Temple Club Lansing MI: January 24, 2003
Notable:
Opening the show again with a jam, this time for 7 1/2 minutes, experiment for some of the first improvisational segments with Kris.
The jam drifts into alignment with 13 Days, a great version.
2nd Self has either a rocky start or it’s a subtle build; but it’s missing the piano for the first segment, and then seems to regain its footing.
They go right into In the Kitchen – finally, the first time they’ve added the second verse segment. “The TV’s on too much and I don’t ever think enough about the things that matter most and what could make me old.” The song’s still not fully formed yet, still missing the lyric verses and music: “I won’t expect a smile when I get home, but the blankets that I stole will keep you warm…” You’ll have to wait a few days until the 29th in Iowa City to hear that section for the first time.
The song has slowly been built from improv jams and repeated performances, and they’ve now got almost all the sections built. There are still a few flourishes to add in future performances, but it’s very close to the modern version of this classic and popular Umphrey’s tune.
They go into an 8-minute jam out of In the Kitchen, that’s labeled “Visions of Parin jam” in the track list, but I don’t really hear the similarity. Anyway, it’s a sign of things to come, as ITK always has improv jams these days.
There’s some funny banter about Kevin Browning being butt-naked in their upcoming DVD, and Joel says “you have to be 17 to buy it.”
Divisions, very well done, 19 minutes of classic Umphrey’s and as is the case in this first group of shows, keep in mind it’s Kris’s first time playing it live with the band.
The jam has a cool Spirit of Radio (Rush) tease and then a Much Obliged tease segment.
Brendan: “Can we get a round of applause for Kris Meyers everyone? This man has been doing his homework, he had to learn all of our songs in like 13 days, 14 days. We think he’s doing a great job.” Jake: “he’s Norwegian and Danish.”
Tribute to the Spinal Shaft with some nice improvisation, almost 13 minutes.
The Men at Work song Down Under, played 77 times in total, from back in 1998 and mostly before 2003. (7 times in 2003)
The 2×2 here is its normal powerful self; no improv jam yet in the song. Kris’ first live performance is stirring, and the builds are excellent, Bayliss soloing and leading the song in a strong way.
They end the set with the classic Roulette.
Set 2: Nothing Too Fancy. After the jam, the morph into a Smell the Mitten jam, labeled as a separate song in the track list, a full 5 minutes.
They make a smooth transition into Uncle Wally.
Some banter and announcing the show tomorrow at the State Theatre in Kalamazoo.
Willy the Pimp, by Frank Zappa. Vocals sound like Andy.
The Crooked One. Standard.
Blue Echo has All in Time teases, and still doesn’t contain the double tempo section. The go into a jam with heavy synth sounds from Joel. Brendan moves to percussion, and they improvise for almost 8 minutes.
The return to Nothing Too Fancy starts exactly how they play the finish of NTF these days, with the guitar riff that brings the song back online. The track list is misleading, with “Nothing Too Fancy jam” showing 7 minutes, but it’s actually White Man’s Moccasins.
The WMM labeled track is only 1:30, which is just some banter and teases from the stage, including Seek & Destroy (Metallica).
Kabump, first time with Kris, remember. There’s a cool jam from about 6 minutes with a Hangover tease from Joel, and they go into an 8-minute improv segment labeled “jam” in the track list.
Encore: Cherub Rock, only the second time played. 40s Theme.
Setlist from allthings.umphreys.com
Set 1:
Intro > 13 Days, 2nd Self-> In The Kitchen, Divisions[1], Tribute to the Spinal Shaft > Down Under, 2×2, Roulette
Set 2:
Nothing Too Fancy[2] > Uncle Wally, Willie the Pimp[3] > The Crooked One, Blue Echo[4] > White Man’s Moccasins, Kabump[5]
Encore:
Cherub Rock, 40’s Theme
Footnotes:
[1] with The Spirit of Radio (Rush) and Much Obliged jams
[2] with Smell the Mitten jam and Stranglehold (Ted Nugent) tease
[3] with Gz Up, Hoes Down (Snoop Dogg) quote from Brendan
[4] with All In Time and Mullet (Over) teases and Nothing Too Fancy jam, Brendan on percussion
[5] with Jiggy teases
Show Notes:
with Seek & Destroy (Metallica) teases before Kabump
Links to Audio and Apps
The Live Music Archive app (iOS) and the Taper’s Section app (Android) is a great way to find and listen to these shows. You can stream, download for offline listening, save favorites, and mark shows as already listened to. The app pulls all data directly from the public repository of live music recordings posted at archive.org.
