Photos by Dino Perrucci
On Saturday night, Umphrey’s McGee concluded their two-night stand at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y., where they concluded their silver jubilee celebrations. Highlights from the evening included a sit-in from Jennifer Hartswick–who had played a pre-show with Brendan Bayliss at Garcia’s–the second-ever performance of “Unevolved” and a set break that saw Gary Dell’Abate, also known as Baba Booey and Peter Shapiro singing “Happy Birthday” to the band with the crowd and presenting them with a cake.
To start the night, Umphrey’s McGee emerged on stage and burst into “Bridgeless,” which ran over into a take on “13 Days.” The frame was only comprised of four songs, but the energy, quality and length of the tracks were in line with a commemoration of 25 years of musical creation. The ensemble landed on “Escape Goat” next, a track off their LP Asking For A Friend, which was released in July 2022. They closed the frame with a penultimate “White Man’s Moccasins” paired with a set-closing rendition of the aforementioned “Unevolved,” which debuted during 2022’s Umbowl at the Rivieria Theatre in Chicago in November of 2022.
After a break, The Capitol Theatre’s venerable owner Shaprio and the ever-hilarious radio personality Dell’Abate emerged with a cake and sang happy birthday to the band. They all gleamed at their accomplishment and desert before getting the set underway with “Wappy Sprayberry.” Umphrey’s McGee kept the energy and flavors flowing by moving into another cut from, Asking For A Friend, “Pure Saturation.” Without pause, they morphed the sound waves into “Dear Lord,” which stretched into “The Other Side of Things” which eventually turned to “Drums,” highlighting Jake Cinninger on percussion. Then, the band delivered “Puppet String” before Cinninger rocked heavily on a banging solo “Jam.”
After much applause for the pristine drum break down, the band rejoined for “Divisions.” Hartswick then stepped on stage, adding her vocals for “Bullhead City,” during which Bayliss and Cinninger supported her with acoustic instrumentation. Hartswick then shared her marvelous and gilded trumpet on “1000 Place to See Before You Die” before Umphrey’s McGee closed the frame with a cover of Queen’s seminal “Under Pressure,” a song they initially debuted live with the help of Hartswick at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colo., on June 17, 2022.
After the Saturday night display, Umphrey’s McGee will take a few nights off the road before resuming their tour on Thursday, Jan. 26, at Clyde Theatre in Fort Wayne, Ind. Tickets remain on sale. To learn more, visit the band’s official website.
Umphrey’s McGee
The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, N.Y.
Jan. 21, 2023
Set I: Bridgeless > 13 Days, Escape Goat-> White Man’s Moccasins > Unevolved
Set II: Wappy Sprayberry > Pure Saturation > Dear Lord > The Other Side of Things > Drums[1], Puppet String, Jam[2] > Divisions, Bullhead City[3], 1000 Places to See Before You Die[4], Under Pressure[5]
Enc.: Den > Bridgeless
Notes:
[1] with Jake on percussion
[2] just Jake
[3] with Jennifer Hartswick on vocals, and Brendan and Jake on acoustics
[4] with Jennifer Hartswick on trumpet
[5] with Jennifer Hartswick on vocals
Show Notes: before “Wappy Sprayberry,” venue owner Pete Shapiro and radio personality Gary Dell’Abate presented the band with a cake and led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday” for the band
setlist via allthings.umphreys.com