Umphrey’s McGee Cover Derek and the Dominos, Talking Heads and The Fresh Prince on West Coast Tour
Umphrey’s McGee, photo by Brian Stollery
Umphrey’s McGee continued the West Coast leg of their Sky’s the Limit 2026 Tour over the weekend with two more engagements in their 14-show series. In keeping with a year that’s brought nearly nightly setlist surprises, the progressive jam ensemble, sans guitarist Jake Cinninger, brought some extra thrills to their stagings at Melo Park, Calif.’s Guild Theatre and Stateline, Nev.’s Harrah’s Lake Tahoe South Shore Room, including a sit-in, a bust-out and a partial live debut.
On Friday, March 13, Umphrey’s McGee stepped into their single night at The Guild Theatre with the relative rarity “Drink My Drank,” performed only 19 times since its 2012 debut. This deep cut quickly spilled over into essentials like “Slacker,” “Pure Saturation” and “All In Time” before careening into the longtime fan-favorite “All In Time” to cap off the enthralling segued sequence. After closing the set with a ripping medley of Derek and the Dominos’ “Bell Bottom Blues,” covered for only the sixth time since 2005, and “Andy’s Last Beer,” the band launched another set with “Der Bluten Kat” and reached the evening’s improvisational peak with a massive jam on Talking Heads’ “Making Flippy Floppy.” A set-closing return to “All In Time” primed the crowd for a satisfying encore of “Puppet String.”
When the lights went down in the Golden State, Umphrey’s McGee hustled over to Nevada for a follow-up at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe South Shore Room on Saturday night, beginning with “Similar Skin,” the title track from their eighth studio album. From the ensuing “Walletsworth,” they built to an exuberant first frame finale of Men at Work’s “Down Under,” then launched their next act with “Remind Me.” Three tracks into the second set, the band welcomed storied hard-rock drummer Jeff Martin to take over behind the kit and on lead vocals for a cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” charged with enduring reverence for the late Ozzy Osbourne.
Later in the same set, with new drummer Scotty Zwang in his rightful seat again, the band added some extra West Coast seasoning to an enthralling jam on “Resolution” with a spoken rendition fo the lyrics to DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song. “Divisions” capped off the set, then an encore of Willie Nelson’s “Whiskey River” was taken to its inevitable conclusion in the setlist staple “Hangover.”
Umphrey’s McGee will return tomorrow, March 17, for the first of two nights at Portland’s famed Revolution Hall. Find tickets and more information at umphreys.com. Read on for the full setlists from Friday and Saturday.
Umphrey’s McGee
The Guild Theatre – Menlo Park, Calif.
3/13/16
Set I: Drink My Drank > Slacker > Pure Saturation > All In Time > Made to Measure, Bell Bottom Blues > Andy’s Last Beer
Set II: Der Bluten Kat > Making Flippy Floppy > Der Bluten Kat, Staircase, That’s What Love Will Make You Do, Wappy Sprayberry > All In Time
Encore: Puppet String
Notes:
Entire show without Jake Cinninger
Umphrey’s McGee
Harrah’s Lake Tahoe South Shore Room – Stateline, Nev.
3/14/16
Set I: Similar Skin > Walletsworth, It Doesn’t Matter > Concessions > Down Under
Set II: Remind Me, The Silent Type, War Pigs[1], Front Porch > Resolution-> Yo Home to Bel-Air[2] > Front Porch, Divisions
Encore: Whiskey River > Hangover
Notes:
[1] with Jeff Martin replacing Scotty on drums, and on vocals. LTP 2022-02-20 (337 shows).
[2] debut, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince; incomplete, spoken over the jam out of Resolution
Entire show without Jake Cinninger
