Da Umph

3/11/11 – Umphrey’s McGee – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom (17th show)
I: The Floor, Turn & Dub, Intentions Clear > Professor Wormbog, Rocker Part 2, JaJunk
II: All in Time > Pay the Snucka, Comfortably Numb, The Triple Wide > All in Time, Made to Measure, Go to Hell, August > Dear Lord > August, Mood for a Day > Pay the Snucka > Bulls on Parade > Pay the Snucka
E: Booth Love, The National Anthem

I have to admit that I was a little worn out for this one as six shows in seven days can be a little rough on an old man. So while I wasn’t shedding any tears about not being packed in like a sardine I was a little surprised at the lack of turnout on a Friday night in Portland for the Umph. Even though I am not the most hardcore Umphrey’s fan I know one thing to be true…

Umphrey’s. Always. Destroys. Portland.

I settled into a spot far back in the all age’s side of the Crystal as the boys took the stage to the theme from Knight Rider. The show first took off with a fantastic “Turn and Dub” that warmed the crowd up and made me oh so happy that I had plenty of room to boogie. “Intentions Clear” was hands down the highlight of the first set and featured a long multi-tiered jam that built on the vibe of “Dub” but went even further out there before splashing down into “Professor Wormbog.” A fierce “JaJunk” closed down the set but the best was yet to come.

When the volume went down on Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love” the band decided to keep playing along to the jam for about a minute before dropping on a dime into a raging “All in Time.” About half way through the song guitarist Jake Cinninger led the band into a few verses of Archie Bell and the Drells’ “Tighten Up” which turned out to be just the first of many fun teases on the night.

“Tighten Up” gave way to a slight Tears for Fears “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” tease before sliding into “Pay the Snucka.” After the vocal portion of “Snucka” we got some Howard Jones “Things Can Only Get Better” whoa-whoa-whoa’s prior to the “Snucka” refrain before Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” shocked everyone in attendance. Keyboard player Joel Cummins and guitarist Brendan Bayliss switched off on the lyrics with Bayliss especially nailing his parts.

“The Triple Wide” was a straight up disco dance party that had the entire crowd getting down like nobody’s business. Then out of nowhere Cinninger started up theNEWDEAL’s “Glide” and it was really on. After about two minutes of building to an epic peak the boys exploded back into “All in Time” and the place went bananas.

I really enjoyed how the groovy swing of “Made to Measure” gave way to the uber-rocking instrumental “Go to Hell.” The closing stanza of the night started out with Jake playing Yes’ “Mood for a Day” and then “Snucka” started back up. But the capper to evening was one verse of Rage Against the Machine’s “Bulls on Parade” sandwiched in between “Snucka” that raised the energy in the room yet another notch. They played Radiohead’s “The National Anthem” right up until 12:59 and there wasn’t one unsatisfied person walking out of the Ballroom to my ears.

This night was more about fun and energy than epic jams but upon re-listen this show holds up very well. I think my buddy Chip summed it up perfectly when comparing the Crystal to the two that followed at the Fillmore when he said, “Friends + space + raging show = good times.”