The opener, Hurt Bird Bath, is one of the band’s most challenging songs and offers plenty of opportunities for improvisation. The set didn’t let up in intensity, as heavy hitters Ocean Billy and Resolution followed. My friend Pipe came to this show after years of being told about Umphrey’s vulgar display of power, and after the intense start of the show he was excited that the more mellow Morning Song followed. Pipe ran to get a drink and mentioned later he knew he really liked the band when what he thought was a bathroom song evolved into a psychedelic mindfuck. The set ended with one of the band’s more complex compositions Mulche’s Odyssey.
The second set didn’t offer much of a reprieve for those looking to sit and relax in the comfortable movie theater-style stadium seating at the back of the Nokia as the band opened with Bridgeless. Bridgeless has been cleverly described as Umphrey’s’ “Jane Fonda Workout,” due to the speed and precision in which the band barrels through all the different segments of the song. But that night at the Nokia, the band atypically took off on a tangent after they completed the frenetic first five minutes of Bridgeless. Following a few minutes of mind-blowing improvisation, the band landed on the e-drum beat that signals the beginning of The Triple Wide. Yet another heavy hitter in their repertoire, The Triple Wide quickly lost its techno sensibilities and became a balls-to-the-wall rock jam. Building upon the interplay by guitarists Brendan Bayliss and Jake Cinninger, the band wound up jamming on the Chicago classic “25 or 6 to 4.”
For a few years Jen Hartswick toured with a bunch of her friends as the Jennifer Hartswick Band, and one of their showstoppers was “25 or 6 to 4.” When Umphrey’s started jamming the song I immediately thought Jen would come out to join them. It was just a coincidence, though, as the band slowly brought the jam to a close. After a run through the title track of the upcoming release “The Bottom Half,” the band called on Hartswick to come out for the moment of truth.
My friends and I went nuts when Umphrey’s and Jen tore into Sweet Child O’ Mine as if they had been playing the song together for years. In fact, UM hadn’t played it in more than six years — 10/16/00, to be exact — yet the version at Nokia was perfect. There is nothing like seeing a crowd pumping its fists and going apeshit for a cover that everyone knows and can sing along with.
Pt 1 (courtesy of “Thelawyer”):
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Pt 2 (courtesy of “Thelawyer”):
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Words can’t describe how cool it was to watch this whole process unfold, as it was clear Pipe couldn’t have picked a better night to catch the band. The raging cover ended with Hartswick belting out the “Where do we go?” segment with the same passion she did two weeks earlier with Pancreas. At the end of the song, Bayliss explained the situation: “So Jen sent us a text message like two hours ago saying ‘Would you play Sweet Child O’ Mine if I sang it?'” We later found out the band ran through segments of the song twice before playing it that night, and even though Umphrey’s hadn’t tackled it in 891 shows, all they needed was 20 minutes to prepare a kickass version.
The permagrins were intact, and the band continued to throw down on such rockers as Push The Pig, Miss Tinkle’s Overture and one of their first compositions, Much Obliged, with a quick jam out of Much Obliged leading to the end of Bridgeless.
So after a mediocre first show, the band came out with guns blazing on the second night and made quite a statement. Pipe and I had been checking out different vantage points throughout the second set, and we made our way back to our assembled group of friends during the encore break. High-fives and hugs were rampant as we all celebrated seeing an amazing concert.
The band returned to the stage and played another cover it hadn’t played in more than 500 shows, Paul McCartney and Wings’ Band On The Run. In 2002, when UM last played Band On The Run, their drummer at the time, Mike Mirro, handled the vocals. It was thought that when Mirro left the band shortly thereafter, the song would be retired. You can imagine my shock when the familiar opening chords rang out, and I jumped into the air doing quite the happy dance.
The show ended and Wade ran up to us, joining the impromptu post-show celebration. He told me he had a treat for me and gave me the band’s stage setlist, signed by none other than the incomparable Huey Lewis. Apparently Lewis, who was in town for a role in the musical Chicago, had been watching the show from backstage. Wade, knowing how much of a freak I am for memorabilia, took the opportunity to get me Huey’s signature on it. We all left the Nokia with wide smiles and went back to my apartment to discuss the amazing performance we had just witnessed.
A great idea and a great show make for one hell of a night.
12/02/06 Nokia Theatre, New York, NY
Set I: Hurt Bird Bath, Ocean Billy > Resolution1 > Ocean Billy, Morning Song, Mulche’s Odyssey
Set II: Bridgeless > The Triple Wide2, The Bottom Half, Sweet Child O’ Mine3, Push the Pig4, Miss Tinkle’s Overture > Much Obliged > Bridgeless
Encore: Band on the Run5
1 ‘Norwegian Wood’ Tease
2 ‘Carol Of The Bells’ Tease ; ’25 Or 6 To 4′ Jam
3 Jennifer Hartwsick on Vocals ; Last Played 10/16/2000 (891 Shows)
4 Jake on Additional Keyboards
5 Last Played 10/22/2002 (586 Shows)
For audio of this show check out Jon Merin’s recording on the archive:
http://www.archive.org/details/um2006-12-02.flac16
Our photos come from Matt Ziegler; you can see more of his photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattziegler/sets/72157594406082459/
12 Responses
So the new CD is called ‘The Bottom Half’? Any idea what the track list will look like (other than The Bottom Half, obviously!)? I was thinking that morning song, bridgeless, and higgins would all be on it. Great report. Thanks.
nice.
awesome review.
I realize you were setting up the second night, Scotty, but I would suggest listening to that first show again (Merin’s sources are quite nice, of course). I still think that first set holds up to the other three from the past weekend. It was a different type of Umphrey’s, sure, but to say it was mediocre doesn’t resonate with my ears. But hey, that is part of the beauty of UM’s music, huh?
Thanks for the review. Good to see you again.
Also, you can find Ziggy’s pictures at umphreys.com:
http://www.umphreys.com/home/images.php?showId=1125
great review! i, unlike jeremy, love the fact that people are calling the first show mediocre since i got in town too late to catch it. 🙂
i’ve seen jen’s band a few times back at lion’s den. she’s awesome. i thought saturday’s show was exceptional. i’m loving what they’ve been doing to ocean billy and resolution. thanks for posting these articles!
Pancreas Owns Your Face 🙂
well done once again scotty! the only biff of the night was the missing Pancreas shout out by Bayliss
Hey, that was a great read. I had a blast at those two shows. But I was wondering if I could get involved with this Diabetes reasearch benifit concert? I’ve been a Diabetic for about 7 years now and I have been playing the guitar for about the same time. Please email me back I’d like to talk more.
great review. i finally got a chance to listen to both of these shows and they couldn’t be more differnent. Thats what i love. NY got a great feel of how well, and diverse, they’ve been playing all year. NYE can’t come soon enough, but these shows will hold me till i get to chitown. thanks scotty