This show review might be a bit lengthy for most, but when I wrote it back in August, I hadn't seen the band live in months, and was headed to a venue I'd had on my list of must-sees for years. I never posted this review, but with our (Zach Deputy) upcoming opening slots for Umphrey's McGee in February, I thought I'd get this blog back up and going again with a piece that I had a blast writing.
If you’re a traveling music fan, you may have already had the pleasure of seeing such venues as The Gorge in George, WA, The Greek Theater in Berkeley, CA, Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO, or Alpine Music Valley in East Troy, WI. These are revered as some of the top notch outdoor performance spaces in the nation, all of them possessing the ability to take your breath away in a matter of seconds. The east coast is dotted with some spectacular outdoor sheds, but this review will talk about an indoor venue that any music fan is lucky to see. Situated along a mountaintop in Jim Thorpe, PA, Penn’s Peak posses the same “wow factor” as the aforementioned outdoor music venues that attract legions of fans to their shows each year.
As one traverses the mountainside down into the quaint town of Jim Thorpe, you know you’re in for a treat. The small town that lies along a river at the foothills of these Pennsylvania mountains is the home of my new food recommendation, the French Dip sandwich at Maggie MaGuire’s. A great little restaurant in the heart of town, Maggie MaGuire’s patio offers up a meeting spot for the car loads of fans and friends that are making the trek in from last night’s Umphrey’s show at The Westbury Theater on Long Island. The Westbury show was a treat, showcasing the ability of sound engineer Kevin Browning and lighting director Jefferson Waful, and how they can easily adapt to the most unusual of scenarios, as the rotating stage was nothing more than an absolute delight as fans were offered never before seen sightlines that night. This new perspective for fans offered the ability for everyone to see how the band interacted with one another on a completely different level, as well as showcasing the two brains of Andy Farag and Kris Meyers, and how they become one. Watching these guys work together is a treat to say the least, and something fans rarely get to see in its entirety from their normal perspective within a crowd.
Back to Penn’s Peak. Anticipation was building as we drove up the mountainside to the venue, ultimately culminating in panoramic views in every direction down to the valley below. The lot scene was rippin’, with faces both old and new, ready for a Friday night rager somewhere in Pennsylvania. As friends poured into the lot, I could barely contain myself as Penn’s Peak has been a venue I have had on my list of places to see for 3-4 years now. I just finished my graduate work at UMass Amherst and always thought I would make it out to a show here, so when I found out I had a 10 day break from Zach Deputy tour, I planned my entire schedule around this one show. The Westbury Theater show was a great start to my four night run of Umphrey’s, but as I walked around the grounds of Penn’s Peak, I couldn’t break the overwhelming feeling of “this is gonna happen.” That feeling right there doesn’t come around that often, but when it does, you’re in for it.
As I walked into the venue, my jaw dropped. Wooden trusses support two floors of this cathedral-like venue. We were greeted by dim blue lights cutting through the fog that filled the large open space of the dance floor as hugs, smiles, and high fives were customary in the greeting of the masses. Umphrey’s tour (also known as ter) is fun because no one ever really says bye…you just know you’ll see each other at the next show, whenever that may be. Many fans figure out ride shares or meet ups via The Bort, but others just fly by night, knowing that they’ll see whoever it is they’re supposed to see. As the family greeted one another, I took a tour of the venue. The flow of the venue was superb. Circulation ran around three sides of the dance floor and upstairs to the balcony, offering up a different perspective of the show, as the raised outer edge of the dance floor was home to chairs for those who preferred to take it easy for the night. I got all sorts of excited when I saw decals on the floor, labeling the rows of seats…talk about attention to detail. Track lighting overhead made it easy for patrons to find their seats and played nicely off the dim blue lights that Jefferson Waful had set as house lights, creating some ambiance for friends and fans to greet one another and rest up for what was in store. The back of the venue housed a kitchen, bar, band merchandise and venue merchandise, en route to the outdoor patio that captures views into the extended landscape. With small cities in the far distance rendered to nothing more than a clump of lights, the foreground of the panoramic view offered up by Penn’s Peak was a blanket of dotted lights running along the valley floor, instilling in fans the notion that they are in a very rural part of the country, atop a mountaintop, and about to feed off the energy of one of the most progressive bands (both musical and intellectually) in the music industry today.
