Umphrey’s McGee made its long-awaited return to Red Rocks Amphitheatre over the weekend for a three-night run of concerts.
The run was filled with musical highlights, including a pair of debuts dispersed throughout the weekend. Though “Restrung“—debuted on Friday—has technically seen the stage as “Unsung Hero”, the song has since been reworked and now goes by a new name and will be included on the band’s next studio album, You Walked Up Shaking In Your Boots But You Stood Tall And Left A Raging Bull. Saturday saw Umphrey’s sandwich an entire first set inside “Nothing Too Fancy”, and Sunday featured the debut of the new original, “Nether”.
For Saturday’s encore, bassist Ryan Stasik took the stage solo armed with an acoustic guitar for his hate-filled anthem “Hanging Chads”. Evidently, guitarist Brendan Bayliss didn’t much care for the tune as he snuck up behind Stasik, disarming him of his ax, and proceeded to smash it. Stasik responded in kind by smashing another acoustic guitar which was also onstage.
Another stand-out moment of the weekend came when percussionist Andy Farag took vocals on Notorious B.I.G.‘s “Big Poppa” to close out Sunday’s second set.
Scroll down to check out full setlists and a selection of videos from Umphrey’s McGee’s 2021 run at Red Rocks, as well as a gallery of images from Saturday night’s show courtesy of photographer Andrew Rios.
Setlist: Umphrey’s McGee | Red Rocks Amphitheatre | Morrison, CO | 6/18/21
Set One: JaJunk [1], Roulette, Booth Love, Plunger > Cemetery Walk, Wizard Burial Ground > Nopener > Attachments > Wizard Burial Ground
Set Two: Restrung [2] > The Silent Type, Ocean Billy-> This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) [3] > Day Nurse > Ocean Billy, Miami Virtue > Den, Phil’s Farm
Encore: Glory > Cemetery Walk II
[1] with Can’t You Hear Me Knocking (The Rolling Stones) teases
[2] song previously known as Unsung Hero
[3] debut, Talking Heads
Setlist: Umphrey’s McGee | Red Rocks Amphitheatre | Morrison, CO | 6/19/21
Set One: Nothing Too Fancy [1] > Push the Pig [2] > Out Of Order > Rocker Part 2, Intentions Clear > Kula, Comma Later > Nothing Too Fancy
Set Two: Leave Me Las Vegas > Mantis [3]-> 2nd Self, Bridgeless, The Bottom Half > Night Nurse > Bridgeless
Encore: Hanging Chads, Dirty Love > The Floor
[1] with Rainbow Country (Bob Marley) quotes
[2] with Jake on keys
[3] unfinished
Setlist: Umphrey’s McGee | Red Rocks Amphitheatre | Morrison, CO | 6/20/21
Set One: 40’s Theme, Words, Looks [1], Half Delayed > Resolution > Suxity [2] > Miss Tinkle’s Overture, Nether [3]
Set Two: Hurt Bird Bath, Slacker, The Triple Wide > Mantis[4], Believe the Lie, Big Poppa [5]
Encore: Wappy Sprayberry > Hajimemashite
[1] with Dr. Feelgood (Motley Crue) jam and quotes
[2] with Fame (David Bowie) jam
[3] debut, original
[4] completing the 2021-06-19 version
[5] with Andy on vocals