The jam-band bounty continues to flow unabated through the Brew City. Over the past couple months, we’ve seen three-night stands by both Goose and Spafford, two nights of String Cheese Incident last fall, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio stopping by next weekend, and plenty more of the scene’s familiar names already on the 2025 calendar. Umphrey’s McGee, who played a well-received set at Summerfest last year, was already back in town Saturday night, playing to a raucous but not obnoxious crowd at Riverside Theater. The show wasn’t sold out, but it was close. The South Bend/Chicago-based band has a strong Milwaukee following and it was party time.
All jam bands mix up their setlists a great deal night to night. Few, if any, boast a repertoire as massive and varied as McGee’s, and most of the group’s heavy-hitters had already been played on the tour, so lots of fans probably guessed the “Plunger” opener was coming. A solid introduction to UM’s main strengths (chuggy prog-metal and extended disco-ish grooves), the song stretched to over 16 minutes and got the crowd riled early with a mid-jam guitar funk-off between Jake Cinninger and Brendan Bayliss. They took “The Bottom Half” even further afield, the improv highlighted by an extended quasi-EDM workout that brought to mind the early-2000s heyday of Lake Trout, thanks largely to Kris Meyers’ precision drumming. It was a treat hearing Joel Cummins go off on the Moog as well. (Why doesn’t this band do any Emerson, Lake & Palmer covers?)
UM debuted a rendition of Wilco’s “Jesus, Etc.” next. It was truly an odd choice for a group that leans more heavy than hippie, but it was welcomed by the crowd and sung respectably by Bayliss. For many fans, the biggest thrill of the set came next: “Wappy Sprayberry,” a beloved former workhorse that only gets played about once a year these days. The metallic variations on Santana’s “Gypsy Queen” woven into the jam were inspired, as was the transition into the “Space Funk Booty,” a composition brought over from Cinninger’s former band, Ali Baba’s Tahini. At this point in the show, there hadn’t been any mind-boggling epics, but the band seemed to be firing on all cylinders, closing with a solid, compact “40s Theme.”
After a lengthy intermission, UM emerged for their second set with a special guest: Bayliss’ son. “All right you guys, get rowdy!” the kid insisted. “Let’s fuckin’ gooooo!” He then departed and the band opened with the tried-and-true “All In Time,” perhaps its most Billy Joel-esque anthem. In years past, this song tended to signal a cheesy and/or goofy set, but Umphrey’s has in some ways grown more and more restless over the years. Although setlist arrangements might follow familiar patterns, UM is still one of the least predictable bands around.
The early climax of “Concessions,” for instance, and the on-a-dime dip back into straight-faced funk-pop mode brought smiles of amazement throughout the room. Quickly UM was back in improvisational waters, taking off on one of those ebullient ever-building bliss jams that are the only weapon in a lot of bands’ arsenals. Next, perhaps in honor of International Women’s Day, they dusted off Rita Coolidge’s “Layla,” a fairly regular cover choice during the band’s early-aughts heyday, but not played since before the pandemic. While it may have lacked the soul of the famous Derek & The Dominos version, opportunities to ever see a competent twin-guitar rock band play this song are surely dwindling, and you can’t really fault Umphrey’s McGee for sounding like Umphrey’s McGee.
The next thing the Riverside heard was a tease of Rush’s “YYZ,” followed by UM’s own “1348,” one of their more endearingly Rush-esque tunes. The jam quickly took the crowd far away from any relation to the composition itself, and then, during a lull, Cinninger started playing the unmistakable riff of Gary Glitter’s “Rock And Roll, Part 2.” Did the crowd hesitate just a bit to take part in the chant, or was that wishful thinking? Once upon a time, the instrumental novelty was inescapable at sporting events, but not any more, and with good reason. While most bands have little trouble resisting the temptation to play songs by convicted sex offenders at concerts, some folks evidently can’t help themselves; after all, Umphrey’s did infamously play this song as part of a Gary Glitter/Michael Jackson/R. Kelly/others medley during its 2004 Halloween run. “Thank you for letting us do that,” Bayliss said sheepishly after a couple choruses. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’d like to do it one more time.”
Having had their big moment, the air drained out of the jam balloon. Soon UM had moved into its favorite ode to mediocrity, “Slacker,” and then a brief reprisal of “1348” before leaving the stage. The encore was “Partyin’ Peeps” and the conclusion of “All In Time,” a nice tidy ending, and almost everyone walked out into the night obliviously satisfied.
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