Category: Flashback

Revisit moe.downs 11-15 and the Festival’s Return to Snow Ridge

The third and final chapter in NYS Music’s three part series on moe.down revisits the 11th through 15th festivals. In 2010, the band moved the festival from the grounds of Turin, NY, where they spent the last decade, to a new location at Gelston Castle Estate in Mohawk, New York. For the next two years, moe.down would call this location home.

moe.down XI

Line-up: moe. The Black Keys. Nas & Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley. Mike Gordon. Lotus. Grace Potter and The Nocturnals. Punch Brothers. Built to Spill. Tortoise. Ryan Montbleau Band. The Macpodz. The Brew. Monkey Wrench. Orgone. Turbine. Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds.

moe.down XI was the first time a multi-day festival had been held at the Gelston venue. Infrastructure had to be built to pump in water to the campgrounds and crude roads had to be roughly smoothed out to get attendees on site. This first year on the grounds also brought drizzles of rain throughout, as well as a chill, damp air that lingered each day, with touches of sun peaking through here and there.

The original line-up in 2010 featured Jakob Dylan, but he unfortunately had to back out and was replaced with Grace Potter and The Nocturnals for this year’s events. It’s not very often that artists on the original line-up have to back out, but this year’s schedule change kept the flow going. Who doesn’t love watching Grace Potter literally grace the stage with her beauty, Flying V guitar in hand, and breathy vocals melting into the microphone? Other noteworthy performances over the weekend included sets by Phish bassist Mike Gordon and his solo band, who’s set included Radiohead’s “15 step,” as well as The Brew blowing up the venue with an unexpected cover of Foreigner’s “Juke Box Hero.”

Host band moe. played on the main stage each day of the festival. The customary kids parade occurred on Saturday, with the stream of kids attending ending up on the main stage while moe. laid down some energetic jams. Each year, a mayor is chosen by the audience. The winner of the annual election of the mayor of moe.down went to Rage Lincoln and his reading of the Headysburg Address.

Notable sets included the evening Saturday set that opened with “Plane Crash” and then closed out the night, before encore, going back into “Plane Crash,” bringing the night’s performance to a smooth finish. The last night of the festival, moe. busted out a twisty turny extended “Farmer Ben” that was crammed with nuggets of unexpected surprises. Hints and teases of Rush splashed about through the jam, including touches of “Spirit of Radio,” “Tom Sawyer,” and “Working Man.”

moe. fan, Mike Quinn, looked back at some of his most unforgettable moments from moe.down and this year in particular brought fond memories. “I’ve been lucky enough to witness some really amazing things at moe.down. I’ve seen friends get engaged (moe.down 11) and then two years later get married at the top of the hill (moe.down 13). I was with my friends when they felt their son in utero kick for the first time at moe.down (11).”

Check out a smoking “Recreational Chemistry” from 9/4/2010:

9/3/10 – Gelston Castle Estate – Mohawk, NY
Set 1: Zed Naught Z>(nh) Time Again>Waiting For The Punchline, Blue Jeans Pizza>(nh) Captain America>Puebla>George, Brent Black>Akimbo

Encore: Brent Black>Billy Goat

9/4/10 – Gelston Castle Estate – Mohawk, NY
Set 1: Skrunk>Lazarus>Spine Of A Dog*, New York City^, St. Augustine>32 Things

Encore: Y.O.Y.^^

Set 2: Plane Crash>Hector.’s Pillow>Bring You Down, Daydreaming, Paranoid Android#>Ricky Marten>Time Ed

Set 3: Seat Of My Pants>(nh) Bearsong>(nh) Runaway Overlude>(nh) Recreational Chemistry, Not Coming Down>Wormwood>Plane Crash

Encore: Faker

* w/ Powerhouse ending
^ moe.down Kids’ Tent Parade
^^ Dedicated to Monkey Wrench (who played on the Buzz Stage right afterwards)
# Last time played 7/20/07

9/5/10 – Gelston Castle Estate – Mohawk, NY
Set 1: Buster>Haze>Yodelittle>McBain, Cornflake Girl>(nh) Timmy Tucker

Set 2: Moth>Queen Of Everything, Four>Rebubula

Encore: Deep This Time, Tubing The River Styx>The Pit>Farmer Ben**>Moth

* Ben jam section: Ben>Spirit Of The Radio (Rush)>Ben>Tom Sawyer (Rush)>Ben>Working Man (Rush)>Powerhouse>Ben

moe.down XII

Line-up: moe. The Levon Helm Band (featuring special guest Bob Weir). Ween. TV On The Radio. Slightly Stoopid. Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers. Ozomatli. Railroad Earth. The New Mastersounds. Rubblebucket. Danger Muffin. The Ragbirds. Empire Sound. Band. Gary Clark, Jr.

This year’s three-day event called into question whether it may even go on. Hurricane Irene rolled through the area just a few days prior, shutting down the flooded thruway. Those concerns were dashed, however, as the thruway opened and the show went on.

Once again, the festival was held at Gelston Castle Estate in Mohawk, NY. One big draw was heavy hitter Bob Weir as special guest with The Levon Helm Band. Gary Clark, Jr., an up and coming artist at that time, was slated to perform, along with well seasoned bands, Ween and Slightly Stoopid. Railroad Earth also made an appearance, and will be returning to this year’s moe.down.

