Review: Umphrey’s @ Northern Lights
Words: John Coleman
Images: Tammy Wetzel (from the Rochester UM show)
Northern Lights, in Clifton Park, is an awkward little rock club located in a roadside plaza, squeezed between a Dollar General store and some kind of church. I have to admit, it’s kind of hard to get excited for a show that’s next to a church on a cold Tuesday night. But I had just seen an historic Umphrey’s show at Higher Ground in Burlington four nights before, complete with a Mike Gordon sit-in, and was ready for more Umph. And they delivered.
[All photos by Tammy Wetzel]
I knew things would get loud, it’s always loud at Northern Lights, almost obnoxiously so. The way the bar is laid out, with a horseshoe bar in the center and stage crammed into one small corner, the crowd is packed like sardines into the irregularly shaped room. But it seems like some of Umphrey’s most creative playing is produced in close quarters clubs, where ease of communication takes their improv to another level.
The band eased into the first set with 2×2, but things quickly warmed up with the intro to Robot World. It’s not often a concert is physical, but you could feel Ryan Stasik’s bass and Jake Cinninger’s crunchy metal chops. The set cooled off a bit after a haunting #5. Safety in Numbers was well-represented with versions of Anchor Drops and Passing. Bright Lights fell short, but set one ended in a blaze, with Glory.
READ ON for more from Umphrey’s in Clifton Park…
