<p><a href=”http://www.umphreys.com”><strong>Umphrey’s McGee</strong></a> concluded their 2016 Winter West Coast Tour at the <a href=”http://www.wiltern.com”><strong>Wiltern Theater</strong></a> in Los Angeles on Saturday night.&nbsp; The tour has been highlighted by a variety of bust-outs, debuts and collaborations and this night would prove to be no different.&nbsp; The crowd began filtering in more than 2 hours before Umphrey’s McGee was ready to start, and those that did were greeted with a fiery opening set from Prog-rock all-stars <a href=”http://www.taukband.com”><strong>TAUK</strong></a>.&nbsp; By the time Umphrey’s took the stage the crowd was already at near capacity and was raring to go.</p>
<p><img alt=”” src=”/sites/default/files/images/12898312_10153804582584667_2498411454665774041_o.jpg” style=”width: 616px; height: 493px;” title=”UM with Arthur Barrow sitting in | The Wiltern” />The evening got off to a great start with a “Le Blitz” &gt; “Educated Guess” opener and proved to be a dynamic start that would be reflective of the set that would follow.&nbsp; “Crooked One”, once heavy in the rotation but is now played more sparingly, was crisp and energetic and gave way to a groovy “Example 1”.&nbsp; The highlight of the first set followed “Attachments” when <a href=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Barrow”><strong>Arthur Barrow</strong></a> of <a href=”http://www.zappa.com”><strong>Frank Zappa</strong></a> fame took the reins on <strong>Ryan Stasik</strong>’s bass for a jazzy, instrumental trio of “Soul Food I” &gt; “Treacherous Cretins” &gt; “Glory”.&nbsp; The Zappa original “Treacherous Cretins” was a debut for Umphrey’s, though it was executed as if it’s been in the repertoire since 2000.&nbsp; The first set concluded with “Piranahs” into the crowd favorite “Wizard Burial Ground”, which met it’s usually lofty expectations.&nbsp;</p>
<p><img alt=”” src=”/sites/default/files/images/12909616_10153804581869667_2681303494309752931_o.jpg” style=”width: 616px; height: 493px;” title=”Umphrey’s McGee | Los Angeles, CA | 3/26/16″ />The second set kicked off with an original classic “40’s Theme”, as the late crowd trailed in from set-break they were welcomed with a heavy mid-song groove reminiscent of “Booth Love”.&nbsp; An unfinished “Puppet String” was segued into the <a href=”http://www.markronson.co.uk”><strong>Mark Ronson</strong></a> original “Daffodils”, originally debuted during this year’s New Years run and had only been played one other time prior, featuring drummer <strong>Kris Myers</strong> on falsetto vocals.&nbsp;&nbsp; Brendan resumed vocals duty with “Wappy Sprayberry”, which was met with a raucous response from the audience and was complete with Kris Myers and <strong>Andy Farag</strong> getting the spotlight for a “Drums” section and then succinctly dropped into “Bottom Half”.&nbsp; The set closing “Hindsight” followed “Hurt Bird Bath” and was well played but the crowd responded in a manner indicating they were wanting more.&nbsp; When Umphrey’s returned, they delivered on the crowd’s desire with a 3-song encore.&nbsp; <strong>Brendan Bayliss</strong> took center stage for a fun, and quirky, take on R. Kelly’s “Ignition” as a little treat to all the ladies in the audience.&nbsp; The show closed out with “Upward” that transitioned into the resumption of “Puppet String”.</p>
<p><img alt=”” src=”/sites/default/files/images/12898223_10153804581714667_8426380665908028834_o.jpg” style=”width: 640px; height: 800px;” title=”Brendan Bayliss | Umphrey’s McGee” />As the crowd filtered out through the arching lobby of the Wiltern, making one last pit-stop or picking up some swag at the merchandise table, the crowd’s energy was still appreciable and the affirmative commentary of the show echoed throughout.&nbsp; Outside the venue the hotdog vendors were slinging their customary bacon-wrapped dogs as everyone headed their separated ways, only to meet again next time.</p>
<p><img alt=”” src=”/sites/default/files/images/12916727_10153804582554667_6722738852649193590_o.jpg” style=”width: 616px; height: 384px;” title=”Umphrey’s McGee with Arthur Barrow | The Wiltern” />Check out more <a href=”https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153804581374667.1073742610.293771414666&amp;type=3″><strong>photos</strong></a> from the <a href=”https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153804581374667.1073742610.293771414666&amp;type=3″><strong>show</strong></a>.</p>
<p><strong>Set 1</strong>: Le Blitz &gt; Educated Guess, The Crooked One &gt; Example 1, Attachments, Soul Food I^[1] &gt; Treacherous Cretins^[2]&gt; Glory^[1], Piranhas &gt; Wizard Burial Ground</p>
<p><strong>Set 2</strong>: 40’s Theme, Puppet String &gt; Daffodils, Wappy Sprayberry &gt; The Bottom Half, Hurt Bird Bath, Hindsight</p>
<p><strong>Encore</strong>: Ignition, Upward &gt; Puppet String</p>
<p>^[1] With Arthur Barrow replacing Ryan on bass</p>
<p>^[2] Debut, Frank Zappa; with Arthur Barrow replacing Ryan on bass</p>