Nearing the end of a long fall 2011 tour and fresh off successful "Hauntlanta" and Moogfest (Asheville) shows, Umphrey's McGee crossed the northern border for a one-off show at Toronto's The Mod Club. This would mark UM's 14th show in Canada and first time at this 9 yr old theatre.

Set I starts off with Turn & Dub, always an exciting opener. This version stretches for 14 minutes and immediately establishes a loose, creative mood. This would meet up with Walletsworth. I always look forward to Joel's sexy keyboard breakdown at the end. Crowd is alive and kicking. Before the next song, Brendan Bayliss sings the first two words of "Oh Canada!" and apologizes for not coming back for 2 years. Booth Love, always hot and sultry, features a sly Xxplosive tease and some nimble staccato stylings from Jake Cinninger before moving on to a straight-up funk dance groove.
Very heavy. Booth finishes with a flourish and next up is Wappy Sprayberry, dedicated to Rachel for her birthday. Wappy usually means business and this night is no exception. A dark, foreboding theme surrounds this trippy excursion. The rhythm section of Ryan Stasik, Kris Myers, and Andy Farag really drive this one. Wappy peaks and falls right into Wife Soup. The boys sound superb tonight, Jake's solo flying on the jet stream, enveloping the audience with Umphlove. Joel Cummins then announces their new studio album, Death By Stereo. In true Umph humor, however, they promptly start up an oldie, In The Kitchen. Brendan sings "wrapped around Toronto" and the crowd eats it up. They bring Toronto brother and The New Deal drummer Darren Shearer on stage for a fun, up-tempo jam to close out the first set.

Set II gets out of the gate with Miss Tinkle's Overture. She takes a hard-charging romp through The Mod Club before chillaxing a bit, but before long Miss Tinkle's is at it again, raging like a lunatic, melting faces left and right. Afterwards, a cheers from Brendan who states that The Mod Club is a lot cooler than the last place they played (Toronto's venerable Opera House). Next up is Conduit, but not before a faint Roundabout tease from Jake. Partyin' Peeps gets the job done. The crowd is amped. There is some priceless Brendan-Joel banter with Joel enlisting the audience for a loud "Fuck You Brendan". Before Domino Theory, Bayliss announces that "this is the second song off our new album!". Only 2 months old but already in heavy rotation, Domino Theory showcases fast fretwork from the guitarists in a high-energy workout sure to have left some folks breathless. Gentle keyboard fills introduce Higgins to the party. Higgins swings the joint in a reggae-rock direction, finding a funky swamp and getting really dirty while wallowing in a Born Under A Bad Sign jam. This segues effortlessly back to the Higgins grand finale.
Pretty jaw-dropping. Joel introduces Toronto native Marla Joy for "a little special treat", Sweet Child O' Mine, unseen on stage for 5 years (567 shows). This is the 9th (and to date last) time they've played this G 'n' R classic. Marla really sounds wonderful here (she certainly sounds better than Joel used to lol), and Jake takes the solo to the stratosphere. The Floor always makes for an excellent set closer, and this head-banger tears the doors off. With that, the lights go up.

For the encore this night, Umphrey's delivers their most-played Talking Heads cover, Making Flippy Floppy. MFF keeps the dance floor shaking with a sweet, patiently building groove. After the final verse, the band shifts almost imperceptibly into the second half of Hurt Bird Bath. They build this jam up to its climax and then, right before HBB would usually turn for the finish line, they jump back to finish off Flippy Floppy. That's MFF->HBB->MFF FTW. Incredible!

Umphrey's McGee would be back in the States in Kalamazoo, Michigan the following night and would remain in their stomping grounds of the Midwest for the rest of the year, with stops in Milwaukee, Chicago, and St. Louis for their annual NYE run.