So let’s meet some of the family. My name is Brian and I’m a music rat. I currently tour manage Zach Deputy (www.zachdeputy.bandcamp.com for name-your-price soundboard recordings) and have been street teaming for Umphrey’s, amongst dozens of other bands, for a long time now. I’m not much of one to have a list of songs that I want to hear on a tour, but I had picked a couple originals as well as covers for this run (
Dump City,
Bad Poker,
We’re Going To War,
Bloody Well Right) since Umphrey’s shows are few and far between now. The pictures you will see throughout this article are the handy work of Beau Blackburn, a photographer from San Diego, CA. Next to me is Jeremy Cobb, one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. Jeremy is from Virginia, loves journalism, baseball, music and...
Water! I’m very confident that Jeremy is one of the most in-depth music listeners I will ever come across. He hears where the music is going, from the slightest of chord progressions and teases, and can name the next song long before Umphrey’s even drops into it. Jeremy has been running all over the place, buying beers for everyone in sight, including my UMass friends and driving partners, Mike and Meg Dawg. Joining us is Spud and Andrew, dear friends of mine from Queens who put me up last night after the Westbury show. Without mentioning everyone in our little traveling posse, you can quickly see how going on tour with a band is so easy. We’re not here solely for Umphrey’s, yet they are the common element that brings us together. We’re here to see venues and friends, to drink beer, to rage hotels, to travel, to get away from work, and much more. We’re so very lucky to have each other and in all honesty, Umphrey’s is lucky to have us. We feed off them; they feed of us…simple as that. Luckily for us, Umphrey’s McGee is in touch with their fan base. They know they have legions of followers; they thank the first timers, the second timers, and the travelers. They throw out guitar picks, hand out setlists, and remember faces and names. If you’re in a bind, talk to a band or crew member, 95% of the time, they’ll figure out some scenario to get you out of the pickle you’re in.
At 9:00p, the members of Umphrey’s walk out from behind the curtains, ready to rip Jim Thorpe a new one. Never to keep their fans waiting too long, they quickly launch into one of their newer songs, entitled
Conduit. A short, yet hooky song,
Conduit is soon followed up by
Atmosfarag and
The Bottom Half. None of these songs really put me into a frenzy, but nicely built the set to a point where
The Bottom Half and its cascading lights segued into
2nd Self, where Brendan Bayliss stepped up as the featured artist. With his cutting vocals and loose guitar work, Bayliss ripped apart
2nd Self, setting a launching off point for the songs to follow. Cutting vocals and loose guitar work is not a knock on Bayliss, it’s a compliment if anything. A very original sounding vocal presence, Brendan Bayliss is one of the founding members of the band. His “loose” guitar work is only complimented by the band’s lead guitarist, Jake Cinninger. Jake, a naturally born drummer, tends to fill the negative space of the songs, with creative fills and licks, before unleashing his uncanny ability to shred a solo like no other. Bayliss is the opposite, possessing a much fuller, rounder sound to his guitar work, naturally fitting best on songs like
2nd Self. No slouch in the shredding category, I best describe Bayliss’ guitar work as loose as it’s much less choppy and percussive as guitar counterpart Jake Cinninger.
Next up,
Water! Someone’s ears must have been burning when Jeremy was talking about how he wanted to hear
Water earlier that night at dinner. Our friend Ian had informed us that
Water was indeed soundchecked; only leaving us stirring with excitement as this song doesn’t seem to come around nearly enough. Seamlessly segueing into
Andy’s Last Beer was the only thing that could possibly make me okay with the band leaving a stellar version of
Water. As if things couldn’t get any better, next up was Umphrey’s rendition of Supergroup’s hit
Bloody Well Right. Okay, I’ll take it; I haven’t seen this song since the barn burner of a show at The Avalon in Boston on 4.12.07. We music nerds can spit dates and versions of songs like it was nothing. Maybe that’s why I like tour managing and archiving, I just have a knack for remembering things from a decade ago like it was yesterday, and being able to spit off tour dates well into the future. As the first notes of
Intentions Clear were strummed, I saw my buddy Mike take off for the bathroom, and I almost grabbed him and told him it was a bad idea, but decided against it. Judging from the jams in some of the previous songs, tonight was lining up to be one of those shows were everything Umphrey’s touched was gold…
Intentions Clear was no different. Disgusting jam, go download it from www.umlive.net. The jam was one of the highlights of the night before
The Bottom Half came back to end the set. The end of this song is a great opportunity to compare the guitar stylings of Bayliss and Cinninger. Similar to
40’s Theme,
The Bottom Half initially features Bayliss as he builds the song to its climax before Cinninger comes in and kicks the song square in the face, ending each version with a bang, and in this case, the first set at Penn’s Peak.
