It was all rock and no talk at the Orpheum Saturday night as Umphrey's McGee played two sets for a packed theater. The Chicago-based sextet hardly talked between songs, keeping the music coming fast and loud.

There wasn't much that needed to be said. The audience was on its feet before the band even came onstage and stayed into it for the rest of the night.

Umphrey's emerged in a red, womb-like haze of smoke and stage lights, taking their time to tune up before unleashing their trademark blend of ultra-tight jam rock. The band played with an unmatched precision not usually found in a jam band.

The duel guitar attack of Brendan Bayliss and Jake Cinninger led the charge, whether the duo was ripping through heavy metal arpeggios or lightly picking jazzy melodies. Cinninger took most of the solos, often building them to a frenetic wail that the rest of the band helped emphasize. Bayliss was mostly content to play rhythm, but when he did let loose he proved he could play with the best. It was unfortunate he was so quiet for most of the night, as he and Cinninger have a great dynamic interplay that was only showcased during the encore. The best solo section of the night occurred when the two guitarists started trading bars on the last tune.

Part of the issue was a sound mix slightly too heavy on the drums, at the expense of the guitars and Cinninger's vocals. Keyboardist Joel Cummins' synthesizer could be heard loud and clear, but his jazzy piano clomping was often drowned out.

Luckily, drummer Kris Myers played with enough dynamic intensity that his drums only became overbearing on especially loud sections. Myers and percussionist Andy Farag propelled the band flawlessly through all manners of rhythm changes. The alternating time signatures of some songs, as well as the band's tendency to jump into other tunes mid-song, would have been disastrous without such a strong rhythmic presence.

The two also provided a wide range of sound textures, with Myers often adding electronic drum sounds and Farag making use of shakers and a tambourine.

The astonishing number of musical changes was accompanied by an effective lighting display that seemed to follow the band's movements perfectly. Added to this was the spotlight effect of flashlights shining down from the balcony as concert security occasionally surprised unsuspecting pot smokers.

The large quantity of marijuana in the air didn't do anything for the band, which seemed slightly pensive throughout the first half of the show. The only time they really let loose was to make a tongue-in-cheek homage to Led Zeppelin by incorporating snippets of "Stairway to Heaven" during "Push the Pig."

The band took a break after an hour-and-fifteen-minute first set. They returned to the stage with beers in hand, looking more warmed up already.

The second half of the show was much better right from the start. Umphrey's began with a trippy slow jam on "The Triple Wide," with an echoing ambient sound that still had a good beat. The band seemed like they were having more fun, with Bayliss and bassist Ryan Stasik even dancing in a synchronized shuffle at one point.

Bayliss, Cunninger and Stasik later joined Cummins at his keyboards, crowding around to play a slow groove with Cunninger soloing on the synthesizer.

Overall, the soloing was better in the second half, with Stasik finally strutting his stuff after Myers requested a bass solo. The ensuing fret play featured some funky grooves as well as fast runs.

Myers had several good drum solos throughout the night, one of which turned into a rendition of Kanye West's "Gold Digger." It turns out Myers has a nice tenor, although the brief cover was mostly for laughs. The whole band joined in on "Pay the Snucka," another humorous song with lyrics describing reasons why one shouldn't mess with the band members.

Umphrey's walked off after two hours of intense jamming, soon returning for an encore of "All In Time." The band was smiling as it finished off the jam with a touch of Mozart, and Myers threw his sticks into the audience.

The show clocked in at three-and-a-half hours, measly by Umphrey's standards. The audience, however, didn't seem to mind and was in good spirits as it poured out into the night.