People began packing into John R. Emens Auditorium on a cool, autumn evening. Excitement lurked in the air.
"Are you guys ready for Umphrey's?" a concertgoer said as he took his seat in the auditorium. Hundreds of people cheered in agreement.
Umphrey's McGee, a rock band that originated in South Bend 10 years ago, played its first Muncie show Friday, and fans were pumped.
Before the band took the stage, the crowd, which just filled most of the lower pavilion, grew restless. Umphrey's McGee hand-claps and chants faded in and out as they waited for the band to arrive. Audience members walked around introducing themselves to one another and sharing their anticipation.
Umphrey's McGee live shows are legendary among their fans, who call themselves "Umphreaks." The band improvises a good portion of its sets, a practice they have dubbed "Jimmy Stewart."
The band (singer/guitarist Brendan Bayliss, second lead guitarist Jake Cinninger, bassist Ryan Stasik, keyboardist Joel Cummins, drummer Kris Meyers and percussionist Andy Farag) appeared about 8 p.m., and the Umphreaks immediately jumped up. When the first note hit, almost everyone was already dancing. The band started out with a few lyrics but then began jamming for what seemed like the first 30 minutes before speaking again. They did this throughout the entire show, telling stories with their instruments rather than with words.
"How many of you go to school here?" asked Bayliss in a rare moment of speaking.
The majority of the crowd screamed but then turned suspiciously quiet when he followed the question with: "How many of you actually went today?"
The genres of music played by Umphrey's McGee seemed to switch with every note, from metal to funk to jazz and then to reggae throughout the two sets the band played. They are known for their song covers and treated Muncie to a harder version of the Motley Crue classic "Dr. Feelgood" and later closed the show with the Wings' song "Band on the Run."
The crowd seemed to enjoy every minute of the show. They let loose, danced and sang, and at one point a girl even took off her shirt. One audience member danced to the concert the entire time with half a watermelon on his head. Another wore a giant Afro wig with oversized sunglasses and a necklace with a license plate on it that read: "Umphing."
After the band played for almost two and a half hours, the formerly anxious crowd scrambled out of Emens still dancing and shouting. They ignored the "No Smoking" signs outside and excitedly discussed how good they thought the show was.
Ball State sophomore Katie Phillips said she was dragged to the concert by her cousin who had seen Umphrey's McGee multiple times, but she now understood why the band's live shows were so beloved.
"It's something I've never experienced before," she said. "I don't have a favorite genre of music; I like everything. [At this concert] they offered everything."
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