Twenty-five years ago, at the prestigious University of Notre Dame, two rock bands, Tashi Station and Stomper Bob, reformed and became Umphrey’s McGee. At the time, the band consisted of Brendan Bayliss on vocals and guitar, Ryan Stasik on bass, Mike Mirro on drums and Joel Cummings on keys. The name originated from Brendan’s cousin, whose name was Humphrey Magee.
Thousands of songs, cities and setlists later, the member of Umphrey's McGee found themselves in Dallas at the House of Blues, where they made a stop on Saturday for their 25th anniversary run.
Soon after they formed, Andy Frag joined the band on percussion. A few years later, they added guitarist Jake Cinninger, from the band Ali Baba’s Tahini. Mirro left the group in late 2002, which almost ended Umphrey’s. After receiving many audition tapes, the band finally landed on Kris Myers, the first tape they had received, and the rest, as they say, is history. Umphrey’s initial fanbase grew by their playing a torrid schedule — five-nights a week in the Michigan, Indiana and Chicagoland circuit.
Due to all kind of circumstances, the band has skipped Dallas since 2018. They never scheduled a Dallas stop in 2019 due to a birth of one of the band members' children. We all know what happened to live music in 2020, and their 2021 Dallas show was canceled due to a crew member getting COVID. This was a double whammy for Dallas, as this also canceled out the after-party show at Deep Ellum Art Co with Doom Flamingo, bassist’s Ryan Stasic’s side project.
On Saturday night, the Dallas Umphrey’s drought came to an end, and the fans could not contain their excitement. Some fans in the crowd said they had been to 30 to 45 shows. One fan was excited to attend his 145th Umphrey’s show. If that doesn’t speak to the fan dedication of the band, nothing does. The sets are different each night, and many fans follow the band from city to city, so they won’t miss any variant of their musical magic.
From the downbeat of the show, it was clear that these guys are all masters at their respective instruments. Umphrey’s may or may not consider themselves as such, but they definitely presented as a jam band — ever-changing setlists, extended jams, many instrumentals, and of course, there was an abundance of face-melting solos.
The second thing that could not be ignored was the amazing light show. Ben Factor is at the top of his lighting game and the concert would not be nearly as visually stimulating or exciting without his work. It’s an example of a perfect symbiotic relationship between color, light and sound.
The band seemed more than excited to be back in Dallas. Throughout much of the first few songs the band would point to their friends and fans they recognized. They were completely at home, and the Dallas crowd was right there with them.
The first set opened with “Get in the Van,” a song they hadn’t played yet on this tour. It was a welcome surprise for the crowd. They followed that up with “Push and Pull,” another 2023 premiere. The set continued hard edged and fast paced, and the second set followed in kind. They opened it with "Small Strides," off their latest release Asking For a Friend. They played two other songs from that album, but really spread their song selection out, which isn't surprising from a band with 22 albums and two EPs to their credit.
The show seemed to hit a crescendo late in the second set with "2x2" going into "Happy Sprayberry." Both sets were seven songs and the band closed the show with a fan favorite "Divisions." Although the band didn’t play anything too far out of left field, they did play a well-received “Jessica” by the Allman Brothers for their encore.
For Umphrey’s McGee, touring is a major part of their existence, and although Dallas may not be a jam band hub, there are still many Dallas fans who live for these shows and already can’t wait to see Umphrey’s back again.
