Headstash

Photo Credit: Josh Cohan

As the Tabernacle doors opened Friday night, hundreds of people poured into the venue and sprinted to the balcony to secure a good view of the musical spectacle that was about to ensue. The two-night run had been much anticipated for over a year, since Umphrey’s played a self-described “magical and legendary” performance in February 2010 at the same venue.

In June, when the band announced their intention to play their Halloween 2011 run in Atlanta, the speculation of mash-ups – both musical and costume – began. Much to the chagrin of some fans, both nights of the appropriately named Hauntlanta (a mash-up portmanteau itself) sold out well in advance, leaving many last minute buyers without a ticket.

Photo Credit: Josh Cohan

Lucky for them, however and in true fan-appreciating form, Umphrey’s released a handful of extra tickets just one day before the first show, allowing those few who missed the initial release a chance to gain entry.

Eclectic Method jumpstarted Friday night, incorporating video game and movie clips into their dance fusion performance riddled with pop culture references. Mixing dubstep beats with “Rockin’ Robin” and South Park video clips, the group created a unique auditory and visual experience for the crowd to enjoy.

[FIND news, downloads and tour dates on Umphrey's McGee's official website.]

No longer able to wait patiently, the audience went crazy when Umphrey’s McGee finally took the stage around 10:00 p.m. Sticking to tradition, the guys donned regular attire, reserving their costumes for the following night.

They opened with “Nipple Trix” and an intro that slowly built suspense and gradually infused each instrument into the composition. The band quickly created a feeling of intensity and anticipation that peaked with some heavy shredding from lead guitarist Jake Cinninger.

Photo Credit: Josh Cohan

With lighting designer Jefferson Waful’s signature blue and purple lights rippling through the dark audience, the band abruptly dove into an 18-minute “Ocean Billy.” An extended jam and a crushing guitar buildup had the floor shaking by the end of the song, assuring fans that this show would be anything but short on improvisation.

As the band segued into “2nd Self,” leaving “Ocean Billy” unfinished, the crowd didn’t miss a beat, singing along with lead vocalist Brendan Bayliss.

After a hard-hitting “Hurt Bird Bath,” the pace of the set slowed down with a standard version of “Booth Love.” Mixing it up a little, Bayliss and Cinninger switched to acoustic guitars and the band covered “Susannah,” a song written by Bayliss for his side-project with Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Band, 30db.

[FOLLOW Umphrey's McGee on Facebook.]

Once again proving their virtuosic ability to cover any song, Umphrey’s doled out  “Patience” by Guns N’ Roses, with keyboardist Joel Cummins belting out the final verse.

Photo Credit: Josh Cohan

Jake and Bayliss switched back to electric guitars to close the set with the always-welcome “Miss Tinkle’s Overture.”

Per usual, Umphrey’s held nothing back as they tore into the second set with a “1348” that crushed expectations and included a jam from The Police’s “Voices Inside My Head.”

The band rolled right into the end of “Ocean Billy” and without even a pause, continued onto “Wappy Sprayberry” not taking a breath until after making it through “The Fussy Dutchman.”

With Cinninger on vocals, Umphrey’s stormed through a full version of AC/DC’s “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” for the first time ever. Moving right into “Pay The Snucka,” Cinninger was in the spotlight again, this time showcasing his skills with a guitar solo that blew the audience away as he so often does. It contained a metal jam and tease of Van Halen’s “Eruption.”

[READ Headstash Magazine's review of Umphrey's newest album, "Death By Stereo."]

“Much Obliged” brought back the usual progressive Umphrey’s sound with teases of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child” and “3rd Stone From the Sun.” Keeping the Hendrix ball rolling, the band transitioned into a cover of his “Who Knows,” making clear their admiration for the legendary 60s guitarist.

Photo Credit: Josh Cohan

Umphrey’s brought the set full-circle with “1348,” ending with the same confident, dedicated playing with which they began.

