Driving to three different cities and raging three rock shows was finally catching up to me. About an hour into the four-hour drive to my hotel, I could feel my eyes drooping and I couldn’t stop yawning. I stopped for some well-deserved caffeine and turned the music all the way up and kept on going. Dory’s famous words “just keep swimming” played over and over again in my head. I started to get naturally high off thinking about the weekend. It was only going to get better now that I got to cap it all off at the Capitol.
After a thrilling four hours of break lights and singing as loud as my lungs would allow me, I finally arrived at my hotel. The hotel was in New Jersey, about an hour from the venue. I barely had any time to catch my breath before I had to pick up and start driving to Port Chester. I was going to meet my friend Christian, who lives on Long Island and had been patiently waiting my arrival. It was only supposed to take me an hour to get into town from my hotel but since you can’t ever predict New York traffic, I found myself sitting in my car for another hour and a half. My pre-show jitters were rising higher with every minute that passed by.
At last, I pulled up to the Capitol and saw Christian waiting for me, smoking a cigarette outside the theater. He hopped into my car and we found a parking space. I hadn’t seen Christian in a while since he lives in New York. Every time I do see him is such a treat though because he’s one of those friends that you could go a long time without seeing but when you do see each other again, nothing has changed. You can easily pick up right where you left off. A lot of my “life-changing Umphrey’s nights” have happened with Christian there so I was stoked to be raging again by his side.
This was my first show at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York. We got there just in time for the doors to open. I watched all the phreaks stumble towards the stage to get a good rail spot (I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t one of them). After I got to the stage I turned around, looked up and my jaw dropped. I had seen Umphrey’s play here on couch tour, but my tiny computer screen does not do this room justice. It took my breath away. The Capitol kind of reminded me of a nicer National. The National is one of my favorite venues. It’s located in Richmond, VA. Umphrey’s loves to play in that room. But the Capitol is carpeted and just a little bit smaller. Christian and I got a beer and I continued to gawk at the room until the lights went down and Southern Avenue started their set.
My new-found friend, David, had danced over to me during Southern Avenue’s set and said, “you know it’s going to be a good show when the opener already makes it worth the drive.” And he was completely right. I had already forgotten that I was tired or how much I had driven this weekend because the music was fixing my soul. I met David on Friday night at the Red Hat in Raleigh. We became instant friends. Another instant friend that I met on tour was Kyle. He and I had been bantering back and forth on twitter about tour and then on Friday night, without even knowing it, he stood right next to me on the rail. I had the pleasure of seeing both of their smiling faces each night on tour.
They kicked off the first set with the same song that ended my very first UM show, “The Floor.” This song is powerful and a great way to start a show. It led perfectly into a killer “Draconian.” This song is one of my favorite Umphrey’s songs because of the jaw-dropping version from Missoula, Montana earlier this year. It also has a great pick up and an interesting beat. Stasik provided us with a funky beat. The build up to the lyrical part is, in my opinion, the best part of the song and Ryan’s wompy basslines, paired with Jaco’s riffs were nothing short of satisfactory. Bayliss has really gotten a hold of those lyrics and enunciates them better which makes the song even sharper.
Another powerful and tasty song is “Mulches Odyssey” which they played right after “Draconian.” Jake likes to get weird in this song which makes sense considering that it is a Jake song. They have been pairing this song with a “Dopeman” by N.W.A jam for a while now. It comes up in almost any Mulches that you’ll hear live. It gives the song a laid back, reggae type of vibe. They like to play around with it and make it their own sound. It’s easy to get lost in this jam. I got lost in Joel’s synth around minute seven. The way that Jake snuck back into the melody of the song in the end of the jam was enticing. They ended it strongly but turned a corner with their next song pick.
It’s always such a nice surprise to hear “The Pequod.” When Jake is warming up to the song, you can’t help but think that they’re going to play “Glory,” but they trick you and pull out this rare song that is absolutely beautiful. This is one of those songs that keeps a smile on your face throughout it. They kept the kind vibe going with “You and You Alone.” This is the song that I have heard the most this year. Before Lockn, they played it at every show that I saw them. Jake has added somewhat of a country sound to this song with his guitar which makes it more interesting to me, only because I’ve seen it so many times.
I was happy with the “Bridgeless” that came next. This is one of their darker songs off the album “Similar Skin.” With this song, you’re guaranteed a mouth-watering jam. The contrast between Bayliss’ PRS and Jake’s G&L is showcased very well in this song. Ryan also pulls out a little slap-a-da-bass. All these sounds paired together sort of rocks your soul in a way. This song is heavy in rotation but because of the effort put into it, I always am glad to get one. This song also calls for some major shredding which I don’t think anyone is opposed to. Kris’ complicated drum line caused Joel to get weird on the keys. The jam was dark but powerful. There were so many things happening with all the guys on stage, I almost broke my neck trying to watch all of it go down. Then they broke out into a dirty dance party. I swore that I heard a “Fuzz” tease in the jam but as it progressed it started to sound more like a “Much Obliged” tease. This was definitely one of my highlights of the show.
