Tucked away from the small Metropolis of Omaha, NE stands the Sumtur Amphitheater. There beneath a cloudy sky, Umphrey’s McGee played an outstanding show for a smaller-than-usual crowd that made the concert even that much more intimate. With the concert tickets being those small raffle tickets, the seclusion and smallness of the show was intact from the beginning.

They began the show right at 7:30 and opened with “Room to Breathe”. Followed was “Piranhas”, a newer number that has only been played a couple of times. “Prowler” was next, but the show didn’t really get going until they played “Bright Lights Big City”. It had a good jam, and the irony of the song in a place where no skyline was visible was well done. They played “Draconian” and then the rarer instrumental “End of the Road”. During the entirety of the first set, some fans on the rail were jamming out to Umphrey’s while building a small tower made of beer cans. It reached a nice height and even guitarist and singer Brendan Bayliss took note of it when he said, “For the record that was a very impressive beer can structure my friends.” Umphrey’s then closed out the set with “Rocker II”.

The second set was much better executed than the first. It opened with a monster “Der Bluten Kat” with a “Sociable Jimmy” sandwiched in the middle. “Miami Virtue” was probably the improvisatory highlight of the night, as they built the peak to a soaring level. The improvisation was vintage Umphrey’s at their best, and they didn’t want to end it just because they were getting ready for the next song. So they segued it seamlessly into “The Floor”. You could hear “The Floor” coming a mile way, and it was easily the best (and really the only true) segue of the night. “Search 4” saw an extended jam for the outro that was an unexpected surprise as most versions are straightforward. They closed the set with “Andy’s Last Beer”. As per usual, during the bridge, Bayliss, Jake Cinninger, and Andy Farag led the crowd in a clap that went to the abnormal time signature of the song. Omaha folks have something to be proud about; they did a good job of clapping to the beat.

The show ended with an encore of The Who’s “Baba O’Reilly”. It was a standard version, and Umphrey’s ended at exactly 10:30. Either they honored a contract that said they would end at such a time or the boys saw the lightning in the distance and didn’t want to get caught in anything bad. So as concertgoers exited the venue happy with the performance Umphrey’s provided, they were also treated to the occasional flashes of light that only Mother Nature can provide. Umphrey’s continues on their Midwest run tonight with a show in Des Moines, IA.

– words and photos by Daniel Ojeda

SETLIST 6/25/15:

Room to Breathe
Piranhas
Prowler
Bright Lights Big City
Draconian
End of the Road
Rocker II

Der Bluten Kat
Sociable Jimmy
Der Bluten Kat
Miami Virtue ->
The Floor
August
Search 4
Andy’s Last Beer

Baba O’Reilly