Umphrey’s McGee continued their winter run on Friday with their first of two shows at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee. The prog-jam rockers dusted their cover of Ween’s “It’s Gonna Be Along Night” for the firt time in over a decade on a night that they peppered their performance with bust outs and rarities at 2,460-capacity venue.
The Chicago-based band served up their first surprise of the night right out of the gate as they unearthed their take on “It’s Gonna Be Along Night.” Last night marked the band’s second ever take on the tune from Ween’s 2003 release Quebec, which was last attempted on February 17, 2008 – a remarkable span of 1,149 shows. The cover song slammed right in setlist staple “All In Time” and just the fifth version of “Spires” since 2017. The six-piece dedicated nearly a half-hour to the pairing of “Night Nurse” and “In The Kitchen” next, with the former featuring a tease of Herbie Hancock’s iconic instrumental “Rockit.” Umphrey’s then reached for “Susanah” for the first time in nearly a 100 shows. “Intentions Clear” and a return back to “All In Time” brought the noteworthy set to a close.
The sextet continued to keep their fans on their toes as they used a pair of rarities to get their second stanza going. First up came the first “Hindsight” since a one-off in July of last year. Last night was just the 18th time Umphrey’s has played the Similar Skin cut in concert. The band then delivered just the fifth ever take on the recently revived “Breaker.” Longtime fan-favorites “Hurt Bird Bath” and “Push The Pig” came ahead of a set-closing “Mantis.” Umphrey’s McGee had one more trick up their sleeve as they opened their two-song encore with Pink Floyd’s “Young Lust.” Track from The Wall that had gone unplayed since a one-timer last October segued straight into “Glory” to conclude the night.
Listen to full-show audio taped by Michael Frasca below:
Setlist (via All Thing’s Umphrey’s)
Set I: It’s Gonna Be A Long Night > All In Time > Spires, Night Nurse[1] -> In The Kitchen, Susanah, Intentions Clear > All In Time
Set II: Hindsight, Breaker, Hurt Bird Bath[2], Push the Pig, Mantis
Encore: Young Lust > Glory
