Plunger

Soooooo yesterday, we went to see Umphrey's McGee in Rochester, New York.  I love going to Umphrey's shows; I always get incredibly pumped up and have an amazing time!! 

Well, we left earlier (which ended up being later than we wanted to leave) and stopped at the outlet mall that is on the way to Rochester.  We actually weren't there long, and I didn't plan on doing much shopping.  It was a pretty quick stop because we knew which stores we wanted to go into to and exactly what we were looking for.

We got to Rochester around 5:30.  The show was at Party in the Park, an event they hold every Thursday in Rochester.  I was surprised because I thought that the venue and what not was going to actually be bigger than it was.  It was nice because we were able to get extremely close to the stage, exactly where I like to be :-) 

They had a band named Cornmeal, also from Chicago, open for them.  They were actually pretty good and I was impressed!  It was kind of like a combination between bluegrass and a jam band.  In my opinion, I really thought that the show stealer in Cornmeal was the girl, Allie Kral, who played the fiddle.  Holy shit did she kick ass!!   I loved it, and I would see them again if given the opportunity!!

Umphrey's came on soon after, and they started the show with Plunger, which I certainly couldn't argue with because I love that song and I think it is a great show opener.  It is high energy and definitely gets the crowd pumped up for whatever may follow. They certainly weren't lacking in the jam department, ranging from some heavy sounds into some serious "let's get down" funk, which was incredible!!

Some other highlights included an instrumental jam version of I Heard It Through the Grapevine, and other favorites such as Cemetery Walk and Andy's Last Beer.  Utopian Fir was great, and the crowd started to go insane when they did a "Super Marios Brother" tease in the middle of the song. 

I must say, my favorite moment was probably when they went from Alex's House and then ended the set with a cover of 'Baba O'Riley,' originally by the who.  It was fantastic!!  And remember the fiddler Allie I told you about from Cornmeal?  She joined UM onstage during this and totally rocked her part.  It was amazing.  I thought she was talented before playing with her own band - well shit you should have seen her fiddle during Baba O'Riley because she jammed the hell out!

So at that point, they went off stage and everyone was prepared for the encore.  Well What an encore because some people may have argued that it was actually another set!!  (I wasn't going to complain about that AT ALL.)  Everyone was still ecstatic after their first set ended, so it only seemed appropriate that they played on and jammed as long as they did.  They played Push the Pigs to Jimmy Stewart WITH the lyrics and ended the show with Cemetery Walk II.  I didn't want it to end!! How sad, but I was super glad we made the trek to go see them :-)

After the show we ventured down to an old favorite eating spot, Henrietta Hots.  We each ordered the infamous garbage plates and must have refilled our drinks several times.  Soon after we got on the road and headed home!!  What a great day!!

UM is going to be in Big Flats, NY on Sunday and in Buffalo, NY on Thursday.  Ironically enough I can't make either show, so I'm extremely interested to see what the set lists look like.  I have been waiting to hear them play In the Kitchen and Bright Lights live, to no avail.  So I will be somewhat disappointed if I miss that!!  And once again, for anyone who cares, here was their set list below:


Party in the Park: Rochester, New York - July 8, 2010

Set One:
Plunger
Visions of Parin
Plunger
The Linear
I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Andy's Last Beer
Cemetery Walk
Utopian Fir
Alex's House
Baba O'Riley

Encore (yes, encore, not second set)
Push the Pig
"Jimmy Stewart"
The Crooked One
Anchor Drops
The Crooked One
Cemetery Walk II

Also:  Want to see the some video footage of the Baba O'Riley cover?  Check it Out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R45S0UMLpgo