Thursday night at The Bluebird was hectic. Umphrey's McGee performed to a jam-packed, sold-out house. I attended the show with several friends, all of whom had different vantage points to the stage. Afterwards, we all wound up with entirely mixed reviews. Those closer to the stage had an enthralling experience. Those like myself, closer to the back, were not so fortunate. Honestly, I've seen Umph before, and was not exceptionally tickled by their performance. I was hopeful going into the evening Thursday, but was disappointed.
This crowd was terribly obnoxious and beyond boisterous. Standing in the middle-back of the venue was like being the marble in a pinball machine. I was belly-slammed too many times by frat stars to thoroughly enjoy the tunes.
The set list was exceptional though. The second set opened with "Wappy Sprayberry," which fueled the already frisky affects of the crowd. There was a cover of Pink Floyd's classic "Time/Breathe," which was well-played. However, the sound quality of the band was askew. I think that the deadmau5 show the night before may have caused some damage to the Bird's sound system.
I think I'm going to pass up any other opportunities to see Umphrey's again. The sound and crowd were just too harsh for my liking.
Post by Rachel Hanley
