Some Tricks, Mostly Treats: Umphrey’s Mcgee at The Filmore, Silver Spring

Waiting in line around the block to get into the Filmore in Silver Spring last night you could see amazing costumes, ranging from the marshmallow man and Grateful Dead bears to ghosts and ghouls of all kinds. The energy was high with anticipation of what was to come. As soon as you walked in the door you could tell it was going to be a party! The band took the stage with masks (“The Mostly Dead Ex Presidents, A Vice President, and a First Lady”): Brendan was Bill Clinton, Jake was Ronald Reagan, Joel was Dick Cheney, Kris was Richard Nixon, Andy was Barack Obama, and Ryan was Hillary Clinton. They opened up with “Gurgle”, and continued to play fan favorites throughout the first set including: “Plunger”, “Jimmy Stewart”, and “Mantis”. At one point a fake spiderweb, which kept being pulled and spread out, covered about a quarter of the crowd. To close out the first set was a hard hitting version of “The Floor” which contained Halloween Theme teases, a foreshadow of what was to come in the second set.

Umphrey’s had put a vote on their website a few weeks ago where fans could vote on covers that the band would play to comprise their entire second set. The band came out all dressed as FEMA workers to pay tribute to emergency crews working to clean up from hurricane Sandy. They didn’t announce the set list for the second set ahead of time, so when the second set opened with the Grateful Dead song “Help on the Way”, the crowd went crazy. Really the entire second set was a highlight, but songs like “Jessica” from the Allman Brothers, “Fool in the Rain” from Zeppelin, “Roundabout” from Yes, and the first time played “Money for Nothing” from Dire Straits, were all stellar versions. The band used space and dance jams to transition between tight versions of cover tunes. The second set closer was a popular Umphrey’s mash up, Another Brick In The Wall combined with Thriller.

For their encore, the band busted out “Ophelia” from The Band, which transitioned in to a fiery version of their own song, “Miss Tinkle’s Overture”. It’s safe to say that when fans poured out of The Filmore last night, no one could say they were disappointed.

Set 1: Gurgle > Puppet String, Plunger > Jimmy Stewart > Plunger, Deeper > Jimmy Stewart > Preamble > Mantis, Domino Theory, Glory > The Floor¹