moe sure knows how to close out a tour and leave the fans wanting more, as they wrapped up another successful tour to a packed house at The F shed on Saturday February 15th.
The F Shed is a unique venue, located just miles off the New York State Thruway in Syracuse making it accessible from all major highways. It is essentially a giant garage that could easily store a fleet of commercial airlines. It almost gives the feel of an outdoor dance tent that most concertgoers would relate to, and it gives off an incredible vibe. Every city should really look at its model as something they should consider in their area.
Max Creek set the stage for the evening with some solid jams, led by Scott Murawski who would eventually join moe. on stage for a few songs. Max Creek has been a successful touring band for over 30 years and musically sound as great as any of the biggest names out there, with improvisational abilities that are top notch.
moe. wasted no time and opened the show with the classic fan favorite “Akimbo”, to thunderous applause. The lights were amazing and moe. was simply just hitting their stride when “32 Things” came up and got everyone flying. “Bring You Down >Awesome Gary > Mar De Ma” was an incredible run and gave the crowd not a moment to rest, with Rob Derhak giving off a hint of a smile as he slapped the bass. Scott Murawski from Max Creek joined the boys during “Mar De Ma” and helped accompany the band during a very solid cover of The Rolling Stones, “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” with “Spaz Medicine” closing out a very hot first set.
“Okayalright” got the crowd up and running again and is such a perfect opening song. “Happy Hour Hero” paid homage to Saranac Brewery and is always a nice shout out to the home of Al Schnier. “Blue Jeans Pizza >Seat Of My Pants” had to be the highlight of the night, especially on Al side, where he went into full blown rockstar mode at the front of the stage, making sure everyone was able to get that classic pose captured on the sea of cell phones held up high. When Schnier was holding back, Chuck Garvey would come in to wallop you with his solos, keeping your attention on the entire stage. Closing out the set with “Spine Of A Dog > Buster”, the band filled out what was an incredible run of songs.
The two songs of the encore brought chills to the air with covers of Pink Floyd’s “Time” and Frank Zappa’s “San Ber’dino”, followed by an impromptu costume change during “Downward Facing Dog” as Schnier mocked in his dog costume that he decided to wear throughout the final song, a classic image for all moe. fans.
moe. certainly brings their A game every time they play Upstate and we’re all very fortunate to be able to see them so often in New York State where they are truly a gem.
Set1: Akimbo >32 Things, Bring You Down > Awesome Gary > Mar-DeMa*, Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’*, Spaz Medicine
Set 2: Okayalright > Happy Hour Hero, Gone, Blue Jeans Pizza > Seat Of My Pants, Spine Of A Dog > Buster
Encore: Time, San Ber’dino, Downward Facing Dog
{* w/ Scott Murawski}
