Umphreakin'

Umphrey's McGee! That's right, another UM post. Hock, Claudio, and I just went see Umphrey's in South Bend, IN and it was fuckin' sweet!

Pre-show: We set out at roughly 3:30 and got there in no time. It took about 2.5 hours. We found a parking spot in a lot right next to the venue....for only $5. Killer. We wandered a little ways down the main street until we thought, "let's just grab a few drinks right next door to the Morris." and we did. Hock and I downed a few brews and SVG suckled his (excessively strong) Long Island. We moseyed the fifty feet to the venue with an hour until the band was slated to start. So we grabbed another beer in the lobby (and another one eventually). I managed to embarrass myself like 3 times in only ten minutes, for instance:

Woman doing a raffle for UM poster: "Wanna win this poster?"
Me: "I wanna win this poster"
Woman: "Five dollars to enter"
Me: "I don't wanna win this poster"
Woman: "No Freebies"

...or me trying to bring a beer into the venue, when it was obviously a dry venue. I suck. So we got to our rockin' seats in the Upper level two rows from the rail. And the show began:

Set I: Glory>2x2, Wappy Sprayberry>Soul Food I*>White Man's Moccasins, Birthday^, End of the Road>Much Obliged>Hajimemeashite>1348

Set notes: They kept the set on the slow side except for when they needed to RAWK. The Wappy was sick. They played The Beatles' Birthday (with an old Ali Baba's Tahini member on drums) for the first time in like almost 1100 shows. Lucky us! Highlight: Sould Food I (my first!)

Set II: JaJunk>Cemetery Walk>JaJunk, Partyin' Peeps, Cemetery Walk II, Ringo$>Eminence Front>&Ringo, Preamble>Mantis

E: All in Time

(*So What teases, ^with Steve Kronjniewski on drums, $My Name is Mud teases, &Eminence Front teases)

Set notes: JaJunk with CW1 in the middle is crazy awesome and they really killed The Who's Eminence Front. Even after they went back into Ringo, Joel was still rockin' some EFront teases, it was pretty tyte. I wish the encore would've been something else, since I have seen AIT so many times, but the version they did was pushing 20 minutes and really let loose on some good jams (despite Jake's malfunctioning guitar cord).

All in all, it was a very boss experience.

GOERG out.