Umphrey's McGee
2/12/11
Liberty Hall
Lawrence, KS
I: Wappy Sprayberry > FF, Who Knows, Mail Package, Mail Package, Morning Song, Go to Hell, Dear Prudence, Rocker pt. II
II: Preamble > Mantis, Nemo > We're Going to War > Nemo, Professor Wormbog, 1348, Phil's Farm > Sweet Dreams/Sun Glasses at Night > Phil's Farm, Miss Tinkle's Overture
E: 2nd Self > The Floor
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The sun was shining and the weather was warmer than it had been in weeks melting some of the midwest snow. The drive from the Quad Cities to Des Moines is a stretch of highway I know all too well from my college days at Iowa State. Today my ala mater lost down in Lawrence, KS to the newly presumed #1 ranked Kansas Jayhawks. The college students in attendance at the show this evening were in rowdy spirits. I found prime parking on Massachusetts and walked across the bridge to the Phantasy Tour meetup coordinated by Bobbyluv at Johnny's Tavern. Earlier in the day I questioned whether I had the motivation to make this 6+ hour drive for a band that I was seeing for the 131th time. Once I was in the company of some of my favorite music friends I knew that I had indeed made the correct decision.
Umphrey's McGee hit the stage around 9:30 to a sold out Liberty Hall with Renegade by Styx on the PA. It had been exactly 7 years to the day when I had last been at this venue for moe. From a visual standpoint it is similiar to the Vic Theatre in Chicago with space aged murals painted on the walls. Wappy Sprayberry out of the chute was a geysor of energy and spawned some of the night's most successful musical communication. Finally they settled into FF which contained more improvisation this time moving into a brief cover of Who Knows by the Band of Gypsys. Mail Package included an extended intro tease before starting the actual song. Morning Song was one of the most soulful moments of the night. I had heard them soundchecking Go the Hell which is basically Cold Smoke without lyrics. The crowd reaction was very positive following that one. Cinninger's guitar sounded like a chainsaw. I hadn't heard Dear Prudence since last fall in Pittsburgh. They was well done besides Jake adding Eddie Van Halen style licks. Rocker pt. II was another highlight of the set and this was a different approach to what they did with it on NYE. This included a They Love Each Other tease by Jake which was appropriate with Valentine's Day on the horizon.
It was easy to recognize the opening notes of the Preamble to Mantis. This was a well played version. Nemo transitioned into the Mark Knopfler cover We're Going to War. The jam before the return to Nemo was a major highlight of the night. This was a dance groove driven by Stasik. I would consider this rendition of Professor Wormbog to be one of the best I've ever heard. 1348 continues to be the strongest song off the Mantis album in the the live setting. I felt the show lagged a bit during the Phil's > mashup > Phil's sammy. That was really nothing to write home about. A decent Miss Tinkle's finished off the set.
Jeff Waful was on point with his lighting all night long per usual. I had no issues with the new soundman's mix. I wasn't wild about the PA music which ran the gamut from Guns 'N Roses to Hall & Oates but that is a trivial matter. I guess I miss seeing Kevin Browning because he was such an integral part of their road team since I started seeing them in 2001. On a related note where was Don Richards? Is he still their road manager? This was a good show, not the greatest I've seen. The jam after We're Going to War and Wormbog were the clear cut highlights. After the show I stayed at the Holiday Inn with Kenny, Maggie, and Dave who are my friends from Omaha.
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