Photos by Jim Mimna
(From the 12/30 show)
The Scene: A sold-out crowd braved the cold and the craziness of New Year’s Eve to ring in the New Year with their favorite jamband stalwarts, Umphrey’s McGee at The Fillmore Auditorium. Judging by the long line that wrapped around the building before doors opened, anticipation levels were high to see what kind of celebratory shenanigans the band had planned. I love NYE as it truly brings out the best in bands and their crowds. Girls wear their sexiest sequin dresses, even the wookiest of guys put on a nice shirt, and the overall vibe is one of rejoicing and celebration. I was not alone in those sentiments as hugs, high-fives, and general merriment was seen throughout the crowd even before the show had started.
Umphrey’s McGee: The band wasted no time getting the party started when they dropped into “Wappy Sprayberry”, a trancey fan favorite that had the crowd moving from the first notes. Over the years, the band’s sound has expanded from its hard edge, prog rockish roots to include more of a dance vibe and “Wappy” is a fine example of the band finding an infectious groove to help those in the crowd get down. “Puppet String”, a hard rocker that has been played in Colorado just about every time the band has visited the state since its debut in 2011, bled its way into “Mad Love” – another newish original. And, while things had yet to peak, it was obvious the band was starting to stretch its legs a little. It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I am a sucker for catchy pop songs and it’s safe to say that Umphrey’s hasn’t written a catchier tune than “No Diablo” in a very long time. It was a song right at the top of my wishlist heading into the night and I was delighted to hear it make an appearance so early into the evening. Its catchy hook and chorus had most in the crowd bobbing their heads and singing along with a smile on their face.
From there the set really picked up with the herky jerky, thumping rhythms of “Bridgeless” before segueing back into the ending of “Puppet String”. This segment had the whole crowd throwing down and the energy in the room was through the roof. As the set drew to a close, the band, keeping with tradition, welcomed Mad Dog and His Filthy Little Secret Horns to the stage for the fan favorite “Women, Wine, and Song”. Once again the sold-out crowd was singing along in delight to the almost Doobie Brothers-esque vibe that oozed from the stage. I’ve always been a huge fan of when bands bring up a horn section for shows like this. Umphrey’s has mastered this sit-in and has found the perfect mix of bringing extra flavor to their tunes while not letting the horns overpower the natural vibe of things. With the horns on stage and ripping, the first set closed out with a new original “Speak Up”. The high pace, funky feel had the room bouncing and the groove echoed feelings of a Tower of Power song. This was easily the biggest surprise and my favorite highlight of the first set.
The second set featured a healthy mix of old and new songs and kicked off with “Bad Friday” – a song some might recognize from its daily appearance on ESPN’s Around The Horn. The horns rejoined the party for “Wife Soup” and “Red Tape” – a song that made its debut at The Fillmore way back in 2009. “Red Tape” showcased guitarist Jake Cinninger’s clean tone skills as he peaked the song with a solo that would have made shred masters Joe Satriani or Steve Vai proud. After “Make It Right”, the fan favorite and old school “Ringo” whipped the crowd into a frenzy. “Ringo” is a prototypical Umphrey’s song. Its helter skelter, funky verses lead way into a spacey jam section that gives the band room to stretch things out a bit. After some insane interplay between the band members, things landed in an eerie and ambient space that delivered one of the highlights of the show. From the ambience, Cinninger toyed with the iconic melody from The Beatles’ “Blackbird”. One by one the other members joined in accenting and adding to the “Blackbird” melody before the whole band locked in a delivered what has to bee one of the spaciest and spookiest versions of the song anyone has ever heard. Its tough to say if this was something they planned but if I were a gambling man I would bet it was not and it showed how dialed in these guys are with one and other. From there the set rounded out with “Educated Guess”, “Example 1” (another old school rocker that had the crowd fired up from the get-go) and what can only be described as an interesting choice for the night’s first real cover, the immortal Squeeze hit “Tempted”. “Tempted” certainly had the crowd smiling and was a fun way to close out the set. The playful nature of the song definitely had good feelings flowing as we awaited to see how the band would close out 2015 and ring in the new year.