With an upbeat song like “Prowler” as the encore, it became impossible not to dance and celebrate what was the last few minutes of an incredible night. Teasing what was to come, Umphrey’s ended the show with their first true mash-up of the weekend, executing a harmonious combination of “No Woman, No Cry” by Bob Marley and “Let It Be” by The Beatles.

Umphrey’s McGee succeeded in satisfying the desperate pleas of the fans and emphatically conveyed one message: it might be the last song of the night, but the party had only just begun.

--

10.28.2011 – The Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA

Set I: Nipple Trix > Ocean Billy > 2nd Self, Hurt Bird Bath, Booth Love, Susannah¹, Patience¹, Miss Tinkle's Overture
Set II: 1348² > Ocean Billy > Wappy Sprayberry > The Fussy Dutchman, Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution³ > Pay The Snucka⁴, Much Obliged⁵ > Who Knows > 1348
Encore: Prowler > No Woman, Let It Be⁶

¹ with Brendan and Jake on acoustics
² with “Voices Inside My Head” jam
³ first time played in full (AC/DC)
⁴ with Eruption tease
⁵ with Voodoo Child and 3rd Stone From the Sun teases
⁶ “No Woman No Cry” (Bob Marley) + “Let It Be” (The Beatles) mash-up 

--

Photo Credit: Josh Cohan

On Saturday night, expectations ran high at The Tabernacle. It was impossible to walk around without overhearing people debating what covers and mash-ups the band had in store.

Originally scheduled to open for Umphrey’s on night two, Dubconscious was forced to cancel their set due to a band injury a few days before the show. Taking the change in stride, Umphrey’s McGee bumped their set up an hour and made up for the lack of opener with their extremely diverse set.

Photo Credit: Josh Cohan

The setlist wasn’t the only fun factor of the night – the guys’ mash up costumes also made for an interesting sight. Bassist Ryan Stasik was Karate Kid Rock, drummer Kris Myers was Pamela Anderson Cooper, percussionist Andy Farag was Raggedy Andy Rooney, keyboardist Joel Cummins was Vince Neil Armstrong, lead vocalist Brendan Bayliss was Keith Richard Simmons and lead guitarist Jake Cinninger was Dimebag Darrell Hall.

Kicking off the night with “Jazz Odyssey” and seamlessly transitioning into the party friendly “40s Theme,” Umphrey’s had the crowd hyped and moving by the time they showcased their new song, “Miami Virtue” from their newly released album “Death By Stereo.”

[FOLLOW Headstash on Facebook.]

Slowly building a collective jam towards the end of the song, they broke it down and quickly shifted into “Push The Pig,” an obvious crowd favorite. Before beginning a short “Mulche’s Odyssey,” Myers, aka Pamela Anderson Cooper, announced that the band would now return “back to your regular scheduled programming” in his best high-pitched bimbo voice, proving his dedication to the mash up theme (if for some reason his fake breasts didn’t have you convinced).

Photo Credit: Josh Cohan

After moving on from an unfinished “Mulche’s,” they kicked the set into high gear with “(OG) Haunt,” the original version of “The Haunt,” which they haven’t played in over a year. Predicted in this set by many hopeful fans due to its relevance to the Hauntlanta theme, the song did not disappoint with an incredible “Jimmy Stewart” improv segment bringing it to a close.

Jamming into “Padgett’s Profile,” Umphrey’s delivered a song that was almost too perfect for the Halloween set with its suspenseful and slightly eerie jams. The band, seemingly unphased by their exhaustingly extensive rocking, closed out the set with their second mash up of the two-night run, “Addicted To Kiss.”

Mixing “Kiss” by Prince, “Addicted to Love” by Robert Palmer and “I Can’t Dance” by Genesis, Umphrey’s once again blew the top off any genre restrictions and demonstrated their extensive talent and repertoire. This already booty shaking jam became even more seductive as Pamela Anderson Cooper sang along in his high-pitched voice.

[BUY tickets to upcoming Umphrey's shows via their official website.]

Leaving the loyal Umphreaks restless and begging for more, Umphrey’s closed out the first set of the night, promising to “come back after a short set break and rock face again.”

