Umphrey’s McGee is currently on tour, with their most recent stop at the Chastain Park Amphitheatre in Atlanta, Georgia last night. Following a crazy two days at Peach Music Festival, the Chicago rockers are two shows deep into their next slew of summer dates–which will bring them to LOCKN’ on Thursday for their highly anticipated UM > String Cheese Incident > UM > String Cheese Incident play.
Umphrey’s McGee is known for their rock-heavy performances and complicated compositions, with a catalogue so expansive, you’ll never know what you’ll get. Their rabid fanbase lives for the setlists and the collaborations that result from the progressive rock band’s 20 year career. On Friday night, the six piece opened their set with a rare “Flamethrower,” a song performed only 26 times since its debut in 2012. The old-school rock anthems continued for the first set, with a “JaJunk” and “Miami Virtue” both jamming over the 12-minute mark. “Roulette” also made an unexpected appearance after a 161 show gap from 1/21/16. This led into another surprise visit from “Words,” which hadn’t been played in almost exactly a year, with a 92 show gap. The first set came to a close with a monstrous “Utopian Fir” that lasted over 16 minutes, leading into a “Glory” finale.
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The second set opened with a cover of David Bowie‘s “Fame,” another huge bust-out for Umphrey’s McGee, only having performed it 11 times since 2004 and last time played during their Beacon Theatre run in 2016. The “Fame” jam continued into “Much Obliged,” which eventually invited moe. percussionist Jim Loughlin to join the stage for a 15+ minute “Ocean Billy.” With moe. on their indefinite hiatus, it was great to see Loughlin perform with his fellow rock mates. We will see moe. perform with Phil Lesh in place of bassist Rob Derhak, who is currently seeking treatment for oropharyngeal cancer, at LOCKN’ next weekend.
From “Ocean Billy,” Umphrey’s kicked into “Den,” a song debuted in 2012, that’s been played only 26 times and never made it onto a studio record–though it earned a place on the Hall of Fame Class of 2014 from a 11/1/14 standout performance. The next big jam of the evening occurred with a “Phil’s Farm” into “Mail Package” deluxe. The set closed with “August,” before the band returned to the stage for “The Triple Wide” encore.
Thanks to taper NSL, you can listen to the full show below:
Setlist: Umphrey’s McGee | Chastain Park Amphitheatre | Atlanta, GA | 8/18/17
I: Flamethrower > JaJunk, Roulette > Words > Miami Virtue > Cut Off, Utopian Fir > Glory
II: Fame > Much Obliged > Ocean Billy*, Den, Phil’s Farm > Mail Package, August
E: The Triple Wide
*w/ Jim Loughlin (Moe) on percussion
[cover photo from 7/23/17 by Phierce Photo by Keith G. (Instagram: @PhiercePhoto)]
If you loved seeing Jim Loughlin sit in with Umphrey’s McGee, don’t miss moe.’s Al Schnier and Vinnie Amico at the upcoming Brooklyn Comes Alive with Joel Cummins and Kris Myers (Umphrey’s McGee), set to take place across three venues in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on September 23rd – 24th. The unique homegrown event puts the focus on the musicians, curating dream team collaborations, tributes, and artist passion projects for two full days of incredible music both new and old.
The 2017 lineup is set to include hand-selected band lineups featuring all-star musicians like John Scofield, George Porter Jr. (The Meters), Aron Magner and Marc Brownstein (The Disco Biscuits), Mike Greenfield and Jesse Miller (Lotus), Jason Hann (String Cheese Incident), Alan Evans (Soulive), Cyril Neville (Neville Brothers), Henry Butler, Jon Cleary, Reed Mathis (Electric Beethoven), Michael League, Nate Werth, Chris Bullock, Robert “Sput” Searight, and Bob Lanzetti (Snarky Puppy), Jennifer Hartswick and Natalie Cressman (Trey Anastasio Band) and so many more!
For a full list of artists, head to the event’s website. Two-day GA and VIP tickets are available now.
