Night 1: January 28, 2016 After a roaring set from TAUK to heat things up, Umphrey’s McGee took the stage for the first of two nights. This was the night I was personally more exciting for because of two words: improv set. The word floating around my ears was that the first set would highlight all of the improvisation, which had my sights set high as the band took the stage and played the opening notes of… Set 1: DRINK MY DRANK (03:41) – One of the many many intro songs the band has – this one I did not know! So I definitely thought this was part of the improv, until the anticipation of the song built up and segued into… > CONDUIT (09:45) – “Hey!” I shouted to myself. Although Conduit is not my favorite song, it’s a standard rocker which had me excited now knowing the improv will come in the second set. This will be a great way to loosen things up. After Conduit ended, Brendan stopped to share a quick observation…
“I gotta say something real quick before I start the next song. You know how we all go through life and we’re not sure if we’re doing the right thing, or we’re on the right path? Well during that song I had my eyes closed, and I opened my eyes up, and I see one girl showing boobs, and I see another girl goin’, ‘I fucking love this shit!’ And in that moment, I knew I was doing the right thing.”ATTACHMENTS (07:49) – A newer song I was unaware of at the time. Looking forward to seeing the song grow and different jam directions the band will take it in! GOT YOUR MILK (RIGHT HERE) (03:48) – Classic Umphrey’s song from back in the day. Standard “radio song” type rocker that got the crowd to sing with the band, with a flawless transition into… > SYNCOPATED STRANGERS (03:52) – Just the first half of the song here, played to perfection, with a wizardly-toned outro. > DEN (07:49) – An excellent sandwich choice! The uplifting tempo was sparked by Joel which saw the first true jam of the set. The dance floor was a frenzy as the band took bit more of a techno-direction, allowing Waful to dazzle the atmosphere with his lights. The song ended with a moogy feel to it to close out to the ending of… > SYNCOPATED STRANGERS (04:42) – Beautifully played. NO DIABLO (06:14) – A hit! This song was a huge sing-along for everyone in the crowd. Well placed in the setlist to keep the spirits high after the Synco sandwich. After No Diablo, the band welcomed Joshua Redman on stage for the first time of the night, with Brendan adding, “Josh wanted to ease into this and start with an easy tune.” THE CROOKED ONE w/ Joshua Redman on sax (15:37) -An easy tune, huh?! Haha. The Crooked One saw the first extended jam of night, (>10-15 minutes!). The jam included a delicate interplay between Joel & Redman, with a soft breakdown into a steady elevational return to the song structure, and then choppy and glitchy breakdown transition into… > SOUL FOOD 1 w/ JR (08:13) – Now this was a segue. Jake continued the chop-funk intro before the full band inclusion. The crowd ate up everything on this song’s plate, with several shining peaks by Redman before a drum solo to end the song, and move into… > SIMILAR SKIN w/ JR (08:56) – Now this is a straight rock anthem. Umphrey’s has really mastered the sound of this tune since it’s release on it’s self-titled album in 2014. Adding Redman to the mix on this song added a whole new level previously unknown by this track. Check it out here.
Set 2 (improv set!)
