Umphreys McGee kicked off the southeast portion of its winter 2007 tour at Fort Lauderdales Culture Room with a show that gave nods to its past, and one that featured exploratory versions of several band chestnuts. Each set was a sandwich, with the first existing inside of Ocean Billy (from last years Safety In Numbers) and the second framed around Nothing Too Fancy (from 2004s _Anchor Drops_the live recording _ Local Band Does O.K._).

The first set also featured extended takes on Karl Engelmanns Syncopated Strangers and a fan favorite jam launch pad Der Bluten Kat. The band resurrected Water, a rarely-performed song from their Local Band Does Ok (2003) release. The roots of ‘Water’ go back to the previous decade when Ali Babas Tahini (a trio formed by Engelmann, Steve Krojniewski and current Umphreys guitarist Jake Cinninger formed in 1998) and Umphreys McGee were beginning to dominate the South Bend, Indiana music scene.

The band later offered some foreshadowing with their encore of King Crimsons Red,’ a possible nod to the four Midwest dates with King Crimson member Adrian Belew that lie ahead in mid-March.

Tonight, Outformation (featuring the blistering southern guitar of Sam Holt) will open for Umphreys McGee at the State Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida – as they will in Charleston Friday and Charlotte Saturday. Umphreys McGee’s other upcoming dates include a performance at the Georgia Theater in Athens, Georgia on February 28, and at Asheville, North Carolinas Orange Peel March 1 with Engelmann’s current band Mother Vinegar opening.

It was also recently announced that Umphreys McGee guitarist and chief vocalist Brendan Bayliss will perform with Cinninger as an acoustic duo at the Chicago History Museum on March 9. Report by Robert Turner