Frontman overcomes Vegoose restlessness

Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007 | 7:13 a.m.

I ran into Umphrey's McGee lead singer Brendan Bayliss at 6 a.m. Sunday in a lobby bar at Mandalay Bay. He's an old college acquaintance, so we exchanged hugs, and then I looked at him, and all I could think of to say was, "Man, you look tired."

"Yeah, I really am," he replied.

I was pretty beat too, after a day that began with Public Enemy's full-blown verbal assault on the president and vice president of the United States - for everything that seems amiss in America today, at least you can still grab a microphone and more or less tell government officials to engage in the anatomically impossible. Plus, I caught The Shins for a set that was as crisp and clean as a perfect autumn day, and then some Iggy Pop.

But when I saw Bayliss early Sunday, he had more right to be exhausted than I, after Umphrey's ripped it up at a House of Blues show that began at 1 a.m.

They played old favorites like "Push the Pig," "Der Bluten Kat" and "Dirty Love," and even though I've been hearing these songs for years, each time they're better and more interesting as the band continues to grow and evolve into an improvisational force.

And the band was up to its usual impishness. There were fun covers . And then, in a nod to Halloween at the end of the show, the Grim Reaper arrived to kill each band member.

Before the witty end, Bayliss thanked the crowd and said jokingly, "See you in about six hours." By this time, it was about 3 a.m., and they were to play a 5 p.m. set at Vegoose.

I was too exhausted to go, but I heard it was a solid set, so Bayliss must have gotten some sleep.