Umphrey’s McGee pulled out all the stops with a raging Thursday night headlining performance at Mountain Jam.  Featuring a rock-heavy setlist, awesome surprise guests, and a very special two-set festival show, Umphrey’s brought the thunder at Hunter Mountain.

Umphrey’s opened the show with back-to-back ragers, as “Similar Skin” and “Rocker 2” started the night with a bang.  After featuring the newer track “Attachments”, they kept the heavy rock vibe going with “Little Gift”. Umphrey’s transitioned into “Higgins”, and brought out Mountain Jam favorite and co-host Warren Haynes to play guitar on the reggae-tinged song.  Following a run from “The Linear” into “Booth Love”, the band segued into a rousing cover of “Breathe” by Pink Floyd, which featured a guest appearance by Marco Benevento, who served as the evening’s other headliner.  “Breathe” flowed into classic Umphrey’s track “Mulche’s Odyssey,” which ended the first set.

Umphrey’s began the second set with consecutive classics, opening with “40’s Theme” and following that up with an epic segment that moved from their classic “Bridgeless” into the uplifting former lyrical Jimmy Stewart “Upward”.  After the newer song “Speak Up”, UM dance favorite “The Triple Wide” appeared out of nowhere to get the crowd moving.  The proggy “Educated Guess” was up next, with the groove-heavy “Conduit” following it up.  Umphrey’s brought things to a close with a rare cover from their Halloween mashup tradition, busting out “Thunder Kiss Relax”, otherwise known as “Frankie Zombie”, blending together White Zombie’s “Thunder Kiss ‘65” with “Relax” by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, with a little bit of Pink Floyd’s “Have a Cigar” thrown in for good measure.

The Chicago rockers returned to the stage for a two-song encore, beginning with “Hajimemishite” and then finally completing the “Bridgeless” that opened set two.  What a rockin’, fun show to open up Mountain Jam!

Check out the setlist below, via All Things Umphrey’s.

Setlist: Umphrey’s McGee at Mountain Jam, Hunter Mountain, NY – 6/2/16

Set 1: Similar Skin, Rocker Part 2, Attachments, Little Gift > Higgins[1], The Linear > Booth Love, Breathe[2] > Mulche’s Odyssey

Set 2: 40’s Theme, Bridgeless > Upward, Speak Up, The Triple Wide > Educated Guess, Conduit, Frankie Zombie

Encore: Hajimemashite > Bridgeless

[1] with Warren Haynes on guitar
[2] “dub” version; with Marco Benevento on keys

Day One Gallery (by Patrick Hughes):