We do our best to bring you shit from all corners of the live music scene, just in case our precious jambands become extinct. But one week ago at a raucous gig at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel, Umphrey’s McGee and Yonder Mountain String Band proved the death of the jamband has been greatly exaggerated.

All photos by Adam Kaufman

The Friday night Lupo’s show started off with a brief set by UM’s Brendan Bayliss and YMSB’s Jeff Austin. About 30 minutes elapsed before the remaining members of Yonder Mountain String Band took the stage and got the audience hooting and hollering. YMSB played a smoldering set of bluegrass with some much needed edge. During Steep Grade Sharp Curves, one member of Yonder would leave the stage to be replaced by a member of Umphrey’s. One by one, YMSB gave way to Umphrey’s without any break in the music. The crowd roared when Bayliss took the stage completing the full band segue.

Read on after the jump for more of Scotty’s review and Adam’s great shots…

Umphrey’s McGee played a two-hour set peppered with crowd pleasers. The floor was jammed packed with people dancing, most of them drinking and dancing, and doing it all quite well. Some of the highlights of their set included a Resolution that was bursting at the seams with improvisation, and a nasty version of The Triple Wide that somehow segued into the classical tune In The Hall of the Mountain King. The energy kept building up throughout the set, climaxing with a typically perfect run through Bridgeless.

Yonder Mountain String Band’s Jeff Austin and Dave Johnston joined Umphrey’s at the beginning of their encore for a take on the Led Zeppelin classic That’s The Way. Austin and Bayliss had been playing this tune during their duo gigs, but it was really nice to see a full-band version. After two hours of raging, it was nice to mellow out with some tasty Zeppelin. The lull in energy was short lived, as Partyin’ Peeps kicked in with Austin taking a nice mandolin solo. When the show finally ended after four hours of music with no interruptions, it was clear that the people of Providence surely got their money’s worth.

Let’s check out some more of Adam Kaufman’s terrific shots from Umphrey’s set:

Brendan Bayliss appears lost in the words he’s singing

Andy Farag awash in Deep Purple

Umphrey’s Bathed In Yellow mid-jam

Joel Cummins is about to put the smackdown on his organ

Sometimes it looks like Jake Cinninger barely touches the fretboard

Tangled Up In Blues

UM stage manager Robbie Williams shines a light through Kris Myers’ head

I don’t know what the band is playing here, but I bet it’s aggressive