CHAPTER 1 (04:53) – Before starting, Brendan says to the crowd, “We need a key, somebody yell a letter out.… D? D.” Chapter 1 was then kicked off with a drum & bass intro from Kris and Stasik and was highlighted by a jazzy, soulful peak from Bayliss. > CHAPTER 2 (05:25) – Chapter 2 quickly amplified the energy with some grungry Jake riffs that became accentuated by a frenzy of Bayliss licks; this was the Umphrey’s guitar dueling that we fans have grown to rock out to. > CHAPTER 3 w/ JR (05:21) – After about 10 minutes of stage time, Redman came to join the fun, and just like that, they sound like a completely different band! Redman led this jam all the way through, with a dominant back beat by Kris. > CHAPTER 4 w/ JR (02:53) – Jake and Redman mirrored each other’s notes on the fly. Incredible musicianship and chemistry is noticed. > CHAPTER 5 w/ JR (07:30) -Chapter 5 was a straight jazzy funk dance which had all the Umphreaks getting down. Although, it didn’t reach the peak I thought it could have. > CHAPTER 6 w/ JR (05:54) – This was a mellower, jazzier tune which simply showcased Redman’s talent. This man is a phenom at what he does, and this track turned out to be a great transition piece. Redman and Stasik got on the same page towards the end of this chapter, which fueled the intro of… > CHAPTER 7 w/ JR (06:37) – Stasik’s bass continued to funk things up, and bootys were shaking all throughout the Orpheum. Elements form all seven stage members came together for the final peak of the Redman chapters, a most definite satisfying climax of the near half hour with Redman. After his peak, the band continues momentarily as Redman leaves the stage. > CHAPTER 8 (05:06) – Stop-on-a-dime shift. Jake had some solo riffs that gave me the immediate impression that this is no improv, but a song debut. Bayliss added his lyrics of his own after a couple minutes, leaving me to wonder what will become of Chapter 8 in the future… > CHAPTER 9 (13:24) – An untzyish intro, with faint melodies that resemble themes of Ocean Billy. This picked up and turned into vintage face-melting rock-and-roll Umphrey’s McGee; some UMbowl type dance-rock shit. And also, Jefferson Waful deserves SO MUCH praise for all his work during this set. He has admitted himself that most of the lighting we see during the shows are pre-programmed routines designed to fit the song structure. Since the music was on-the-spot, so were his lights. And he was right there note-for-note all night, blazing the way for a full-frontal classic Umphrey’s rock show. > CHAPTER 10 (07:17) – A short and simple outro from the Chapter 9 climax; this featured whistling from Bayliss which naturally brings me to a comparison to the whistling finish to Reba by Phish.Encore:
Hindsight (05:19) Before starting the encore, Bayliss dedicated this song…”We don’t condone fighting at our shows but this one goes out to the girl that threw a punch in the front row. It’s a once-and-only thing, okay?” What was going on with the girls in the front row this night!? But anyways, what a song choice! Rare tune that absolutely RAWKS. \mm/ Madison always gets treated to the rarities, a sincere gesture appreciated from the Umphreaks. Don’t You Forget About Me (08:40): WHOA! When you think the energy can’t spike any higher, Umphrey’s does it again. The middle of a song featured a tear-jerking speech from Bayliss, dedicated to Joel’s father that had recently passed…“Madison, Wisconsin, how ya guys doing tonight, huh? We were gonna play this song last weekend, on Saturday. But sometimes life throws you a curve ball, right? I wanna take this opportunity to dedicate this moment right now, right here, to our good friend, Joel’s dad, Jerry Cummins, who passed away very recently. And, uh, I know he’s here right now, I know he’s watching, and I know he’s smiling. Cause that’s what he did every moment of his life. And I only knew him for 18 years, and every single time I saw him he had a smile on his face. If I said something stupid, said something offensive, the Cubs lost, Notre Dame lost, God forbid! He was still smiling. This week we heard a lot of stories about him, and I learned a lot about how to live my life in the future moving forward, cause of this. He was the kind of person that took every opportunity to make the most of the moment. Living in the here and the now. He didn’t do it any other way. I myself struggle with worrying about shit that I can’t control, and worrying about shit I might have said yesterday, that I can’t get back. And I want to be more like him. And I know the key to that is living in the here and now. Not worrying about tomorrow, and not worrying about last night. And that means, that means living in the fucking moment! That’s what it’s all about. Right? That’s what his life was all about. That was his example and I’m gonna follow it. And it means a lot to him, it means a lot to Joel more than anybody! A lot to me, a lot to everybody on this stage, and everybody in this room! When you walk out of here tomorrow, think about this shit. Cause it’s in your hands! Okay? That means it doesn’t matter what happened, and it doesn’t matter what’s gonna happen, it matters what you’re doing right now! And that’s you, and that’s you, and that’s everybody, and that’s everybody in this fucking room!”The ending of the speech timed perfectly into the chorus of the song, with ALL OF the crowd singing along to the classic by Simple Minds, made famous by The Breakfast Club. I was left teary-eyed from the emotional power displayed through the music, jaw-dropped at the majesty of the band’s overall performance, and thankful for yet another beautiful night to be alive. Be sure to follow @SummerCampFest on SnapChat for real time pics and vids from concerts, like this one!
