On Saturday night, Umphrey’s McGee wrapped their brief northeast run with support from Robert Walter’s 20th Congress at Portland, ME’s State Theatre.
Umphrey’s sandwiched their first set of the night with an opening “Cemetary Walk I” and a set-closing “Cemetary Walk II”. In between, they worked in extended renditions of “Syncopated Strangers” and “Remind Me”, a short-and-sweet “Nemo”, and rocking “Great American”.
As “Great American” fizzled out, Brendan Bayliss noted, “We’re gonna bring up our good friend Scott Metzger for this next one. We don’t get to see him that much, so we gotta make it count when we do.” Metzger, who has been playing with 20th Congress on their current run of dates, then came up to help the band rock a cover of Talking Heads‘ “Girlfriend Is Better”, marking the first Umphrey’s McGee rendition of the song since 3/1/17.
Following their setbreak, the band once again started a song sandwich that would last throughout the second set and encore. “Bridgeless” got the ball rolling before improv-heavy renditions of “It Doesn’t Matter” and “Ringo” kept the energy in the historic theatre high. From there, the band moved into “Phil’s Farm” and, in turn, dipped into “Seasons” before returning to “Phil’s Farm” to close set two. Finally, the band returned for their encore with “The Weight Around” before crashing back into “Bridgeless” to complete the musical thought they had begun with the set two opener.
Below, you can check out a gallery of photos from Robert Walter’s 20th Congress and Umphrey’s McGee’s performances courtesy of photographer Vic Brazen.
Umphrey’s McGee’s ongoing Wax On, Wax Off Tour continues this week with a three-night run at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn, NY on February 14th, 15th, and 16th. For a full list of upcoming Umphrey’s McGee shows, head to the band’s website.
Setlist: Umphrey’s McGee | State Theatre | Portland, ME | 2/2/19
Set One: Cemetary Walk I, Syncopated Stranger, Remind Me, Nemo, Great American > Girlfriend Is Better* > Cemetary Walk II
Set Two: Bridgeless > It Doesn’t Matter, Ringo, Phil’s Farm > Seasons > Phil’s Farm
Encore: The Weight Around > Bridgeless
*with Scott Metzger
You can stream full soundboard audio of the performance via Nugs.net.
