Leave it to Umphrey's McGee to find a way to combine football and improvisational, progressive music.

After all, the band has its roots in South Bend, Indiana, at Notre Dame, in the shadow of the Golden Dome and all that gridiron tradition.In addition to its usually busy schedule of touring, including some of the biggest festivals in the land, the Chicago-based jam band found the time to come up with the first UMBowl on April 24 at their hometown Lincoln Hall.The UMBowl was a four-quarter evening-long interactive concert at Lincoln Hall during which fans determined the show's entire set list via real time text messaging and pre-show balloting."It was an unique experience we created," said Umphrey's McGee bassist Ryan Stasik, in a phone interview from Buffalo, New York on its current tour, which included a return trip to Penn's Peak in Jim Thorpe on Friday night. Doors open at 7 p.m., with showtime at 9 p.m.Complete with ESPN-style videos of comedy skits in between quarters, UMBowl football jersey-styled t-shirts, and "overtime", each quarter offered a different approach to fan interaction.The UMBowl included an acoustic "first quarter" with songs determined by pre-show balloting, and a wholly improvised second quarter performance driven by real time texting from the fans to the soundboard, where it was reviewed and delivered to the band (and the crowd) by "offensive coordinator/sound caresser" Kevin Browning."It was our own four quarter Super Bowl and featured four hours of fan participation," explained Stasik. "First, the fans picked an acoustic set online. The second set was all improvised and projected on the screen by text messages. The third quarter was a fan chosen electric set, and in the fourth quarter they sent text messages as to what the next song or jam would be."The core of Umphrey's McGee formed in 1997 at Notre Dame and included Stasik, guitarist Brendan Bayliss, keyboardist Joel Cummins and drummer Mike Mirro. The band took its name from a cousin of Bayliss. That year is released its first album, which had the tongue-in-check title "Greatest Hits, Vol. 3."Umphrey's McGee would eventually add guitarist Jake Cinninger from another South Bend band, Ali Baba's Tahini, as well as percussionist Andy Farag. Kris Myers replaced Mirro on drums.The band has made a name for itself on the jam band circuit, although its approach has been labeled "improg", after its improvisational, progressive music that has been compared to Genesis, Pink Floyd, King Crimson and Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention.Umphrey's album catalog includes studio releases "Local Band Does OK" (2002), "Anchor Drops" (2004), "Safety in Numbers" (2006), "The Bottom Half" (2007) and a number of live recordings, the latest of which are "Live at the Murat" (2007) and "Jimmy Stewart Live" (2008).The band's most recent album, 2009's "Mantis", was the first in which it recorded music that wasn't previously performed on the road and included a title track that is its magnum opus."We are very proud of that record," said Stasik. "It was more of a progressive and dark rock'n'roll album than we've done before."Umphrey's has previously performed at Penn's Peak several times ("It's a beautiful place to play," said Stasik) and plans to bring its eye-opening light show once again, which is put together by its lighting director, Jeff Waul.The band has an ever-changing setlist and keeps that in mind whenever it plays at a venue."Our fans like it when we change our shows each night," related Stasik. "We try to keep it this way. It keeps us sane and the fans appreciate it."Because it plays festivals such as Bonnaroo, Summer Camp, Wakarusa, Summerfest, and All Good, Umphrey's is flexible enough to perform shorter sets when necessary, although its member savor the chance to stretch out when it headlines concerts.Additional tour highlights included a July 3 "Red Rocks & Blue" show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado with Galactic (with Cyril Neville) and The Wailers and an intimate play on the Fourth of July at the Gothic Theatre, as well as an opening stint for Widespread Panic on July 13 at LC Outdoor Amphitheater in Columbus, OH."We have played at 2:15, 4:15 or any other hour," said Stasik. "We've gone out with what we call a breakfast set, playing 2-3 songs all out, but then we are just getting warmed up. We've done a little of both. We're used to doing two sets and a full show."We compare a show to a five-course meal. There's a little appetizer, the main course, a little dessert. We try to get all of that in there."Umphrey's also recently released its song "1348" on the Rock Band Network, which marks the first time its music has been part of any video game. For "1348" Umphrey's worked with former Harmonix Music Systems employee and current Rock Band Network freelancer Andrew Buch.So what can fans expect when Umphrey's McGee takes to the stage at The Peak?"We are pretty good at not repeating ourselves," said Stasik. "We will give you a high energy, highly-illuminated rock show."Umphrey's McGee will perform at Penn's Peak on Friday, Aug. 6. Tickets are $21 in advance and $26 the day of the show for general admission seating. Tickets are available online at

www.ticketmaster.com, at Ticketmaster outlets, including Boscov's and Galley of Sound, and at the Penn's Peak box office and Roadies Restaurant. Call (866) 605-PEAK for information.