Outdoor summertime concerts in Hollywood, California, are incomparable in atmosphere and energy to shows held during other seasons in bustling Los Angeles. At no other time of year do L.A. fans get the opportunity to slowly ease into the evening’s show while witnessing a breathtaking sunset fade into twilight and then darkness.
Playing for the first time at the historic John Anson Ford Amphitheatre,
Umphrey’s McGee (UM) took the stage as the sun dropped behind the 45-acre park-like setting in the Cahuenga Pass, generating a dreamy golden backdrop within the 1241-seat outdoor venue. Gazing out at the sizeable crowd, Brendan Bayliss, lead singer and guitarist of UM, gave a lighthearted “Welcome to California” mimicking Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
UM started the first set with California-style laid back opener Alex’s House, into a tease of #5 flowing with a jazz jam interlude into Jimmy Stewart. Bayliss and bandmate Jake Cinninger’s dueling guitar rhythms and intense on-stage connection, accented by Joel Cummins on keyboard, reached out and captured the crowd’s attention. UM built energy and momentum with each subsequent song, jamming out hard on Get In The Van featuring heavy bass rhythms from Ryan Stasik and highlighting each member’s unique talents, seamlessly blended together in harmony.
At one point in the first set, the band acknowledged a proud fan of similar ancestry with a happy cry: “We’re gonna be keeping this one; her last name is Umphrey. Holy Sh_t!” A distinct scream from the woman could be heard sporadically for the rest of the show.
Revved up and ready to wow the audience, UM started the second set with Plunger, experimenting with smooth but quick guitar rifts with a Roundabout #5 tease back into Plunger. The highlight of the second set came quickly after when drummer Kris Myers moved to percussion and focused on the bongos. Steve Perkins, drummer for the evening’s opening band Banyan, took over for Myers, and Banyan’s trumpet player Willie Waldman joined UM for a beautifully chaotic collaboration. Cinninger later sat in on drums, much to the audience’s surprise and delight.
Next up the boys took a detour from their normal repertoire with a cover of Supertramp’s Bloody Well Right, adding some spice and randomness to the set. They moved straight into a high-energy performance of All in Time that drifted into a lengthy afro-beat inspired tribal drum and percussion jam-off, proving that Andy Farag on percussion and Myers on drums know how to draw out complex and diverse techniques from one another. Appealing to many ears for the encore, UM attempted to tackle Zeppelin’s The Song Remains the Same, sticking for the most part to a traditional rendition of the song.
Throughout the show, UM lighting designer Adam Budney took full advantage of the multi-textured cliff face and palm and cypress tree background behind the stage, presenting vibrant and brilliantly designed lighting sequences.
All those in attendance left the amphitheatre satisfied and smiling. Promoter Wagatail Productions should feel the same way; they’ve been trying to book UM at the Ford Amphitheatre for over two years. With any luck, the LA-based Wagatail Productions, who has recently been bringing an abundance of quality bands to the area, will book more bands in “the scene” at this truly gorgeous theatre.
