Photos by Tim Dwenger
The Scene: A packed house was ready to get their UMerica on and celebrate 4th of July weekend with jamband juggernauts Umphrey’s McGee and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead at America’s favorite outdoor concert venue. After a stellar Saturday night, expectations were high but there were nothing but smiles and good vibes on The Rocks and the sold-out crowd was treated to a dazzling display of masterful playing by both bands.
Opener: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. I remember the first time I saw JRAD a few falls back at The Ogden [Editor’s Note: read our review of that night here]. I know I was not the only person completely blown away by their ability to take these songs we’ve heard so many times and bring them to a new and exciting level. I remember walking out of the show completely amazed and saying to myself, “man, I hope they do this long enough to play up at Red Rocks.” Seeing those kinds of wishes come to fruition is always satisfying so, needless to say, I was more than excited for their set even if they were not headlining.
The band wasted no time diving right into some heavy hitters of the Grateful Dead catalog with a big time “China Cat Sunflower->I Know You Rider.” This classic dead pairing injected the crowd with raucous energy and, after an equally raging “Truckin,” the band delved into more psychedelic territory as they flawlessly took on the entire “Terrapin Suite.” Terrapin provide the opportunity for the band to show their improv skills. All five members of JRAD are amazing players and, with an almost 20 year history of playing together, they have developed a tightness that few other bands can match. That tightness was on display as they seamlessly wove together swirling guitar crescendos from Tom Hamilton and Scott Metzger while drummer, and band namesake, Joe Russo relentlessly drove things home.
“The Wheel” allowed fans to catch their breath and sing along before “Throwing Stones” closed out the set. It’s scary how well Scott Metzger has channeled his inner Bob Weir and at this point it is fair to ask if he is doing a better job at it then the man himself. For me, on a weekend where Dead & Company was just up the road in Boulder I chose to see JRAD and almost everyone I spoke to said that despite being a cover band (although so is Dead & Co if you ask me) JRAD delivered the best GD set of the weekend. I honestly don’t think that should be a surprise to anyone.
Umphrey’s McGee: As I mentioned earlier, the Umphrey’s boys absolutely smoked on Saturday night so the anticipation of how they would close out their first two night run at Red Rocks was palpable. I had the pleasure of interviewing keyboardist Joel Cummins on our Noise Behind The Sound podcast and when asked about how their approach would change for a two night run the first thing he mentioned was digging a little deeper into the catalog and playing some songs that had never been played at Red Rocks. The band certainly delivered on that promise as every song in the first set, minus the closer “All In Time,” was a song making its Red Rocks debut. Songs like “Kabump” and “In The Black” saw the band immediately dialing into the ultra-tight and high-wound Funk grooves that so many fans have come to love. Even with my love for the UMfunk, my highlights of the first set were a newer song “Gone For Good” and the Led Zeppelin song “That’s The Way,” both of which featured guitarist Brendan Bayliss on acoustic guitar. It was nice to see the band take a breath, slow things down, and show off their softer side to such a huge crowd but I can’t lie in saying that “All In Time” provided the savage energy the crowd was craving to close out the set.
Set two started with a bit of a stroll down memory lane as “Preamble>Mantis” opened things up. This was how the band, years ago, promised they would open their first Red Rocks headlining gig and after debuting the song in ’09 at the Aggie, they made good on that promise a year later. After another newer number, “Make It Right” the band got down to brass taxes with one of my all time favorite UM songs “The Triple Wide.” “Triple Wide” has an infectious groove and was one of the band’s first efforts towards bringing the 4 on the 4 electronic vibe to their sound. The pulsing rhythms and melodic synth lines had the entire crowd throwing down from the first hits of the kick drum. This version of “Triple Wide” really took off and. after laying waste to the crowd, it segued into a song that has fast become a heavy hitter of its own in “Puppet String.” For me, the “Triple Wide>Puppet String” was probably the highlight of the night. Sticking with the theme of some new treats, “Hindsight” was up next before another beast of a song, “August,” featured a rowdy “Jimmy Stewart” that kept with the heavy but dancey vibe of the weekend. With time running out in the 4th quarter you could feel the crowd getting a bit jittery with the anticipation of how things would close out. “Hurt Bird Bath” put an end to those jitters and the band once again laid waste to the almost 10,000 fans in attendance.
As they took the stage for the encore many in the crowd were turning to each other trying to guess what was coming next. After a short but sweet “Much Obliged” things started to head into familiar sounding territory. Umphrey’s is a band known for its covers and, although I loved the Zeppelin tune, it wasn’t exactly the big time cover the band has busted out at these types of shows in the past. Not one to disappoint, guitarist Jake Cinninger took a moment from his guitar hero wizardry, whipped out a harmonica, and started playing the iconic melody of another legendary UK band, The Who. It may have been a little cheesy, but seeing the crowd at Red Rocks with their arms raised singing along to “Join Together” was a fitting and emotional way to end and epic holiday weekend at Red Rocks.
I’ve mentioned it before but it bears saying again. I first saw Umphrey’s Mcgee in 2000 in a cornfield in Indiana after a Phish show and two years later they played my little sister’s after prom party. Now they are headlining 2 nights at the country’s premier outdoor venue on one of the biggest weekends of the year. It’s been a joy to watch this band come into their own, grow to this level, and they have done it by constantly pushing themselves and treating their fans to new and exciting things. Cummins confirmed on the Noise Behind The Sound podcast that they are already working on plans for Red Rocks 2017 and personally I can’t wait to see what they will do next.
Energy: A
Musicianship: A+
Sound: B+
Stage Presence: A
Set/Light Show: A+
Overall: A
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