After a half hour set break, the band came out at 10:40p, ready for another go around. Things got going quickly with a great version of
Miss Tinkle’s Overture. One of the best built songs in their repertoire, this version peaked hard, whipping the crowd back into the state of mind they were just in during set one.
Words slowed things down a bit, but once again offered a glimpse at the brain that is drummer Kris Meyer’s and perc world extraordinaire, Andy Farag.
Last Man Swerving was the highlight for many, and in my opinion, showcases Umphrey’s McGee for exactly what they are.
Last Man Swerving is always a great vehicle for a jam, and this version was no different. The first jam that came out of the song was a heavy, almost death metal progression, giving the song a rare dark feel. After a quick build to the jam, the band flipped the song on its head, laying down one of the best grooves of my four show run. Quickly driven by Jack Cinninger and complimented by Waful’s change of color palette, bassist Ryan Stasik wasted no time finding the groove and kept it going.
In my time following this band, I’ve had several music fans tell me how Stasik needs to be replaced because he’s not flashy enough and never takes a big solo. Flashy solos aren’t Stasik’s MO, though…he’s the root. He is the most fundamental layer in a sound that is completely comprised of layers. He finds the groove, lays it out and stays right on it. He rarely ventures off course and just sits in the pocket, usually capping it off with a smile from ear to ear. Jake usually leads these impromptu jams, with Bayliss filling in where he sees fit. Keyboardist Joel Cummins adds his own layer, and even though often overlooked in many jams, is an integral part of the Umphrey’s McGee sound. Pushed by the backbeat of Kris Meyers and Andy Farag, this six piece band always delivers when they’re given the opportunity to explore outside the structure of the original song.
Immigrant Song/Thunder Kiss ’65, a mashup of Led Zeppelin and White Zombie followed
Last Man Swerving, before segueing into an 18 minute version of
Utopian Fir. Always a monster jam vehicle, Joel Cummins quickly threw down a danceable synth layer, and when paired with the beats of Kris Meyers on the electronic drum pad, this
Utopian Fir jam was already in high gear. Lighting director Jefferson Waful put a gloomy, dark wash on the band, turned the lights around and painted the back wall with gobos, nicely completing the vibe of the song. As the rotating gobos took the crowd’s eyes for a ride, the band’s layers continued to compliment and pass one another, as the initial layer that was turned down and buried, slowly built momentum until it was later the driving force of the jam. After the electronic dance party was over,
Cemetery Walk made an appearance. The only song off Umphrey’s most current album, Mantis, I would have liked to see its counterpart,
Cemetery Walk II continue the dance party vibe and end the show with a bang. No worries though as
JaJunk in the encore slot offered fans one more song to get out any air guitar that they had been holding back.
As punctual as they were with their 9:00p start time, like clockwork, the band exited the stage at 12:00a on the dot. As fans fleeted into the night, sound engineer Kevin Browning could be seen burning out a copy of the show at front of house, ready to hand it off to tour manager Don Richards, who is stationed at the merchandise table with two CD duplicator towers and a line chalk full of fans eager to take home the set they just witnessed. Seeing this affords me the opportunity to make a point: one common misconception by fans is thinking the band is just the guys on stage.
Umphrey’s McGee has six men on stage, but they are a full 12 person team while on the road. Everyone knows their job and executes it to a T. Besides the constant evolution of the Umphrey’s family, the scenarios you get in on the road and the blissful music the band produces, my absolute favorite thing about this band is the feeling that you just got in the way of a 12-headed monster. They come into a venue, do their thing and leave…we were all just lucky to be in its path.
After a two great nights at Penn’s Peak and The Westbury Theater, we travelers packed up with excitement, ready to go from mountains to beaches, as we got in the van for a trek over to the New Jersey Shore, with Saturday and Sunday shows in Asbury Park and Atlantic City. The Penn’s Peak show was everything I hoped it to be and more, and with the chance to see four new venues on my short four night run, I couldn’t have been happier to share it with all my friends and one of my favorite bands on the scene, Umphrey’s McGee.
Penn’s Peak
Jim Thorpe, PA
Set I:
Conduit, Atmosfarag, The Bottom Half > 2nd Self, Water >Andy’s Last Beer, Bloody Well Right, Intentions Clear > The Bottom Half
Set II:
Miss Tinkle’s Overture, Words > Last Man Swerving > Immigrant Song > Utopian Fir, Cemetery Walk
Encore:
JaJunk
