6/28/15 Umphrey's McGee @ Limelight Eventplex - Peoria, IL

It's been two weeks since I saw Umphrey's McGee twice at the end of June.  The show in Des Moines was a smashing success.  However, this Sunday performance in a glorified pole barn known as Limelight Eventplex was somewhat forgettable.  The improvisation simply didn't seem quite as diverse as in Des Moines.  Overall, it was a heavier sound.  I made the short hour drive down to Peoria by myself on Sunday night.  The whole appeal of this show was seeing UM at the CEFCU Stage.  With the flooding the show was moved to the nearby James Baldwin Park.  The night before with the forecasts of imminent rain promoter Jay Goldberg moved the show to this new venue on the north side of Peoria.  I had to park down the road at a strip mall because the venue parking was full.  It was raining and the line of fans wrapped around the building.  I have no idea why they were wanding everyone in front of a sheriff.  They don't do that at the CEFCU Stage. 


The show started with a mult-layered Front Porch sandwich that included Resolution and a guest appearance by merch employee Steve on percussion.  Also, in this sandwich was only the second time played for the Root Beer Rag by Billy Joel.  2x2 had the best jam of the first set.  I liked the juxtaposition of the heavier Little Gift and then the softer song, The Pequod.  It was a treat to hear The Pequod.  A rocking Mulche's wrapped up the set.  This venue was crowded and dark.  It was lacking in any charm whatsoever. 


Dump City had some decent improvisation to get the second set started.  I was close to the stage at this point but had to move back because of the overcrowding.  The Linear was a good call a this juncture. The Bottom Half is a song I've heard too many times.  FF isn't one I normally get excited about but the jam out of it was probably the highlight of the night for me.  OoO is a song I always enjoy.  It was interesting to see them use the intro jam LeBlitz in the middle of the set and it worked well going into Domino Theory.  Yes bassist Chris Squire passed away that day so it was a classy tip of the hat to cover Roundabout.  UM does a great job with that song which I'd only seen once before at the NYE 2010 run.  They did a Front Porch fakeout before setting into a Thin Air encore.  I'm glad I went to this show but it was rather forgettable.