UMPHEY’S McGEE – LIVE – HOUSE OF BLUES CLEVELAND

By Eric Rauert

It was once again an evening with me and Umphey’s McGee at the House of Blues downtown. When I caught them in Jan ’23 (almost to the day), it wasn’t a show of particular note even seeming a bit noodley. But Umphrey’s played a Led Zeppelin cover set in their home state of Indiana that I saw later that year and I was blown away. Jason Bonham joined them on drums and the modified Umphrey’s provided any insanely technical rock base for a slew of guest artists and themselves to shine.

So coming into another show, I wasn’t really sure what to expect having experienced such a range. Drummer Kris Myers had returned a month earlier from shoulder surgery and I was glad to see him back in top form . “Prowler”, an Umphrey’s original, was the choice for opener. This has that categorical Umphrey’s prog rock sound, coming off of probably the best titled album of all time: Local Band Does OK. Jolting prog gave way to Santana style riffs, showcasing guitarist Jake Cinninger. This man doesn’t look particularly imposing with a ball cap, quarter zip, and mild stage presence but I can assure you, he’ll sneak up on you when you’re not expecting and absolutely melt your face off.

“Prowler” flowed seamlessly into “Water”. I won’t say anything that hasn’t been said before but Brendan Bayliss is not my favorite lead vocalist. In fact, no one in Umphrey’s is particularly that strong on vocals and I wasn’t a particular fan of “Water” for that reason. I much preferred when the instrumentals reigned in the middle of jams like “No Comment” and “White Man’s Moccasins”. Both these songs channel a fusion of prog rock and jazz and it was easy to tell these were Umphrey’s originals.

Because while it might be able to easily pick out Umphrey’s songs sonically, they can’t be pigeonholed into any genre. “Out of Order” up next broke down into an absolute classic rock odyssey. “Anchor Drops” channeled blues and funk. “Remind Me” was the closer of the first set and started with a tense buildup out of “Anchor Drops”. I don’t know what genre you call this song, but Ryan Stassik on bass absolutely provides one for the record books here. That bass is groovy from start to finish, all 16 glorious minutes.

In fact, every member of the band got to shine in the final jam of the first set, with a particularly strong and funky showings from keyboardist Joel Cummins. Rivaling only Page McConnell in number of on stage keyboards, he absolutely controlled the tempo of breakdowns with some particularly ghostly highlights. These transitions made way for the rest of the band to play snippets of speed metal, making for a killer high energy end to the first set.

The second set meandered along at first with “Looks” and “Similar Skin”. These were a bit calm and funkier but I did hear percussionist Andy Farag ring out in “Looks” to great effect. Myer’s provides a strong backbone while Farag brings the funkier percussive accompaniment, with songs like this as a prime example.

Photos Michael Girbino

Reigniting the second set, “Padgett’s Profile” was next. This has a heavy, marching beat complemented by various sonic experiments to the metal backbone. Bayliss and Cinninger trade spotlights here all song long and this might be my favorite original live performance I’ve managed to see from them.

“New Wings” has the style of a classic rock ballad and I enjoyed the layering of Bayliss’ and Cinniger’s vocals here, both seemingly taking the lead. Bayliss took a quick moment to acknowledge a yell from the crowd, taking a rare band break between songs: “Thank you. I appreciate that. I appreciate the fuck and the yeah.”. Stone cold delivery here: A+

“Resolution” had a FANTASTIC jam in the middle but otherwise kind of noodled along a little too slowly for me. “Booth Love” brought us into the finale of the show and the slow buildup of this song ends up paying off in a big way. Similar to “Resolution”, this song was a bit of a cooler for me as a closer but damn is it funky.

There are some very interesting breakdowns that managed to grab cheers from the crowd and myself but the ending was worth it. The whole crew was in a deep jam pocket here together, trading solos and supporting each other through the final 3-4 minutes of strong jamming. Tempo cuts kept this interesting while not lingering too long from absolutely just blasting off.

They took a short break to walk off stage and wait for us to cheer, as one does. Seemingly with “Educated Guess” and “Partyin’ Peeps” as the encore, the same jam style seemed to continue from the closer. Sections of vocals and verses continued to give way to harder jams and breakdowns in both songs. With one final shredding guitar solo from Cinniger in “Partyin’ Peeps, the show concluded.

This was a solid showing from Umphrey’s for my third time with them. Similar to Pigeons Playing Ping Pong gig I saw late last year, the technical ability, communication, and comfort level to experiment I see on stage comes from Umphrey’s being a jam band tour de force for over 25 years now. The lights are incredible, the music is popping, and the crowd was having the time of their lives.

At that point, like any act, it comes down to personal song preference. I for one will catch every tour date I can reasonably reach but don’t find much in their studio collection for example. As a jam band, everyone is likely to find something they like but again the same as PPPP, the live energy is just something that can’t be matched and should be experienced at least once. And you’re in luck: they already have an insane 38 more shows announced through September across the country.

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