Yesterday, Umphrey’s McGee and Aqueous took to New York City for a performance at Central Park Summer Stage. The show marked Umphrey’s third performance at the outdoor venue, with the last time falling way back in the summer of 2009. Ahead of Umphrey’s two-set headlining show, Aqueous warmed up the crowd. Despite the relatively short time allotment of 30 minutes, Aqueous tore through their performance, with an extensively jammed two-song set of “Second Sight” and “Kitty.” Following Aqueous’s opening performance, Umphrey’s McGee took the stage for two fiery sets following a bumpy start.
After the opening number of “October Rain,” Umphrey’s started in on “Bridgeless,” which eventually was stopped as the group hit the song’s first verse. Issues with Ryan Stasik’s bass ultimately led to Umphrey’s leaving the stage twice early on in the show as the technical difficulties were resolved. However, once solved, the group more than made up for the disturbance, with a scorching rendition of “Miss Tinkle’s Overture” featuring note-perfect guitar harmonies from Jake Cinninger and Brendan Bayliss that ultimately served as a true masterclass in their signature dual-guitar attack.
While the Summer Stage performance was mostly a Jake-centric show, the next number, “2×2,” gave Bayliss his opportunity to shine, delivering a powerful solo at the end of the number. Coming out of “Example 1,” “Dump City” served as a jam vehicle of the first set, with the song containing a wild and heavy jam that ultimately served as the set’s improvisational climax as it easefully and expertly weaved between metal and funk. With the group wholly dialed in, Umphrey’s seamlessly dropped back into the final portion of “Bridgeless” to close out the set, with the second take on the track showing the band in proper form and on fire.
Watch Joel Cummins From Umphrey’s McGee Join Colorado’s Eminence Ensemble At Electric Forest
With the first set featuring an old-school setlist with all the songs being written to 2004 or prior, set two kept in line with the first set’s throwback song selection, starting things off with a “Plunger” opener. As the overwhelming heat of the day subsided, a much-welcomed downpour rolled in during “North Route” and “Utopian Fir,” the latter of which contained teases of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” that worked up the crowd into a frenzy during the extreme rain. After a rendition of The Police’s “Driven 2 Tears” to close out the second set’s first four-song sequence, Umphrey’s McGee kicked off the second non-stop ending song sequence with “Preamble.” The song was jammed through to “Mantis,” which kicked off the set-closing sandwich by way of “The Triple Wide.” To end the show on truly a high note, the group invited percussionist Isaac Teel of Tauk to the stage for Umphrey’s encore of “The Rocker, Pt. 2.”
You can check out the full setlist from last night below, as well as check out photos from the Summer Stage performance, courtesy of Chris Capaci of Capacity Images. You can also check out our recap of last night’s after-show, which saw Jake Cinninger and Joel Cummins join Aqueous for a performance at the Highline Ballroom.
Setlist: Umphrey’s McGee |Â Central Park Summer Stage | New York, NY | 7/7/2017
Set One: October Rain > Bridgeless, Miss Tinkle’s Overture, 2×2, Example 1 > Dump City > Bridgeless
Set Two: Plunger > North Route > Utopian Fir > Driven To Tears, Preamble > Mantis > The Triple Wide > Mantis
Encore: Rocker Pt. 2 (with Isaac Teel on percussion)
