written by Holly Strutzenberg

edited & photos by Roger Patteson

With a venue as historic as The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville TN, Chicago based Umphrey’s Mcgee took the sold out stage with something to prove.  With 2,000+ live shows, this progressive rock jam band has never taken their foot off the pedal, always pushing themselves to new and greater limits. With this much history, it is hard not to feel a strong sense of nostalgia just walking through the doors.The house lights went down and Jefferson Waful’s always breathtaking stage lights came up and the band launched into a dark and mysterious intro with “Catshot”. Umphrey’s tipped their version of a cowboy hat to the Ryman with original hillbilly foot stomper, “Mullet (Over)”, after which Brendan Bayliss (lead vocals, guitar) thanked the crowd “for allowing us to play this room”. Ryan Stasik lays down a funky number on the bass for “Puppet String” and the crowd knows it’s time to get down to business. Fans were treated with a couple rarities smack in the middle of the first set with “Alex’s House” and “Snake Juice”.  As the band plays the first chords of “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” and stops, the anticipation grows and Bayliss looks to the crowd for approval. With bellowing yells from the gut of the Ryman, the band launches into this classic Beatles cover and doesn’t hold back. Jake Cinninger plays this tune with visible passion running through his body as he dances with his guitar. The band keeps the high energy going with a heavy “Eat”. Slowing down a bit, Bayliss straps into his acoustic guitar with a rare “Rocker” and for the first time ever UM segues straight into fully electric “Rocker Pt. 2” with a solid disco jam to finish the first set.

Coming out in the second set with a strong “Believe The Lie”, with many time stops, drummer Kris Myers never misses a beat and this powerful jam set the tone for the set.  Brendan recalls walking past the Ryman on his way to a much smaller venue, “12^th and Porter”, for Umphrey’s first gig in Nashville and expresses his gratitude for the return to Nashville’s most sacred home for live music. The high energy dance party continues with “Booth Love” and “Nothing too Fancy”. Jake took the mic as the always crowd pleasing sing along “Women Wine and Song” and switched the pace a bit with this country-rock themed song. Adding to the list of rarities, this night presented keyboardist Joel Cummings taking the spotlight with “Den” and the dance party resumed. The band throws themselves into a flawless cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” as Brendan sings most of the vocals and Kris screams the peaks with an undistinguishable imitation to Robert Plant as he wails on his set simultaneously. The bands strong jazz influences shine through on original, “Intentions Clear”, with a nod to Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints” and then dives directly into jazz jam. Jake Cinninger lets a little bit of his classical influence shine through with a taste of the traditional “Simple Gifts” in the intro of the powerful original “Glory”. UM finishes this set with an always impressive finish to “Nothing Too Fancy” and got heads banging with strong “Stranglehold” teases. As the band left the stage, the crowd was stomping their feet and roaring for the encore. They would not leave disappointed as the band came back with an “All In Time” plus a “Jimmy Stewart” with lyrics including a Kris Myers drum solo closing out the high energy show.

This band never fails to step up to the plate and continues to improve on already impressive improvisational skills and remarkable covers. You can feel the bands passion oozing to the crowd with power stances from bassist Ryan Stasik as he lays down funky bass grooves, Jake Cinninger’s perfectly timed chord progressions, Kris Myers’ relentless audacity on the drums and Brendan Bayliss’ soul with Andy Farag complementing the madness. They produce a unique energy that is hard to achieve and will leave your face feeling sufficiently “melted”.

Umphrey’s is on another impressive, nationwide winter/spring tour highlighting their devotion to bringing incredible music to a venue or festival in a town near you.  Check out www.umphreys.com for all tour related info and news concerning the band’s ever evolving effort at creating the best fan experience in the industry.

Set 1: Catshot> Mullet(Over), Educated Guess, Puppet String, Alex’s House, Snake Juice, I Want You(She’s So Heavy), Eat, Rocker, Rocker Part 2

Set 2: Believe the Lie, Booth Love> Nothing Too Fancy> Women Wine and Song> Den> Kashmir, Intentions Clear [1]> Glory[2]>Nothing Too Fancy[3]

Encore:  All In Time [4]

[1]with Footprints(Shorter) teases

[2] with Simple Gifts (trad.) teases in intro

[3] with Stranglehold (Ted Nugent) jam

[4] “Jimmy Stewart” with lyrics”