The Umphrey’s McGee Cruising Altitude winter/spring tour took off this week with the prog-jam sextet landing in Charles Town, WV for a Saturday night stopover. The show at the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races 65 miles outside our nation’s capital saw Umphrey’s McGee perform The Clash hit “Rock the Casbah” for the first time since 2023.
After kicking off the tour on Thursday in Athens, GA and playing in Saxaphaw, NC on Friday, Umphrey’s McGee came into Saturday’s show warmed up (and the Southeast’s unseasonable January temperature spike probably didn’t hurt either). Opening the show with a “Spires” that would remain unfinished, Umphrey’s sandwiched the entire first set within “1348”—fitting “Loose Ends”, “Miss Tinkle’s Overture”, “Sociable Jimmy”, and “Little Gift” inside the Mantis live staple.
“Escape Goat” started off set two before seguing into the first “Eat” since February 7th, 2024 in Bloomington, IN, only the ninth performance of the London Sessions track this decade, per Setlist.fm. The resulting “Comma Later” found its groove in a dance-laden jam ahead of a 30-minute pairing of “Piranhas” and “Slacker” where the set reached its apex. To close out the last frame, guitarist Jake Cinninger took to the mic for the band’s first “Rock the Casbah” since September 16th, 2023 at The ELM in Bozeman, MT, per Setlist.fm. Given Joe Strummer‘s international lyrical references throughout the song, the band could be looking ahead to its inaugural Morockshow destination event in Marrakech, Morocco from April 18th–20th, 2025. In the end, beat keepers Kris Myers and Andy Farag had the last words as they closed out set two with a percussive breakdown.
Related: Umphrey’s McGee To Host UMBowl XI At Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium
Watch Umphrey’s McGee bust out “Rock the Casbah” in West Virginia and check out a gallery of images from the show courtesy of photographer Leeda Bijani. The Cruising Altitude tour continues tonight, January 19th, with a sold-out show in Roanoke, VA. Find tour dates and tickets to future Umphrey’s McGee shows on the band’s website and Ticketmaster. Listen along to the tour on nugs.net. Not a nugs subscriber? Start with a seven-day free trial. [Editor’s Note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your nugs subscription or purchasing a download via the links on this page helps support our coverage of the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]
Umphrey’s McGee — “Rock The Casbah” (The Clash) > Drum Solo — 1/18/25
[Video: Chris Johnson]
Setlist: Umphrey’s McGee | Hollywood Casino At Charles Town Races | Charles Town, WV | 1/18/25
Set One: Spires [1] > Walletsworth, 1348 > Loose Ends, Miss Tinkle’s Overture, Sociable Jimmy > Little Gift > 1348
Set Two: Escape Goat > Eat, Comma Later, Piranhas > Slacker, Rock The Casbah (The Clash) [2] > Drums
Encore: The Weight Around, The Triple Wide [3]
[1] Unfinished
[2] LTP 9/16/23
[3] “Robot Rock” (Daft Punk) teases, Stairway ending
Notes: “Pay the Snucka” was on the written setlist but crossed out. “The Bottom Half” and “Make It Right” were listed as Xtras
