Long Island Encore – Umphrey’s McGee at The Paramount
Coming off of back to back shows at the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan, and with Monday morning quickly on the rise, Umphrey’s McGee and their passion-filled fans had no trouble bringing the energy to Long Island, Sunday night, 1/18, to cap off the bands 3 day New York run. While most of the country focused on The Colts and The Patriots to see who would face the Seattle Seahawks in the Super bowl, some of us were lucky enough to forget the certainties of life around us and experience Umphrey’s McGee’s truly talented, one of a kind performance. The deep bass lines of Ryan Stasik, the absolute mincing of Jake Cinninger’s guitar on lead, and the sweet melodies of Brendan Bayliss’ on rhythm paired with his vocals. Keyboardist Joel Cummins clashed gracefully as drummer Kris Myers and percussionist Andy Farag battled behind the other four members.
The Paramount Theatre in Huntington, NY is a striking venue with a large yet intimate floor, surrounded by thin VIP balcony sections on the upper two sides and an 11 row seated balcony rising behind General Admission. The venue filled beautifully with a hefty crowd and no shortage of energy, yet gave plenty of space to maneuver through the night. The 1,555 capacity theatre and Umphrey’s melodies harmonized perfectly with the corresponding lightshow directed by Jefferson Waful, who was handed the duties in 2008 after the stepping down of longtime Umphrey’s friend, Adam Budney.
As the screen at the forefront of the stage began to rise, the lights dimmed, leaving simply the shadows of the six piece band through an ambiance of subtle yet deep purple and yellow lights protruding from their backs. Slow eerie noises began to rise from the darkness into a heavy riff as Umphrey’s opened their set with a huge amount of energy with “Bathing Digits”. The dark, heavy riffs are replaced with the sweet ringing and upbeat tempo of Cinninger’s guitar as it screeches a much brighter vibe before inviting Brendan Bayliss to come in with his smooth vocals that give the once gloomy track a much livelier feel. Umphrey’s McGee’s ability to mix different types of music, and to intertwine and transition them so smoothly is what makes this band so special, among numerous others qualities. The group took the rigid yet dazed vibe and blended it effortlessly into “Go to Hell,” a mysterious, dark song that gives Cinninger plenty of opportunity to show just how good of a guitar player he is, constantly transitioning extremely difficult, rapid, lead guitar solos with slow precise lullaby-like jams played fluently. At the conclusion of the two-song jam, Umphrey’s gave their fans their first opportunity to show their appreciation, and the place exploded. “Phil’s Farm” was jammed next before Umphrey’s McGee slowed the pace down with Brendan Bayliss’ amiable vocals on “Mad Love” building the perfect opportunity to introduce special guest Josh Redman on saxophone for “Believe the Lie” that followed. Redman’s talents on saxophone are truly exceptional as he awed the crowd with an opening solo. He was a wonderful addition to the band throughout the night. After initially playing more of their recent music, Umphrey’s McGee began to take us back as Redman stayed on stage for the remainder of the first set; including an epic jam of “The Linear” into “Glory” and closing with longtime fan favorite “Anchor Drops,” giving each member of the band their own time to expose their talents. Umphrey’s stayed on Anchor Drops as Stasik lead us into the slow funky feelings of “Wife Soup” to wind down the first set as the band thanked fans before the brief intermission.
Filled with a majority of songs from their 2009 album, Mantis, integrated with Umphrey’s classics, the second set of the night hit flawlessly. The band again started slowly and quietly with “Preamble” before erupting into “Mantis” just as they do on the album that shares its name, before settling down and setting up the audience for what I believed to be the highlight of the night. Umphrey’s brought Josh Redman back out for an incredibly funky jam of their classic “Booth Love.” The smooth, spacy vocals of Bayliss blended with the groovy bass lines of Stasik and a precise sax performance by Redman give this version something special from the start. They were not done; with Redman in place, the group teased the Pink Floyd classic “Another Brick in the Wall” and certainly made this version of “Booth Love” something to remember for Umphrey’s McGee fans everywhere. No matter if it was their first show, or if they have been following the bands 17 year existence. Taking no time in between, The six piece and Redman hopped back into Mantis as playing “1348”, foreshadowing what came to be an awe-inspiring encore; but the show still wasn’t quite finished yet. Songs “Higgins” and “Mail Package” followed, giving Josh Redman plenty of time to serenade Umphrey’s fans one last time before the band parted the stage with emphasis; leaving the audience in pure anticipation of what the encore will hold. The stage went black as the crowd threw their hands up with the classic Umphrey’s symbol begging for a few more songs.
The finale opened up with great energy as Umphrey’s gave Huntington, NY another treat, a cover of “Led Boots”, originally made famous by Jeff Beck. The song has only been played by Umphrey’s McGee live twice and both in this early part of 2015. With a band that has played such a wide variety of music throughout their lengthy careers, it’s always refreshing to see that they are still able to mix it up and surprise a crowd full of fans, both old and new. The night concluded with the completion of “1348” that they had started earlier. With a long loud roar of the crowd, Umphrey’s McGee’s 3 day stint in New York ended a ginormous success; as they left smiles on the faces of New Yorkers who cannot wait to experience this unique sound again.
