When you put together a list of venues where Umphrey’s McGee always delivers, you’d have to start with Higher Ground just outside of Burlington, VT. The Chicago-based sextet finished a three-night stand at the rock club on Saturday night that will go down among the best in their history. Whether they were kicking out a spirited dose of improvisation, welcoming one of their friends to the stage for a sit-in or dusting off a rarity, everything Umphrey’s touched over the six sets at Higher Ground turned to gold.

[Photo from 11/11 – Toronto by Tammy Wetzel]
As we mentioned last week, Thursday night started off with the first songlist show in years to fill a fan request. On Friday, the band shared the stage with a member of Phish for the first time when Mike Gordon took over bass duties from birthday boy Ryan Stasik for In The Kitchen.
Guest spots are always a crap shoot that have just as much chance of trainwrecking as of working out well. The Mike sit-in worked really well as Cactus came up with some inventive bass lines that kept the jam interesting throughout its 16 minutes. Other Friday highlights were a groovy Pay The Snucka opener and adventurous versions of Hangover and Higgins.
READ ON for more about the Burlington run and Tammy’s photos…