from the crowd; fans were encouraged to text their song ideas to a polling site, from there, the band would improvise. This lead to the Umphrey’s McGee kicking off the evening with a bunch of original on-the-spot jams like “Zappa Goes to a Rave”> “Rockabilly Christmas”> “Who dosed Debussy?” Each suggestion was welcomed by laughter, and Umphrey’s Mcgee ran the proverbial ball far past the first-yard line with each improvision. When someone suggested “Keyboard Galaxy” (which challenged guitarists Ryan Stasik, Brendan Bayliss, and Jake Cinninger to join Joel Cummins on one of his several keyboards), the band didn’t miss a beat and played so well they used the jam to close the set.

The second set was made up entirely of covers and titled “All Night Wrong.” The selection was not confined by genre or era, and Umphrey’s McGee strived through the track’s variety. They opened with a cover of Hall & Oats “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do),” which led into The Talking Heads’ “Once In a Lifetime.” They continued to show off their chops by debuting “Mother” by Pink Floyd, “1979” by The Smashing Pumpkins, and jazz legend Chick Corea. They closed the set with a high octane cover of The Beastie Boys’ classic “Sabotage,” during which each member switched instruments.

The final set titled “Band’s Picks,” which was made up entirely of Umphrey’s McGee originals, kicked off with a 15-minute rendition of “Maybe Someday.” Next, they played “All in Time”> “Hajimemashite” then a long-form improv through “Search 4.” The band, which had been playing for over four hours, kept going strong and played a 16 minute “Ringo” with a “Cut the Cable” tease and “All in Time” reprise to close.

Umphrey’s McGee still wasn’t done; they encored with two soul/rap classics and live debuts for the band. The first being Ice Cube’s “Today Was a Good Day,” which sampled The Isley Brothers’ “Footsteps in the Dark.” Percussionist Andy Farag rapped the lyrics with vibrato and precision. They followed with another Isley Brothers’ staple, “Between the Sheets,” which famously was sampled by The Notorious B.I.G. on “Big Poppa,” however, no one from the band rapped though some fans in the crowd did to close the night.

After the show was over, the venue adjacent to The Capitol Theatre had an after-party featuring Doom Flamingo, which welcomed Ryan Stasik on bass.

Read a story on The Isley Brothers here.

Umphrey’s McGee
The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, NY
Oct 9, 2021

Set I: Stew Art Event > “Math Rock meets Soul” > “Jane Fonda Workout” > “Middle Eastern Trance” > “Reggae Against the Machine” > “Mongolian Throat Singing meets Meshuggah”> “Dim Lights, Small Town” > “Increasing Tempo Jam” > “Brendan Compliments Joel”> “Zappa Goes to a Rave”>“Rockabilly Christmas” > “Who dosed Debussy?” > “Evil Ambiance” > “Keyboard Galaxy”

Set Two: I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do) > Once In a Lifetime, Mother[1], Rosanna > 1979[2], Senor Mouse, Sabotage[3]

Set Three: Maybe Someday, All In Time > Hajimemashite, Search 4, Ringo[4] > All In Time

Encore: It Was a Good Day [5] > Between the Sheets[6]

    [1] debut, Pink Floyd; with Brendan on acoustic guitar
    [2] debut, The Smashing Pumpkins
    [3] with Andy on drums, Brendan on bass, Jake on keys, Joel on guitar, Kris on percussion, and Ryan on guitar
    [4] with Cut the Cable tease
    [5] debut, Ice Cube; with Andy on vocals
    [6] debut, The Isley Brothers; instrumental

Setlist via https://allthings.umphreys.com/setlists/