When Umphrey’s McGee rolled through Chicago back in July, their show had so much potential. Before the first set could be completed, a nasty storm barreled in and halted the night. What could have been was expanded upon by countless fans. What songs did we miss? Were we suppose to hear a debut? Were they going to dig deep in their catalog? Well thank God these guys no how to take care of their fans.

When they announced the make up show, fans were ecstatic. This was going to be a show that UM fans were clamoring to get to Chicago for. A night with no opening act. 3 sets with a rare acoustic set to kick off the night. We were easily going to be getting a night of well over 3 hours of music.

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So many guesses were made as to what was going to be played leading up to the show that day. The energy around Northerly Island was electric! Heading into the venue you realized that fans got there asap as to not miss one single song.

The night started off with a jammy acoustic set. The band may have brought out a more relaxed setup, but the set still was full of energy and fans soaked up every single note. One of the biggest highlights to kick off the night was hearing Bayliss belt out the Ween cover “Freedom of ’76”. Just looking around me I saw quite a few people who geeked out during that song!

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From there they took a short break before coming back to focus only on a solid remainder of the night of pure electric goodness. The 2nd set was very seamless with a jam filled set. The 3rd set however was where UM truly shined. Song after song fans were going nuts. The crescendo of the night was when they brought out the debut of “Hold Me Now” by the Thompson Twins. The entire venue singing along at the top of their lungs. The main set was closed out by a rarely played and very heavy song “Wizard Burial Ground”. To see that song played in person was most certainly something to behold. It hit extremely hard and Jake Cinninger left nothing on the table.

Overall this was the best Umphrey’s show I have seen to date and fans stated this is one of their best shows they have ever played. With this show technically being played after the conclusion of the summer tour, this for sure was most certainly a fantastic lead into their fall tour.

Be sure to check them out up in Minneapolis over Halloween weekend for their 2 night run. Or if you are looking for a closer city, they’ll be in Madison November 3rd and 4th with Sunsquabi opening for them. Either way, what I just witnessed, I know they are going to have a memorable fall tour.

Enjoy the photos below the setlist.