Photo Credit: Josh Cohan

If there were any doubters left after the first set, Umphrey’s second set put all remaining worries to rest. Continuing the mash-ups, they launched into “Come As Your Kids,” a perfect and obvious crowd-pleasing blend of Nirvana’s “Come As You Are,” Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Right Round” and MGMT’s “Kids.” This mash-up was arguably the best of the entire run, sending the crowd into an absolute frenzy as they sang and danced along.

What made this segment so great was its unexpectedness. Just two nights before, Umphrey’s performed “In Bloom” by Nirvana at The Bama Theatre in Tuscaloosa, crushing the hopes of Nirvana fans who had been hoping for a Hauntlanta mash-up.

Jamming right from the mash-up into the end of “Mulche’s,” the band didn’t allow a second of reprieve as they continued to melt faces. With some stage banter in between, they launched into “All In Time” replete with jams from Ozzy Ozbourne’s “Crazy Train” and Yes’ “The Fish,” again pleasing fans across the musical spectrum and infusing some heavy metal into the band’s guitar-prominent song.

“Day Nurse” came next, easing the intensity of the set and providing an easy shift into the remaining few songs. “Resolution” followed with an upbeat, easygoing sentiment partitioned by the demonic voice in the middle that amplified the Halloween spirit in the room.

[DISCUSS Umphrey's McGee on our message boards.]

Photo Credit: Josh Cohan

“2x2” calmed the crowd before Umphrey’s busted out their last mash-up cover, “1985 Wellwishing” – a mixture of Wings’ “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five,” “Wishing Well” by Terrence Trent D’Arby and Umphrey’s own “Wellwishers.”

Ending the mash-up with Paul McCartney’s “Band On the Run,” Umphrey’s walked off, leaving the stage unoccupied and every member of the audience blown away. No one dared move until the crowd’s screams for more were met with the band returning to perform the emotional “Hajimemashite.”

With no end in sight, Umphrey’s played another song, this time mashing up two of their own songs in “Puppet Strings” and “In The Kitchen.” With the framework of “In The Kitchen” and the looming baseline of the band’s new song in the background, Umphrey’s proved they can even take their own originality to new levels.

Lacking the capacity to disappoint their fans, Umphrey’s returned to stage yet again for a second encore, driving the Tabernacle into a rumbling room of mayhem. “Nothing Too Fancy” wrapped up the night, but not before the band dabbled with a jam of “Don’t Fear The Reaper,” another song they often tease.

Ending around 1:40 a.m., Umphrey’s delivered another mind-boggling pairs of shows to their loving and loyal fans who all left the venue with the same question in mind: “When can I see them again?”

--

10.29.2011 – The Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA

Set I: Jazz Odyssey > 40s Theme, Miami Virtue > Push The Pig, Mulche's Odyssey > The Haunt > Jimmy Stewart¹ > Padgett's Profile, The Floor, Addicted to Kiss²
Set II: Come As Your Kids³ > Mulche's Odyssey, All In Time⁴, Day Nurse, Resolution > 2x2, 1985 Wellwishing⁵
Encore I: Hajimemashite, In The Puppet Kitchen⁶
Encore II: Nothing Too Fancy⁷

¹ with lyrics
² “Kiss” (Prince) + “Addicted to Love” (Robert Palmer) + “I Can't Dance” (Genesis) mash-up
³ “Kids” (MGMT) + “Come As You Are” (Nirvana) + “You Spin Me Right Round” (Dead or Alive) mash-up
⁴ with Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne) and The Fish (Yes) jams
⁵ “Nineteen Hundred and Eight Five” (Wings) + “Wishing Well” (Terrence Trent D'Arby) + “Wellwishers” mash-up, with Band On the Run ending
⁶ “Puppet Strings” + “In The Kitchen” mash-up
⁷ with “Don’t Fear The Reaper” (Blue Oyster Cult) jam

 

--

Umphrey's McGee's next show is November 2 in Clifton Park, NY at Northern Lights. For a complete list of dates and to buy tickets, check out their touring schedule.