As they eased out of “Bridgeless,” the chords started to transition into “Hajimemashite.” Haji is a song that holds a very special place in my heart and I’m sure that a lot of phreaks could say the same. The strong lyrics speak truth about our lives. This song, like the other songs in the first set, has a powerful essence that it gives off. With a powerful tone under their belts, they closed the first set by inviting Tierinii Jackson and Ori Naftaly from Southern Avenue to sit in with them. They together sang “Come Together” by The Beatles. This was only the second time that the band has ever played this song, the last time being on 3/15/07. That’s a twelve hundred and forty show gap. A lot of people (including myself) didn’t realize this fact because the band often plays “Come Closer,” a mashup of “Come Together and Nine Inch Nails’ “Close.” They whisked off the stage and we were forced to wait twenty minutes for them to return.
They usually like to tease “Rhiannon” in the middle of “The Triple Wide,” but as soon as they came out the start the second set, Jake sampled the Fleetwood Mac tease before the song. Then they went straight into an energetic “Triple Wide.” This jam was executed flawlessly with an empowering chord progression. This far-out jam was another highlight for me. The boys got spacey and improved their face’s off while maintaining their alleged theme of the night. They dropped right into “Seasons.” This song is one of Bayliss’ five-minute lyrical masterpieces. With some liberating lyrics heard, I felt a powerful sensation. This show was a power house of enlightening songs. d
“Plunger” is one of those songs that you’re never prepared for and it just smacks you right across the face with its uplifting development. Kris provided a rhythmic drum beat to which Joel added some greasy chords. The jam built up to an attention-grabbing melody. Jake got to sit in with Joel on the keys. Jake has a wacky (but great) way of playing to keys. He a Joel paired together can create some Hall-Of-Fame worthy jams.After “What We Could Get,” they played “I Ran” by A Flock of Seagulls. Bayliss loves to sing those 80’s pop hits and this one fit perfectly into the strong aura of the show. Mostly because the dance moves that are whipped out to this song get you energized. I could tell the boys were feeling good after playing this because I felt the energy in the next song they played.
A song that doesn’t get enough attention is “Resolution.” This is a song that Jake brought to the band from his prior band Ali Baba’s Tahini. UM likes to tease “Norwegian Wood” during this gem. Jake’s fingers just flutter right over the strings creating an effortless idea of the song. They bring a powerful spin to this well-known tune. Back into the actual song, Joel and Ryan took over the first half the jam. Joel made his keys sing in a ragtime way while Ryan made his bass bounce. Eventually Jake came in with “La Grange” by ZZ Top. I quickly turned around and locked eyes with David because we were both singing this song to each other at the show in Raleigh. At that moment I knew that his and my paths weren’t meant to cross. I turned back around and immediately felt week in the knees. When Jake gets his voice low like that, there is no telling what I might do. They only did one verse of the song, but I literally raged to every note.
Without skipping a beat, they fell right into “Ocean Billy.” A very intense, crowd pleasing, take-her-home kind of song. This song choice to end the show with reflected the beginning “The Floor.” Both very profound songs. The jam was bubbly, and Jake got to show off. They teased The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” before coming out of the jam. They closed out the first set and we patiently waiting for their return. When they came back, they smoothly slid into “Kula.” I was at the last show that they played this song. It was at The Stone Pony Summer Stage in New Jersey. They actually opened the encore with is as well as that show. Except after this mind-bending killer, they went into the debut of “Walk” by Pantera. This time they ended “Bridgeless.” This entailed more shredding from both Bayliss and Jake. A great and powerful way to end a great and powerful show.
The boys played fiercely to end out the weekend. Brendan and Jake mostly chose songs with a strong chord progression. They were showing off. The quickness and tightness of their improv stuck with me after the show. The show made me feel like I could take on anything that came my way (i.e. a four-and-a-half-hour drive home). After some bittersweet goodbyes to my new and old friends, I drove the hour back to my hotel. The hour seemed to go by quickly, maybe because there was no traffic! I remembered how tired I was and fell into my bed and slept through the night (a rarity for me).
I woke up early so I could hit the road and get home at a decent hour. I also really wanted to see my dog, Lucy. When I got into my car to leave the hotel and head home, the first song that came on the radio was “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Proclaimers. I laughed out loud and turned it all the way up because I had just drove around two thousand miles just to see my favorite band. A tear even crept up on me when I heard this song, which I’m going to blame on the fact that I was super tired. The drive really wasn’t as bad as I was anticipating it to be. I arrived in Virginia and literally dove into my sheets with my dog snuggled up next to me, glad to have me home. I closed my eyes but couldn’t fall asleep. I was beaming from the weekend. I had just pulled off my first four-night run and I did it by myself. Now all I had to do was prepare for New Year’s Eve!
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