Umphrey’s McGee guitarist Brendan Bayliss played a rare solo show last night in Chicago at the Tonic Room, delivering two sets of covers, original material and a few curveballs as Umphrey’s McGee readies to return to the road this weekend at the Hangout Festival.

Among the highlights are rare takes on “Alex’s House,” which was requested by an audience member. Bayliss also revisited some 30db material in the first set with a rendition of “Backbone” and (partially) “Cut the Cable,” which saw some time as a 30db tune before officially entering the Umphrey’s repertoire. In the middle of “August,” Bayliss offered up a new original that currently remains nameless. He commented that it’s “something I’ve been working on lately” and doesn’t have a full structure just yet. 

Notable performances in set two included an opening rare take on “You and You Alone,” a song that only sees action in Bayliss solo shows these days. The guitarist also welcomed out vocalist Michelle Hallman for a cover of Edie Brickell’s “Circle” and the following “Under African Skies” by Paul Simon. This would be the second Simon cover in the set, as Bayliss took on “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” earlier, despite a comment that he might “fuck it up.” An interesting surprise later on came out of “No Comment” when Bayliss jumped into “Upward” for the first time solo–a popular cut from the band’s 2014 Raw Stewage Quarter at UMBowl. 

The show closed with a few more standouts, including a cover of Dave Matthews Band’s “Pay For What You Get” (Bayliss also did “Christmas Song” at his acoustic show with Jake Cinninger), Ween’s “Baby Bitch,” which could be some foreshadowing to the band’s upcoming set with Gene Ween at Summer Camp, and Beck’s “Debra,” which has become a Bayliss favorite since its debut. The show closed with a popular encore of 30db’s “Liar” and a “Hajimemashite” finale. 

Watch both sets in full below.

Set I

Set II

Here’s a look at the setlist from last night:

Brendan Bayliss

Tonic Room, Chicago, IL

Set I: Similiar Skin, Puppet String > I’m on Fire > Puppet String, Cut the Cable, Alex’s House, Backbone, Wellwishers, August, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, No Diablo, Hourglass

Set II: You and You Alone, Circle*, Under African Skies*, No Comment > Upward, Pay For What You Get, Nemo > Ocean Billy > Nemo, Passing, Susannah, Final Word, Baby Bitch, Debra, Two Dips

Enc: Liar > Hajimemashite

Notes: *w/Michelle Hallman on vocals