“Hey, remember when we literally ran into a cave earlier today and then Brendan Bayliss sang about running into a cave?” was all I could remember saying to my friends as we reluctantly left The Caverns. After being almost the last people to exit the cave, we slowly walked to the gravel lot where our cars were parked. The night had flown by so fast. I was sad to be leaving my friends for the night. I didn’t want to accept that the night was over. The only good thing about the bittersweet goodbye was the fact that we still had a two-night stand in Asheville, NC ahead of us. As I was putting Lenoir City, TN (my halfway point between Pelham, TN and Asheville and where I was to stay the night) into my GPS, I naturally started reflecting on the day’s events.
Umphrey’s McGee was playing a show at the underground venue, The Caverns, on February 13th. And it is because of just that reason why I drove nine hours by myself to Pelham, Tennessee. I knew from the moment the tweet got sent out with this show announcement that I could not miss it. It was a chance to see my favorite band underground! I left for my road trip a day early so I could actually get some sleep for the weekend ahead of me. I got in my car, dropped my dog off at my mom’s and hit the road for Tennessee.
Pelham, Tennessee does not have too much to offer. Not that I’m complaining. I don’t do much before a show anyway. But it just added to the “middle of nowhere” vibe that the town reeked of. Instead of sitting around and twiddling my thumbs, I decided to go check out the venue. We had received an email about a week or two prior to the show from the venue telling us the rules of the cave. It basically said to not use cell phones, to not talk, you know, things that I already don’t do at shows. But then it said that we were not allowed to line up at the gate before the venue opened. Well shit. That’s what I do. I go to the venue unnaturally early to wait in line to get a good rail spot. I have a lot of anxiety or “pre-show jitters” going into a show. I like to get to the venue early because otherwise I would be sitting around worrying about being there anyways. When my friends had arrived in Pelham, we formed a plan to line up a little down from the venue’s gates so that my anxiety and our spots were secured.
The first thing you notice about this venue is that it is out in the middle of fucking nowhere. It is in the straight up backwoods of Tennessee. Which, in a way, was a good sign because you know that only the most dedicated fans were about to make the trek out to see them play this show. Once you drive down a long and winding country backroad (something I am very familiar with living in West Virginia) and pass all the cow farms and horse fields, you finally make it to the road that leads up to the gates. You go up this rocky incline and come to a small building with a gravel lot surrounding it. First you have to park your car. Then you have to get in line to get your ticket so you can go wait in another line to actually get in. The whole experience of getting into the venue made me think of an amusement park ride. It felt as if I was getting in line for the Jurassic Park ride at Universal Studios, especially with the rocky entrance. We waited for about thirty minutes in another line before they unleashed us into the cave. We quickly walked down a steep path made of rock and into the first part of the cave. Over to the right was a small little pond area and over to the left was Sam with the merch booth. Straight ahead were two huge doors that led inside the cave. There was a bar to the right as soon as you walked in and the stage was straight ahead. Once I stepped foot inside the double doors, my speed picked up and I ran to the rail. I locked my spot down in front of Jake and took a deep breath. I finally took in my surroundings and it finally hit me; we were in a fucking cave!
It wasn’t too long of a wait until I heard the walk-in tune “Bathing Digits” and the hoots and hollers began to manifest throughout the entire cave. I tried to reach my Jake-side gaze over the top of the heads of all the umphreaks to Joel-side where the band was entering. But even on my tippy-toes, I could only see the bobble of the tops of six familiar heads. They made their way to their instruments on stage (it was like Red Rocks, but the entire stage was made of rock). They took their rock-n-roll ready positions and laid into a show that I will never forget.
I was satisfied right off the bat with the first song of the show. Opening with “The Triple Wide” was the right choice. The build-up gave the crowd such an intense feeling. Once the boys hit the peak of that crescendo, you can literally hear the release of excitement in the crowd on the soundboard recording. It was the perfect way to get the crowd into the proper state of mind for the rest of the night. The beginning to the end of “The Triple Wide” was a feverish dance party. Jake hit all the right riffs. Between Stasik’s bouncy bass lines and Joel’s fingers dancing across his keys, it was hard to keep still. Jake came in with a five-chord progression that mellowed out the sound but Stasik still kept up with the staccato and bouncy undertone. Joel worked on some laser beam like sounds and Bayliss and Jake played a heroic melody together which contrasted so perfectly to Kris, and Ryan’s fast paced beat. Jake decided to top it off with a bit of grunge before going back into the end of the song. Hearing that opening ripper was exactly what I needed to get ready for a night full of dancing in a cave. They dove right into “In the Black.” This one had a sharp resound to it which was appropriate for the dark, mysterious vibe of the setting.
