9/23/17 Umphrey's McGee @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island - Chicago, IL

After work last Friday I drove to Madison, WI where I stayed with longtime friend Soren and his girlfriend Melissa.  It was gracious of them to let me stay.  We ate dinner, played some pool, and watched a movie called "Waking Life".  The next morning I got up and made my way to Milwaukee for the Cubs vs Brewers.  I stopped at my buddy Craig's place in New Berlin on the way.  This was my first time to Miller Park.  It was very hot with temps in the 90s.  It was a noon start but they still continued with the Disco Night theme which I enjoyed.  The crowd was over 44,000 and was sold out.  Hendricks pitched well.  As did Wilson from the bullpen.  Surprisingly it was Wade Davis who blew two leads in the 9th and 10th innings who let us down on this occasion.  The Brewers apparently play Bob Seger "Old Time Rock and Roll" after their wins.  It was a little stressful with the detours and traffic after the game but I made my way to the Lake Forest Oasis where my dinner was Sbarro and Dunkin Donuts.  It made me think of when we had stopped there in previous years going north to Milwaukee.  This time I was rolling south and onto a stretch of interstate 94 that I'm not sure I'd ever traveled right before it connects with 90.  Finally I got off at Lake Shore Drive and parked in the Soldier Field garage.  As I walked into the venue I could hear Umphrey's McGee starting up Nemo. 


I met some good people during the setbreaks.  Before the show I saw my friend Fabian and his brother Francis.  I said hello to Adam Budney as I entered the crowd.  The first set had Jake and Brendan on acoustic guitars.  The rest of the band appeared to be using normal gear.  It was still daylight for the first set which lasted about 45 minutes in duration.  The show started on time at 6:30.  For the record I did not attend the previous attempt when it was rained out.  The acoustic set and rescheduled show was a way of the band making it right.  After a day of watching baseball in the hot sun and battling gridlock on the highway a three set concert may have been a bit ambitious.  I drank a 5 hour energy and continued onward.  There were a few songs in that first set I was not familiar with and had to look up on their Twitter page.  Mike Racky sat in on pedal steel for four songs.  I remembered him from several of the Jake and Brendan Christmas shows.  In the Kitchen with Pony Stasik supplying a strong groove was the clear highlight of this acoustic first set.  I moved closer to the stage for set II. 


Wappy Sprayberry was followed by Crucial Taunt.  This was a hard rocking segment juxtaposed against the more gentle sounds of Passing.  The rest of the set was a Jajunk sandwich with Higgins, Make It Right, and Remind Me.  This portion of the show was a major highlight with the band at the top of the collective game.


The final set and encore was sandwiched with the appropriate Divisions.  On the way home I listened to The Score 670 and listened to the divided opinions on the NFL situation.  There was a smooth segue into The Floor.  Ringo was a solid version followed by the always welcome The Triple Wide.  The dance beat dissipated into the 80's cover of Thompson Twins "Hold Me Now".  At work I listen to 104.9 KIIK.  I recognized what they were doing pretty early.  They finished the Mantis they had started at the previous show in July.  Wizard Burial Ground was a major highlight.  Stasik took a bass solo in the middle.   I thought Joel played well on keyboards.  He's a good guy.  Day Nurse was the first song of the encore and led into the end of Divisions which was end the show.  It was over by the 11 pm curfew. 


I hit major traffic near Bowlingbrook which was the result of a weekend late night construction project.  It turned the drive home into much longer than it needed to be.  After bumper to bumper traffic for several hours I finally stopped at White Castle.  The food was good but I was approached by a person asking for money in the parking lot at 2 am.  I helped the guy but honestly for one of the first times in 18 years of traveling for music I felt in danger.  Also going to White Castle made me miss Nick and Elizabeth who no longer see shows anymore.  That was a postshow ritual for us.  Near Minooka you could see a fire at the top of the nearby oil refinery.  It lit up the night sky for miles.  I stopped for a while at that rest area but with temperatures in the 80s it was hard to sleep.  Finally after getting fuel and coffee at the Pilot McDiesel in Utica I was able to make the final leg of my journey.  In retrospect I have a hard time conjuring the energy for a ballgame and a show in the same day.  To do that in two different states with the concert having an extra set taboot was asking a lot out of my body.