“Dark Brush” was on the menu in more ways than one when Umphrey’s McGee wrapped up their winter tour with a performance at Whigfest in Tampa, Florida, on Sunday night. The closing track off the band’s new album it’s not us got its live debut during the show’s second set, while a beer of the same name—the Dark Brush Imperial Stout brewed in partnership with 7venth Sun Brewing and Hidden Springs Ale Works—was sold for the first time at the festival.
With the exception of those big debuts, last night’s show was a fairly normal one for Umphrey’s McGee. The first set featured a mixture of live favorites like “Rocker Part 2,” “Higgins” and “Nothing Too Fancy” as well as offerings from the band’s two most recent albums. Among those were “No Diablo” and “The Linear” off of 2014’s Similar Skin, and “Half Delayed” and “The Silent Type” from 2017’s it’s not us.
“Nothing Too Fancy”
The title track from 2007’s The Bottom Half opened the second set before the band delivered the night’s big debut of “Dark Brush”. That surprise was followed by one of the night’s biggest jams—a delicious “In The Kitchen” that acted as the bread to a “Utopian Fir” > “Den” sandwich. “Crucial Taunt”—a tune that returned to regular rotation in 2017—was next up before giving way to the “Nothing Too Fancy” reprise that ended the set. Finally, the band returned for a typically-blissful “Glory” that jammed into Van Halen’s “Panama” to close out the show.
Umphrey’s McGee will return to the road in a few weeks when they head to Colorado for a three-night run at the Belly Up Aspen to kick off their March tour.
The Band Enjoys A Refreshing Dark Brush Imperial Stout
Setlist: Umphrey’s McGee | Whigfest | Tampa, FL | 2/18/18
Set I: Rocker Part 2, Higgins, No Diablo, Nothing Too Fancy > Half Delayed, The Linear, The Silent Type
Set II: The Bottom Half, Dark Brush*, In the Kitchen > Utopian Fir > Den > In the Kitchen, Crucial Taunt > Nothing Too Fancy
Encore: Glory > Panama
*live debut