On Sunday night, Umphrey’s McGee returned to Atlanta, GA’s Tabernacle for the third night of their four-night New Year’s run. Frequent Vulfpeck collaborators Cory Wong and Antwaun Stanley handled the evening’s opening duties, setting the tone for the evening’s raucous UM throwdown.

Umphrey’s McGee opened up the first set with an extensive take on “1348” into “Seasons”, with Jake Cinninger taking no time to show off his wizardry on guitar. Kris Myers, Ryan Stasik, and Andy Farag come together to create one of the tightest rhythm sections in the live music scene today, and make it undeniably simple for Cinninger and Brendan Bayliss to connect in between some intricate interplay, as we saw last night with the band moving into “Slacker”. The old-school cut led into “Push & Pull”, played for only the sixth time live off of the band’s 2018 It’s You release.

Following “Utopian Fir” which featured a tease of Genesis’ “Misunderstanding” , Umphrey’s McGee welcomed up Dave Matthews Band saxophonist Jeff Coffin for a funky take on “Made To Measure”, played for the first time in 2018. With Cinninger moving over to a keyboard and Coffin staying on stage, the band welcomed up Cory Wong for a debut cover of Jamiroquai’s “Virtual Insanity”, as the attentive Atlanta crowd erupted with applause. Cinninger’s move to keys gave Wong a chance to flex his chops on guitar, with the funk guru and Bayliss trading off firey hot guitar licks.

Following a brief setbreak, Umphrey’s McGee came back out to open their second with with “Little Gift”, played for only the second time this year. The sextet moved forward with “Ocean Billy”, which included a quote from Pearl Jam’s “Footsteps”. The recently debuted “It Doesn’t Matter” followed, as the band took their opportunity to smoothly segue back into “Ocean Billy”. Umphrey’s shocked the crowd with their next move, as the band moved into “Can’t Rock My Dream Face” with the help of “Antwaun Stanley on vocals. The one-off mashup was last played at Umphrey’s 2015 Halloween blowout, as the tune incorporates elements of Michael Jackson, Fleetwood Mac, and The Weeknd. Stanley let it all hang out on vocals, before Cinninger and Bayliss stole the show with an electrifying duel. Heavy-hitter “All In Time” brought the second set to a close.

Umphrey’s McGee offered up a massive encore, as the band worked through “Triple Wide” and “1348”, with a verse of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” thrown in the middle of the former. Luckily, you can listen to full-show audio of last night’s guest-filled fiasco below.

Umphrey’s McGee – 12/30/2018 (Full-Show Audio)

[Audio:  Don Olker]

Umphrey’s McGee returns to Atlanta’s Tabernacle tonight for the final night of their run, as the sextet will ring in the New Year in southern style. For ticketing and more information, head to Umphrey’s McGee’s website here.

Setlist: Umphrey’s McGee | The Tabernacle | Atlanta, GA | 12/30/2018

Set One: 1348 > Seasons, Slacker, Push & Pull > Utopian Fir[1], Made to Measure[2], Virtual Insanity[3]

Set Two: Little Gift > Ocean Billy[4], It Doesn’t Matter > Ocean Billy, Can’t Rock My Dream Face[5], All In Time

Encore: The Triple Wide > Dreams[6] > The Triple Wide > 1348

[1] with Misunderstanding (Genesis) tease
[2] with Jeff Coffin on saxophone
[3] debut, Jamiroquai; with Jeff Coffin on saxophone, Cory Wong on guitar, and Jake on keys
[4] with Footsteps (Pearl Jam) quote
[5] with Antwaun Stanley on vocals
[6] one verse

Notes:
last Can’t Rock My Dream Face 10.31.2015 (281 shows)