Guitar instructor Michael Palmisano was Umphrey’s McGee‘s guest on a cover of The Who’s “Eminence Front” on Wednesday night at Showtime At The Drive-In in Frederick, Maryland. The collaboration came during an extended second set that followed a lengthy rain delay which cut the first set short.
The proggy instrumental “Eat” kicked off UM’s first set at last night’s second of two shows in Frederick. Umphrey’s dropped into a nicely extended “Mulche’s Odyssey” featuring outstanding interplay from guitarist Jake Cinninger and keyboardist Joel Cummins. Brendan Bayliss then led the sextet through “Miami Virtue.” The jam dissolved into silence at which point Bayliss stepped to the mic. “Everybody, we’re being told there’s lightning, so we’re going to take a few minutes to just figure this shit out,” Brendan said. “Maybe if you scream loud enough you’ll blow the clouds away.”
Umphrey’s returned after a break that lasted just under an hour and played a long second set. The six-piece opened the frame with a “Resolution” featuring multiple explorations. From there, UM went with classics “The Fuzz” and “2×2” before bringing out Palmisano for their first “Eminence Front” since May 30, 2019. Michael Palmisano runs the YouTube channel Guitar Gate featuring reaction videos, instructional deep dives, interviews and more. The guitarist has over 280K subscribers and started breaking down the music of Umphrey’s McGee last year.
Cinninger joined Palmisano for an interview a few months ago. Jake and Michael went toe-to-toe as “Eminence Front” came to a conclusion. “We’re gonna bring up a good friend of ours right here, Michael Palmisano, Guitar Gate,” Jake told the crowd before the guest spot. “In the guitar community, he’s one of those badasses, trust me,” Cinninger added and explained it was Michael’s choice to cover The Who.
The collaboration was followed by “Ringo” and UM’s first rendition of gorgeous instrumental “The Pequod” of 2021. Umphrey’s then lit into jam vehicle “Nothing Too Fancy.” The band fit “Half Delayed” into the set-closing “N2F.” For the encore, UM paired “Cut The Cable” and “Pay The Snucka.” Umphrey’s McGee nows heads to The Peach Music Festival in Scranton, Pennsylvania for a late night set on Saturday. A livestream can be bought via FANS.live.
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Setlist (via VFJ)
Set One: Eat > Mulche’s Odyssey, Miami Virtue
Set Two: Resolution > The Fuzz > 2×2, Eminence Front (w/ Michael Palmisano), Ringo > The Pequod, Nothing Too Fancy -> Half Delayed -> Nothing Too Fancy
Encore: Cut the Cable > Pay The Snucka
