moe. & Umphrey’s McGee Launch moe.mentUM Tour

Old pals moe. and Umphrey’s McGee linked up on Thursday to kick off their eagerly awaited moe.mentUM Tour in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The show at XL Live featured one long set from each band and a collaborative three-song encore.

moe. took the stage first last night with the order of sets to switch at each show throughout he summer-long tour. The Buffalo-birthed sextet opened with “Crab Eyes,” the oldest song they’d play during their 75-minute performance.

From there, moe. connected “Haze” with “Tomorrow Is Another Day” and “Billy Goat” with “Tailspin.” The band then pulled “Giants” and “Ups And Downs” from their latest album Circle Of Giants before “Puebla” bled into “Pit” to end the set.

Umphrey’s McGee guitarist Jake Cinninger continues a hiatus from touring due to “personal reasons.” Cinninger hasn’t performed with UM since February. The situation was last addressed on May 22, when the band revealed “Jake will remain off the road for the time being.”

The five-piece UM lineup began their 90-minute set with the instrumental intro “Drink My Drank.” The Chicago rockers dropped from the opener into the title track from 2009’s Mantis and kept the uninterrupted start going with “Fenced In,” “The Linear” and “Hurt Bird Bath.”

Umphrey’s devoted the bulk of the end of their set to early favorites “August” and “All In Time.” The two classics were separated by “Hiccup,” the newest song the band would play in Harrisburg.

The collaborative encore started with a “Partyin’ Peeps” featuring all of Umphrey’s McGee along with moe. guitarists Al Schnier and Chuck Garvey, keyboardist Nate Wilson and percussionist Jim Loughlin. UM’s Brendan Bayliss sang lead on his band’s original song and connected with Schnier on dual guitar harmonies.

Then, the moe. rhythm section of bassist Rob Derhak and drummer Vinnie Amico swapped in for UM’s Ryan Stasik and Scotty Zwang on “St. Augustine.” Umphrey’s had never performed the moe. classic at one of their own shows before.

Rob Derhak stuck around but left bass duties to Ryan Stasik for the evening’s “Dance Hall Days” finale. Derhak and Bayliss traded verses on the Wang Chung cover, which featured every member of both bands besides Scotty Zwang.

A livestream replay of the moe.mentUM Tour opener is available at nugs for subscribers. Watch moe. and Umphrey’s collaborative “Partyin’ Peeps” performance and a highlight from each band’s set below captured by aershko:

The moe.mentum Tour hits New York City tonight for a show at Pier 17. moe. and Umphrey’s McGee will be on the road together until August.

Setlists

moe. (via moe. Facebook)

Set: Crab Eyes, Haze > Tomorrow Is Another Day, Billy Goat > Tailspin, Giants, Ups and Downs, Puebla > Pit

Umphrey’s McGee (via All Things Umphreys)

Set: Drink My Drank > Mantis, Fenced In > The Linear > Hurt Bird Bath, August > Hiccup > All In Time

Encore: Partyin’ Peeps[1], St. Augustine[2], Dance Hall Days[1]

Footnotes:

• [1] with moe.
• [2] debut, moe.; with moe.

Show Notes:

• played after moe.
• entire show without Jake