Umphrey’s McGee played the second of five shows at The Tabernacle in Atlanta, GA last night, as the band rung in the new year with a three-set show that featured many of the group’s live staples as well as some deeper cuts. As is customary on UM New Year’s, Mad Dog’s Filthy Little Secret joined in with Dave Matthews Band sax player Jeff Coffin to provide a four-piece horn section throughout as well.

The first set opened with a pair of the band’s biggest tunes in “Nothing Too Fancy” and “All in Time,” both of which were stretched out with sufficient improv. A pair of newer songs, Similar Skin‘s “Cut the Cable” and the UMBowl Raw Stewage cut “Mad Love” followed. The latter has turned into the band’s most polished Raw Stewage cut, sounding like a full-fledged song at every turn.

After another heavy jam in “In the Kitchen,” the band debuted a brand new song entitled “Piranhas.” The song’s best comparison at the moment would be early versions of “No Diablo,” a lyric-driven bluesy song that was also accompanied by Mad Dog’s Filthy Little Secret. The horns would stay on the stage for the closing “Feelin’ Alright,” which was preceded by Brendan Bayliss dedicating the song to the late Joe Cocker. A debut for Umphrey’s, Jake Cinninger held down the vocals for the high-energy take on Cocker’s song.

Set two picked up right where the first left off, with the band kicking off with an extended “Puppet String” with horns before slipping into another debut, Herbie Hancock’s “Hang Up Your Hang Ups.” After a standout version of “August,” the band would dig into their most extensive sequence of the evening as “1348” led into “Day Nurse” which eventually closed with the end of “Nothing Too Fancy,” left unfinished from the first frame.

The horns returned for an interesting cover choice as the band played The Kinks’ “Black Messiah,” a song that widely references racial and civil divide and unrest. After the song, which was played for just the second time ever, Bayliss stepped to the mic and said “maybe we can get it right in 2015,” referencing the recent racial tensions across the country.

The biggest tribute of the night, from the band’s perspective, was the following performance of “Last Call,” which was dedicated to the band’s late drummer and friend Mike Mirro. “This one is for Mikey,” Bayliss said as he recounted writing the song with the drummer one night in a bar. With a few of the band members visibly emotional, the group launched into a dynamic version of the song which hadn’t been played since 2002. A raucous “Bright Lights Big City” closed the set.

As midnight approached, Umphrey’s hit the stage for set three and an opening “Bad Friday.” The song, which debuted at last year’s New Year’s Eve show in Denver, became a fan favorite over the course of the year making it a fitting choice to close out the year. After the balloon drop, the band took a brief moment to thank the fans for a great year and then jumped into the Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women,” prompting a celebratory venue-wide singalong.

The rest of the set played out with a funky, multi-section “Ringo” with horns before they cleared the way for the band to close the set with a run that featured “Plunger,” which included a slick return into “Puppet String” as well as “No Diablo” and a final pairing of “The Linear” and the end of “All in Time.”

For the finale, Mad Dog’s Filthy Little Secret returned for the title track from their latest album, “Similar Skin” and the closing “Living in America,” another debut for the band. The James Brown cover was led by drummer Kris Myers, who normally sings all of the Brown tunes the band covers. Umphrey’s returns to The Tabernacle tonight.

Here’s a look at the setlist as it appears in our Box Scores section:

Umphrey’s McGee
The Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA

Set I: Nothing Too Fancy > All In Time > Cut the Cable, Mad Love, In The Kitchen, Piranhas$this->footnoteID(‘1’,’‘), Feelin’ Alright$this->footnoteID(‘2’,’‘)

Set II: Puppet String$this->footnoteID(‘3’,’‘) -> Hang Up Your Hang Ups$this->footnoteID(‘4’,’‘), August, 1348 > Day Nurse > Nothing Too Fancy, Black Messiah$this->footnoteID(‘3’,’‘), Last Call$this->footnoteID(‘3’,’‘), Bright Lights, Big City

Set III: Bad Friday$this->footnoteID(‘3’,’‘) > Auld Lang Syne$this->footnoteID(‘3’,’‘), Honky Tonk Women$this->footnoteID(‘3’,’‘), Ringo$this->footnoteID(‘3’,’‘), Plunger > Puppet String, No Diablo, The Linear > All In Time

Encore: Similar Skin$this->footnoteID(‘3’,’‘), Living In America$this->footnoteID(‘5’,’‘)

Notes:
[1] debut, original; with Mad Dog and His Filthy Little Secret horns
[2] debut, Traffic/Joe Cocker; with Mad Dog and His Filthy Little Secret horns
[3] with Mad Dog and His Filthy Little Secret horns
[4] debut, Herbie Hancock; with Mad Dog and His Filthy Little Secret horns
[5] debut, James Brown; with Mad Dog and His Filthy Little Secret horns