Umphrey’s McGee on Wednesday continued its ongoing summer run featuring support from Eggy and Stolen Gin with an early evening performance at Asbury Park, NJ’s Stone Pony Summer Stage.
Thanks to the threat of inclement weather late in the evening, the show got underway with an upbeat, soulful set from NYC upstarts Stolen Gin while the afternoon sun continued to beat down on the venue’s blacktop floor. Eggy, the ever-rising quartet from New Haven, CT, took the stage next for an hour-long set featuring a number of staple selections from the band’s arsenal including go-to cover “Time Escaping” (Big Thief), the prog-inflected “Zugzwang”, a rhythmically multi-hued “Rosetta Stone”, an ethereal “Northern Lights”, and the faithfully climactic closing crash of “12 Pounds of Pain” accented by a particularly pummeling low end via bassist Mike Goodman.
Following a set break soundtracked entirely by Limp Bizkit from the venue P.A. (whoever’s call that was, thank you), Umphrey’s McGee greeted an already hot crowd with a searing, seamless sprint through “Made to Measure” > “Mantis” > “It’s Not Your Fault” > “Plunger” as the sun sank behind the stark, white Stone Pony stage, painting streaks of color in the sky at their backs and casting the band members in striking silhouettes. A spicy one-two punch of “Always October” > “Der Bluten Kat” led into “Cemetery Walk” and “Cemetery Walk II” (featuring newly mustachioed vocalist/guitarist Brendan Bayliss on keys with Joel Cummins for a stretch) ahead of the first “Australian Lullaby” since 2018 (445 shows) and a set-closing “Remind Me” highlighted by the thrash-metal stylings of guitarist Jake Cinninger.
With dark clouds and lightning quickly closing in (“I’m gonna play like Batman,” Bayliss grumbled, “Storm’s coming,”), Umphrey’s drummer Kris Myers lent Eggy’s Alex Bailey his seat, Eggy guitarist Jake Brownstein grabbed a spot onstage between Bayliss and Cinninger, and Eggy keyboardist Dani Battat lined up alongside Cummins for team-up take on Elton John‘s “Bennie and the Jets”. Eggy’s Bailey and UM’s Bayliss shared falsetto lead vocals on the Sir Elton classic, which built to a soaring crescendo as Brownstein and Cinninger squared off.
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The combo cover was the latest stepping stone in a gradual getting-to-know-you process between Umphrey’s McGee and Eggy that has played out over the last year. While the two bands were still getting comfortable with each other when Eggy supported a single UM Baltimore date last summer (more on that in chapter 4 of our recent feature, On Tour With Eggy: Waiting Game), Bailey became the first member of Eggy to sit in with Umphrey’s when he joined in on a rendition of “Bennie and the Jets” at Solshine Reverie (formerly Summer Camp Music Festival) earlier this year. Since Eggy hit the road with Umphrey’s McGee for a run of dates this month, the two bands have regularly mixed it up onstage, with members of Eggy joining the headlining act for Talking Heads‘ “Girlfriend is Better” in St. Louis, Joel Cummins sitting in with Eggy on Elton John’s “Bad Side of the Moon” in Indianapolis, and more.
Related: On Tour With Eggy: Waiting Game [Feature]
Below, check out photos (via Ken Spielman) and setlists from Wednesday’s Umphrey’s McGee show in Asbury Park, NJ with support from Eggy and Stolen Gin. Umphrey’s McGee, Eggy, and Stolen Gin will wrap up their joint run this weekend with shows at Baltimore, MD’s Pier Six Pavilion (8/29) and Asheville, NC’s Salvage Station (8/30, 8/31). Eggy will notably return to Asbury Park in just a few weeks to take part in the 2024 edition of Sea.Hear.Now. For a full list of upcoming Umphrey’s McGee tour dates, head here. For a full list of upcoming Eggy tour dates, head here. For a full list of upcoming Stolen Gin tour dates, head here.
Setlist [via allthings.umphreys.com]: Umphrey’s McGee | Stone Pony Summer Stage | Asbury Park, NJ | 8/28/24
Set: Made to Measure > Mantis > It’s Not Your Fault > Plunger, Always October > Der Bluten Kat[1], Cemetery Walk > Cemetery Walk II, Australian Lullaby > Remind Me
Encore: Bennie and the Jets (Elton John) [2]
Notes:
[1] with Jump Around (House of Pain) teases
[2] with Alex Bailey on vocals and replacing Kris on drums, Dani Battat on keys, and Jake Brownstein on guitar.
Setlist: Eggy | Stone Pony Summer Stage | Asbury Park, NJ | 8/28/24
Set: Time Escaping (Big Thief), Zugzwang, Rosetta Stone, Northern Lights, 12 Pounds of Pain
Notes: Opening for Umphrey’s McGee.
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The post Umphrey’s & The Eggs: Umphrey’s McGee Taps Eggy Members For “Bennie And The Jets” In NJ [Photos/Videos] appeared first on L4LM.
