Let’s get this out of the way first: This is the show of the tour. 1999 and 2000 have a high bar to reach. There will also be tear-filled gifs here because gifs are awesome and Umphrey’s played their two finest tear-jerkers last night. Let’s get into this Michigan throwdown.

Set One

Set I: Le Blitz > Eat > Pequod > Eat, Words, Little Gift, No Diablo, Liberty Echo, Bad Poker, No More Tears, Hajimemashite

How They Played

There could be thousands of words written about what happens in the first little segment to start the show. First of all, it’s a Stasik setlist so you should always expect the unexpected. The beginning is the unexpected. The rock riffage of “Eat” combined with the beauty of “Pequod” was a seriously crushing way to open the show. Without a single word out of Brendan’s mouth, the show was already at a high level.

And then “Words” hit. Queue MORENO TEARS.

Thankfully, “Little Gift” provided an opportunity to head-bang those tears away so your buddies didn’t see you. Don’t worry, they definitely did and will bring it up at a later date. The band continued their theme this tour of opening up unsuspecting tunes, as the newbie got stretched out a bit with a straightahead drums and guitar jam that evolved into a pretty slick stop/start jam (or “bounceback” as the kids say). Again, Joel and Jake are listening to each other incredibly well, with both unafraid of jumping into the deep end without those cool floaties around their arms. You know the ones. Don’t act like they’re not cool anymore.

“Liberty Echo,” the first Raw Stewage tune ever played in 2012, followed and proved that these one-off performances of Raw Stewage cuts need to continue. That makes it three shows in a row we’ve seen a Raw Stewage song played (“Den” and “Amble On” previously) so let’s hope Madison tonight can make it four in a row. Jake did some good ol’ pickin’ at the end of the jam that would make Del McCoury proud before singing about Molly Hatchet and hangovers in “Bad Poker.” Rum is a stupid liquid to drink, kids. Stick to whiskey.

I’d have to check, but fairly sure “No More Tears” is the biggest bustout on this tour. 193 shows. That’s not long in Umphrey’s land but certainly a good chunk of time. And this message was a damn lie because there were plenty of more tears to come in the second set. Hell, if “Haji” moves you like that. Ah, who am I kidding? Of course it does. QUEUE THE TEARS.

MVP

Throughout the tour, no duo has been more impressive than Jake and Joel. Their work in this sets finest offering, the extended “Little Gift,” was vital to the overwhelming success of the first lengthy spin of the Similar Skin standout.

Playback Value

Definitely check out the “Little Gift.” A first glimpse into the band’s idea of the ceiling for the song, and where it may go in the future. The opening “Eat” > “Pequod” > “Eat” is also a healthy portion of instrumental UM goodness.

Set Two

Set II: 46 & 2, The Weight Around, The Triple Wide, Cemetery Walk > Cemetery Walk II, Syncopated Strangers > Dirty Love > Syncopated Strangers, Wizard Burial Ground

Enc: JaJunk

How They Played

For all of the incredible setlists Ryan Stasik has had his hand in, this set may be his finest hour yet. Opening with his favorite “46 & 2” (remember when them covering that was a pipe dream?), the band followed it up with just the seventh “Weight Around” ever and now let’s get a live shot of me on my couch watching “Weight Around” performed with an extended Jake solo:

You didn’t have much time to recover after the song Brendan Bayliss affectionately calls “The Buzzkill” as the band launched into a down and dirty “Triple Wide.” This would set off a cohesive segment that would be followed by the “Cemetery Walk” pairing. Let’s take another swipe at this dead horse as once again it’s time to praise the work between Jake and Joel. “Cemetery Walk I” is their time to shine and this one was no different. “Cem II,” while restrained then the previous version on this tour, still managed to work itself into a danceable section.

An early candidate for song of the year, “Syncopated Strangers” notched another stellar version last night as the band welcomed out old pal Cousin Eli (Andy Farag) to sing Frank Zappa’s “Dirty Love” in between the two segments of the tune. The return of the broken up “Syncopated” might be the highlight of this Umphrey’s year, barring some seriously demented shit going down in Madison or Atlanta.

“Wizard” closed the set in ridiculous fashion and I’m fairly confident Jake and Joel teased a bit of the “Jaws” theme song before the tune. On that note, The Discovery Channel should really think about using the song during Shark Week 2015. “JaJunk” held down the encore spot for the second time this tour in valiant fashion as the tune is becoming a comfort zone for the band. This 15-minute jam was once again a cohesive, fist-pumping jam culminating in the big rock finish.

MVP

The guy who wrote the set also played his ass off during this one, as Stasik not only held down the complexities of “46 & 2” but also orchestrated the “Syncopated” segment that proved to be as musically interesting as it was downright entertaining. Yes, it can always be both, people.

Playback Value

Any time Cousin Eli joins the party, it’s noteworthy. Do yourself a favor and check out this “Syncopated” sandwich as well as the “Wizard,” “Triple Wide” and a little extra fun on “The Weight Around.” This was the band locked in from the first note and made for one hell of a set.

NEXT UP: Party like its 1999 in Madison.