Making their debut perforamance at Detroit’s Fillmore Theater, Umphrey’s McGee brought some serious heat to downtown Detroit, melting much of the snow and ice around the theater into some nasty, funked out slush. I happen to work down the road in a basement lab at Wayne State University, and had already braved the afternoon’s onslaught of snow to get home before the show – by the time the worst had passed and I’d cleared the snow from outside my house, I knew I wasn’t going to make the opening act. In fact, I was starting to sweat it just a bit, despite outside temperatures in the low 20s. After braving I-75 with few problems, I circled the blocks behind the theater in search of a parking spot. I trudged through the half-frozen, quickly browning muck to the theater’s box office. There, I quickly secured my ticket and photo pass from will-call, got carded, patted down, greeted by friends, sent to two different lines, and was inside. Once past security, I moved like mercury from a broken thermometer, flowing around objects, into the theater, around the sections of seats, and down to the front photo pit. Bare seconds later the band walked out on stage and unleashed a wave of music that by the end of the night I had a newfound appreciation for Umphrey’s McGee.
Umphrey’s McGee – Fillmore Theater, Detroit
Not being an ardent fan, it’s difficult to compare and evaluate the more subtle aspects of the night’s performance – song choice or ordering in the set list, as well as how the performance rates in comparison to shows from the current tour. That said, having now seen Umphrey’s more than just a handful of times the band has definitely grown on me – as they combine progressive rock reminiscent of Yes with occasionally Phishy improvisational jams blending with pop and rock. The band was definitely grateful for the enthusiastic audience that packed the main floor of the former State Theater, knowing full well that the crazy weather might stop some from making the trek to downtown. I spoke with folks in the audience who’d come from Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, K-zoo, and even Chicago and Indianapolis. Beyond the friendly Detroit-Chicago sports rivalries, the Detroit area is almost a second home to the band, who played their first gig here at the Berkeley front over ten years ago.
As guitarists Jake Cinnigger and Brendan Bayliss alternate on rhythm/lead duties, I was struck not just by some of their more blistering solos and fretwork, but also by the fact that if the guitar effects were made just a bit more distorted and chunky it would sound more like the fast metal sounds of fellow Chicagoans Disturbed than most of Umphrey’s jam band brethren. As the set progressed from more proggy tunes like Wellwishers to more pop-inspired tunes like Susanah and into 15-minute plus long numbers like The Bottom Half, Hurt Bird Death, and 1348, the crowd of twenty- and thirty-something suburbanites danced up quite the storm. Umphrey’s spectacular light show also contributed substantially to the vibe as colored beams of light penetrated the fog which also covered up the audience’s other penchants common to the scene. After the second set, I made my way to the exit just as the band came back for their encore, starting with a great cover of Bob Seger’s Night Moves that definitely showed the love these Chicago phenoms have for the D.
Click here to listen to a recording of the whole show on the Live Music Archive.
After leaving the Fillmore, I headed up the street to the Majestic Complex and the Magic Stick where Ann Arbor’s premier party band the Macpodz were hosting the official after party for the Umphrey’s show. As the band went on, the room was quickly filling in with Umphrey’s fans not yet wanting for the night to end. Umphrey’s McGee guitarist Jake Cinninger joined the ‘podz on drums for a song while drummer Griffin Bastian joined percussionist/flutist Nick Ayers on his kit. Ultimately, the long day caught up with me and I ended up bailing while the Macpodz were still raging it and the audience was having a blast.
Check out some photos from their hot set below:
Macpodz – Magic Stick, Detroit
WERD!!
-drew