The members of Chicago’s Umphrey's Mcgee are big sports fans. They often talk sports on stage, don jerseys of their favorite teams and they’ve even sang the national anthem at Cubs and Sox games. The band has an obvious rooting interest in Chicago sports teams, but their biggest allegiance seems to be with the Fighting Irish of South Bend, where the band got their start (a few of the members are Notre Dame grads).

Guitarist Brendan Bayliss, one of the ND grads, sported an Irish jersey and took a jab or two at their opponent San Diego State.

Last Friday, the band made their third consecutive trip to South Bend to play a show the night before the Notre Dame football home opener. Notre Dame ended up pulling out a victory Saturday, but Friday was all about the music.

Each year, the South Bend show has taken place out in the boonies at Robert J. Fischgrund Center for the Performing Arts in St. Patrick’s County Park.

This was my first trip to the venue, and what a great outdoor venue it is. The stage is carved out of the side of a giant barn. And its sloping lawn results in great vantage points for all. It even sounded great.

Prior to the concert, fans were doing a little pre-show partying in the grass parking lot. However, park employees quickly put the kibosh on tailgating as they patrolled the lot telling fans to dispose of their alcohol and put out their smokes. But once inside the gates, beer was for sale and the smoking ban was not actively enforced.

Umphrey's treated the crowd to two sets compromised of some old and new favorites.

The return to South Bend was not just a nostalgic trip for the band. There was also a bit of nostalgia for the fans, as Umphrey’s went deep into their catalog to pull out some of their oldest tunes. These selections included “2x2,” “Much Obliged,” “Hajimemashite,” “FF,” “Kimble” and “All in Time” – all songs they perfected back in their early days (late 1990s) in the Bend. Umphrey’s also treated the crowd to some of their more recent fan favorites including “Triple Wide,” a monstrous dance instrumental, and “Partyin’ Peeps,” a catchy party song with a reggae vibe. And of course, they threw in a few covers - Toto’s “Africa” and a dub version of Pink Floyd’s “Breathe.”

It was around 2000 when they band decided to migrate from South Bend to the Midwest’s biggest market, Chicago. And they haven’t looked back since. They have put out numerous successful albums and live DVDs, they play 100+ shows a year at sold out venues across the country and overseas. They’ve played Bonnaroo, Summercamp and Lollapalooza. They’ve opened for Dave Matthews and Phil Lesh and Friends; Galatic, Tortoise and Taj Mahal have opened for them.

Umphrey's next appearance in Chicago will be their annual New Year's Eve run.

To get an idea of the upward trajectory of Umphrey’s popularity, take a look at the venues they’ve played for their New Year’s Eve runs in Chi-town. They went from the Cubby Bear in 2000 to the Vic (2001-2003) to the Riv (2004) to selling out the Aragon (2005-2007). This year, it’s been rumored that the band will add another Chicago venue to their NYE resume with three shows at the more intimate Auditorium Theatre. If you need an Umphrey’s fix prior to that, your best bets are the Peoria Ribfest on Oct. 4 and Milwaukee’s Eagle Ballroom on Nov. 14.

If you get a chance to see a show at this venue, go - it's awesome!

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