A rather early “Utopian Fir” came next which featured the song “Cavern” by Phish. Kris and Ryan led us into a punky, almost “Robot World” sounding jam. The chord progressions reminded me of a Nine Inch Nails sound. If you listened to Dropped Among This Crowd’s podcast episode about this show (episode 92), you probably heard Sara talking about this part of the jam. I think it picks up around four minutes and forty seconds. It was pretty much just a couple minutes of straight filth until Andy and Kris started going crazy around minute seven. Brendan came in with a light rhythm that eventually floated the band into a second section. They went down a notch but still focused on playing with the familiar riff from before. They built up this jam that made me think of a crocodile hunting in a swamp. The boys bounced around with this eerie sound while Kris built up the drum beat and brought in a jungle like tone. Brendan and Jake finally joined, and the jam started to soar into a quick ethnic dance session. The jam loosened its tight grip right before returning to the end of the song. The boys ended this twenty-six-minute jam on a high note with an energetic outro and leapt right into “Syncopated Strangers.”
They went on to close the first set with “Remind Me.” If their shredding didn’t bring the cave down on this one, then all of the phreaks simultaneous headbanging would do the trick. Jake, Ryan, and Joel started on this catchy rhythm that Brendan added some nice harmonies to. This jam held a classy and endearing vibe before Jake started to get dirty with it around minute seven. But instead of going into the ending of the song like we all expected, they fell back into the previous segment. The only difference was that it was bit darker. This however ended up being the perfect segue into the end of the song. Not a head was left un-banged in that cave.
The second set opened its leisurely eyes with a groundbreaking (literally) “The Floor.” They uncharacteristically put a little six-minute jam in this one just to get the second set off to a head start. This bass heavy, shred worthy little McJam (what I call a small jam) gave off a steamy aura but the set cooled down quickly with an “Xmas at Wartime” next. This is one of those hauntingly beautiful tunes. It kept up the mysterious vibe of the cave but also gave us a breath of fresh air.
The fact that “Robot World” came next confirmed my suspicions of the jam from the “Utopian Fir” from the first set. They crushed into this one. This song always gets the crowd excited, being somewhat of an irregularly played tune. This version contained a very dark and eerie jam. In the beginning, the boys sank into a relaxed, yet edgy zone and created a twisted sound. The guitars together sounded like a buzz saw cutting through Joel’s chords. Stasik started an invigorating bass line that set the band up to fall back into the scary improv from before. They ended it slowly and hopped right into “Fame” by David Bowie. The jam from “Robot World” led nicely into this because of the melting-like sound of the backup vocals of “Fame.”
Next came a “Puppet String” dedicated to the front-of-house guy, Chris Mitchell. This “Puppet String” started out as a circular, electric jam. I can imagine sitting in a spaceship with all these buttons that are making so many sounds when I relisten to this jam. Stasik and Joel began to boogey with it, but it didn’t take long for Jake to hop on board. Bayliss’ part was my favorite. It provided the melody so nicely and he made it sound like a steel drum. They sent this spaceship into overdrive by letting Jake shred it to pieces and then by going back into that circular jam from before, making the jam come to a full circle. They laid the first layer of a “Puppet String” jam sandwich down and then jumped into “Nemo.” If you listen back to the show on Nugs, you can hear the crowd singing along with Bayliss. The echo in the cave reminded me of The Tabernacle Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. But closer knit and therefore, more special. This skated along into a beautiful country-esk jam. It gained its momentum at three minutes and thirty-four seconds and successfully took off into a small tune that held a tease of Led Zeppelins “Over the Hills and far away.”
As to keep up with the hard-hitting lyrics, they played “The Bottom Half” next. I love how this song’s melody is fun, bouncy and has a reggae beat, but there are some heavy, meaningful lyrics to foil that out. It also emits a very soaring and uplifting jam. This one started out smooth while Jake ripped just a little on his guitar. Bayliss came behind with some echoing rhythms. This one had a slow uphill climb and drifted into a soaring uplifting victory. They ended the second set with a quirky “Last Man Swerving” and closing that jam sandwich by ending “Puppet String.” The “LMS” got a little slappy and weird which matched perfectly with the jam from the “Puppet String” from earlier in the set.
The suspense crept into the cave like a pile of smoke with the build up to the encore. They brought the show to a full circle dance party by covering A Flock of Seagulls “I Ran.” This is one cover that Umphrey’s does that I will probably never tire from hearing. They cover it extremely well (no surprise there) and they don’t over play it. This high-energied 80’s hit provoked some crazy dance moves. I danced with friends from across the cave! And just when I thought the night was perfect, Brendan Bayliss sang “I ran into a cave” instead of “I ran so far away.” And it was everything I didn’t know that I needed.
And just like that, the show was over. I was collecting my things off the rail and saying goodbye to my friends once again. The show that I had just witnessed was over and it was time to move onto the next one. They go by so fast. Especially the really good shows that you don’t want to end. Those ones always seem to go the fastest. If you ever have the chance to go see Umphrey’s at The Caverns in Pelham, Tennessee, take it! You will not regret the decision. I made a lot of memories from that night. Brendan Bayliss completed my childhood by having the crowd scream “hey you guys!!” to mimic the movie The Goonies! But I think my highlight of the night was looking to my left and then looking to my right and knowing at least seventy five percent of the people there and the fact that I got to do it all again tomorrow night.
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