With the final moments of 2015 ticking away and a new year on the horizon, the energy in venue before the band took the stage was palpable. People were frantically trying to maneuver through the sold-out crowd, grab a drink for their new year’s cheers, and find the perfect spot to celebrate the birth of 2016 with their friends. I was not immune to this hectic wheeling and dealing as I was in line for the bathroom as the first notes of “Bright Lights, Big City” burst through the speakers. After a rushed last bathroom break of 2015 I hustled to find my crew as the band kept pushing the dance party higher and higher. “Bright Lights” is a perfect mix of Funk, Dance,and that hard edge that seems to always be present at an Umphrey’s show. The jam from “Bright Lights” had everyone in the room getting down hard and took an amazing turn. Through the funky horn licks and bass lines laid down by Ryan Stasik you could hear a familiar and delighting rhythm coming. At first it seemed obvious what was coming for the new year’s countdown. One by one you could see people in the crowd pick up on it and the joy on their faces when they realized what they were hearing was amazing to see. “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” is a song that will get any crowd fired up but in true Umphrey’s fashion they couldn’t simply drop into the Michael Jackson favorite. I may be a bit off but from what I heard the rhythm section and the horns were playing “Don’t Stop” and once the groove really took hold Cinninger, along with guitarist Brendan Bayliss and keyboard player Joel Cummins, came in with the melody from “Wanna Be Startin’ Something”. As the band bounced back and forth between the two MJ classics it felt as though the room was about to burst.
Whether it was the insane delight of hearing two badass MJ tunes at the same time or the fact that we were just seconds away from the stroke of midnight, things reached a fever pitch as midnight hit, balloons dropped, and the band played “Auld Lang Syne”. After some new year’s kisses and hugs were exchanged, I joked how “Auld Lang Syne” is one of my top 5 favorite songs of all time. Despite the joking nature of that comment I don’t think its inaccurate. Think about it: when have you ever heard that song and not been surrounded by smiles and joy? The melody rips and, when the song is in the hands of a band like Umphrey’s, it packs an insanely awesome punch. Lucky for me, this would not be the last time of the night I had these thoughts about my favorite songs ever. Regardless of your thoughts on Auld Lang Syne’s place in the canon of great songs, it, in combination with “Bright Lights” and the MJ head fuck jam, was a fantastic way to celebrate the coming of a new year.
From there things had the feel of a victory lap for the band – and I mean that in the best possible way. The boys obviously had plans of saving their best for last and set three was by far the best of the night. After the new year celebration, the band dropped “JaJunk” – a heavy and deep hitting rocker that segued into another UM classic “Hajimemashite”. “Haji” oozes epicness as its slow build creeps up and up until the band takes it over the top with ripping guitars and a huge peak. After the first chorus and big guitar jam, the band dropped back into the ambient space of its intro with Cinninger once again dropping into a familiar and crowd pleasing melody. At first it was hard to put a finger on, but once Bayliss starting singing the lyrics to The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” the crowd lost it yet again. “Bittersweet Haji” made its way back into the end of “JaJunk” and at this point in the evening you could tell the band was really in the zone.
One thing I have always been a huge fan of is the way UM brings that G Funk sound (listen to any sort of West Coast hip hop from the 90s if you don’t know what I am talking about) to some of their jams. Surprisingly, up until this point of the night, we hadn’t had the chance to get down like that despite being almost five hours into the show. That would change drastically as the last hour of the show was dominated by the G Funk. “Push The Pig” had more than a few people stomping around before heading into “Space Funk Booty” – a song whose name describes its feel better than I could. After a quick, on-stage pow-wow Bayliss once again wished the crowd a happy new year before letting us know the next song was something they had never played before but one that he hears on the tour bus every day as it is Stasik’s ring tone. At this point we knew it would be something fun but even with my affinity for all things novel I could not have picked a better song for the moment. The second Bayliss slyly said “Now, I don’t usually do this but ah…” and dropped into R. Kelly’s “Ignition (Remix)” the place went nuts. Nothing makes me happier than songs like this and this one in particular is firmly placed in my aforementioned “Top 5 Ever” list. All the ladies, and maybe maybe a few journalists, were singing their hearts out as the crowd collectively bounce bounce bounced our way into the end of the show. “40s Theme”, another song about “partying with your friends”, closed out the set but not before one more G Funk groove took hold of the sold-out crowd. At one point the band even teased “Regulate” by Warren G (or “I Keep Forgettin’” by Michael McDonald depending on who you ask) before bringing things home.
By this point in the night the crowd was spent and started to thin out a bit, which should not be a surprise as most had been there since the doors opened at 7. Those who did stick around were treated to “Much Obliged->Bridgeless” which, had they stopped there, would have been a fine way to close out what can only be described as an epic night of music and celebration. The band, however, was not done and had one more big cover for those who were not finished celebrating the new year. With Christmas firmly in the rearview, most had tucked away their holiday cheer for the season but when the horn section dropped the jingle bell intro of Run DMC’s “Christmas in Hollis” it was time to dust off the Santa hats and ho-ho-ho our way into the night. The last lines of the song say “so open your eyes, lend us an ear, we want to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!” and I can’t think of a better anthem to have stuck in our heads as we made our way out of the venue and into the first cold cold night of 2016.
Energy: B+
Musicianship: A
Sound: B-
Stage Presence: B+
Set/Light Show: A+
Overall: A-
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