Umphrey’s McGee celebrated New Year’s Eve in Boulder, CO with the culmination of a four-show, two-city year-ending run in the Centennial State. Among the highlights of the last Umphrey’s McGee show of 2024 were four wide-ranging debuts by Elton John, Jamiroquai, Buddy Miles, and Glenn Frey, as well as the traditional guest spot by Mad Dog’s Filthy Little Secret horn section.
A New Year’s Eve staple, Michael “Mad Dog” Mavridoglou has brought a rotating cast of horn players to every Umphrey’s McGee NYE show since 2005. For this year’s spectacle, Mad Dog recruited local Denver saxophonist and Andy Frasco’s World Saving Podcast co-host Nick Gerlach for sit-ins throughout the three-set show.
Tuesday’s cover debuts exemplified the many (at times, opposed) stylistic elements of Umphrey’s McGee. The first debut of the night arrived in the second set with Glenn Frey’s “The Heat Is On”, which allowed drummer Kris Myers to go full dad rock on the ’80s earworm. Not long after that, Joel Cummins‘ jaunty barroom piano introduced “Honky Cat” off Elton John’s 1972 gem Honky Château.
After ringing in the new year with “Attachments” > “Auld Lang Syne” and “Speak Up”, Umphrey’s McGee cycled from dad rock, through bar band, and embraced its inner funk with Jamiroquai’s “Canned Heat” to close the third set. The chart-topper supplied Myers and percussionist Andy Farag with a disco-esque rhythm, as bassist Ryan Stasik and Cummins gave the track a vintage ’70s funk texture and springboarded it into improvisation. Finally, Umphrey’s McGee closed its New Year’s show with a return to that funk pocket by way of Buddy Miles’ “Them Changes” to send everyone grooving into the new year. The third set also Umphrey’s bust out Daft Punk’s “Voyager” for the first time since September 1st, 2012 at North Coast Music Festival, per All Things Umphrey’s.
Elsewhere, the New Year’s show had plenty of original highlights. Umphrey’s turned both the first and second sets into giant sandwiches, with “Blue Echo” encapsulating the first set and “Red” containing the second. The Mad Dogs horns also bolstered classic compositions throughout the show, including “Wife Soup” and “Andy’s Last Beer”.
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Umphrey’s McGee — “Blue Echo” > “Hurt Bird Bath” — 12/31/24
Umphrey’s McGee — Boulder Theater — Boulder, CO — 12/31/24 — Full Audio
Setlist: Umphrey’s McGee | Boulder Theater | Boulder, CO | 12/31/24
Set One: Blue Echo > Hurt Bird Bath, Miami Virtue [1] > Ocean Billy, Water > Suxity [1] > Blue Echo
Set Two: Red > Red Tape > Booth Love [1] > The Heat Is On [2], Wizard Burial Ground, Wife Soup [1], Honky Cat [3] > Red
Set Three: Bright Lights, Big City > Voyager, Domino Theory, Andy’s Last Beer [1], Attachments [1] > Auld Lang Syne [1], Speak Up [1], Canned Heat [4]
Encore: Wappy Sprayberry > Them Changes [5]
[1] with Mad Dog’s Filthy Little Secret
[2] debut, Glenn Frey; with Mad Dog’s Filthy Little Secret
[3] debut, Elton John; with Mad Dog’s Filthy Little Secret
[4] debut, Jamiroquai; with Mad Dog’s Filthy Little Secret
[5] debut, Buddy Miles; with Mad Dog’s Filthy Little Secret
Show Notes: Mad Dog’s Filthy Little Secret horns were: Michael “Mad Dog” Mavridoglou on trumpet and Nick Gerlach on saxophone
last Voyager 2012-09-01 (1,040 shows)