The weather did have it’s say on some of the schedule during the weekend. The Levon Helm Band was postponed for nearly an hour due to lightning in the area. Fans took shelter under tarps and tents until the storm subsided. When the band finally took to the stage, Bob Weir sat in for their moving set.

On Saturday, moe. performed back to back sets in the evening, with the encore featuring “Crab Eyes” played on iPads to honor the passing of Steve Jobs. Sunday’s moe. evening sets brought Bob Weir to the stage as he joined in on a jaw dropping triple punch during “The Other One>Smokestack Lightning>The Other One.” The winner of this year’s mayor of moe.down was announced before encore and went to both Bob Weir and Rob’s hair. “Spine of a Dog” and “Seat of My Pants” brought the festival to a close.

Check out the band performing “Crab Eyes” completely on iPads:

9/2/11 Gelston Castle Estate – Mohawk, NY
Set 1: Captain America, Down Boy>(nh) Skrunk>George, Where Does The Time Go?>Dr. Graffenberg, Deep This Time>32 Things

Encore: Plane Crash

9/3/11 Gelston Castle Estate – Mohawk, NY
Set I: Rise>(nh) St. Augustine, She Sends Me, Nebraska^, Puebla>(nh) Mar-Dema>Timmy Tucker, Hi & Lo>Moth

Set 2: Good Trip>Akimbo, Blue Jeans Pizza, Downward Facing Dog, Tubing the River Styx>The Pit, Haze@>Rebubula@

Set 3: meat.>Don’t Fuck With Flo>Yodelittle>Lazarus, Four>Buster

Encore: Crab Eyes**, Bearsong

* w/ moe.down Kid’s Tent Parade
@ w/ al. on ’74 double-neck Gibson
** w/ band playing on iPads

9/4/11 Gelston Castle Estate – Mohawk, NY
Set 1: Rainshine, Happy Hour Hero, Big World>Ricky Marten>The Other One*#>Smokestack Lightning*##>The Other One*#, Stuck Inside of Mobile (with the Memphis Blues Again)@*%, Feel Like A Stranger*%%

Set 2: Wind It Up, Faker>Billy Goat, Suck A Lemon, Paper Dragon>Recreational Chemistry

Encore: Mayor of moe.ville Election$, Spine of a Dog>Seat of My Pants

* w/ Bob Weir
@ w/ al. on mandolin
# LTP > 7/17/09
## FTP – Chester Burnett, a.k.a. Howlin’ Wolf cover
% FTP – Bob Dylan cover
%% FTP – Grateful Dead cover
$ w/ Bob Weir (and rob.’s hair) elected mayor

moe.down XIII

Line-up: moe. Umphrey’s McGee. North Mississippi Allstars Duo. SOJA. Bright Light Social Hour. Timbre Coup. Aqueous. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. Galactic. The Wood Brothers. Marco Benevento. Kyle Hollingsworth. The Everyone Orchestra. Leroy Justice. JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound. Infantree.

This year’s moe.down was moved back to the original Turin, NY venue at Snow Ridge Ski Resort. It was also moved up to an earlier date, this time in August. The move back to the original venue, as well as an earlier time slot made for a successful festival, and one of their best to date. Fans were ecstatic to be back on the old stomping grounds and, much to their delight, were able to experience two full sets of moe. each day. 2012 also brought much anticipated camping areas designated for families and sober attendees.

It just wouldn’t be a moe.down without some rain in the forecast. Occasional showers rolled in on Friday night, but the bands that took to the stage made sure to keep the energy going late into the night. Once again, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals performed, opening up the main stage on the first day. She later joined in with moe. during their cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter.”

Saturday’s second set by moe. in the evening turned spicy as Galactic joined the group on stage to bust out The Band’s “Up On Cripple Creek,” which was immediately followed by a hefty jam session by both. The double jamming session continued as they flowed into “How Many More Years” with both Vinnie Amico and Jim Loughlin on percussion.

One attendee, Chris Perrault, recalls the magic of this year’s festival overall. “Musically, I remember standing high up on the hill as the sun was setting, watching everyone groove. As the sun went down, everything became electric or illuminated. The stage. The hula hoops. The glow sticks. But mostly the dancers and the music just changed course from happy daytime music to crunchy ‘oh, you want to get down? Well, then let’s!’ It was fantastic!”

Sunday’s performances brought a heavy hitting set by Umphrey’s McGee, which included a sit-in by Stanley Jordan. moe.’s evening performance included Umphrey’s McGee joining in for a band switch during a double dose of Pink Floyd covers, performing “Time” and “Breathe.” This year’s mayor of moe.down went to Goldbond. A surprise second set delighted fans as fireworks blew up in the sky, with “Billy Goat>meat.” bringing the event to a close.

8/10/12 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY
Set 1: Plane Crash@ >(nh) Not Coming Down@ > Wormwood > Okayalright, Gimme Shelter*#, Tubing The River Styx > The Pit > Puebla > Timmy Tucker, Letter Home^, Wind It Up

Set 2: Tailspin## > head., Happy Hour Hero**, McBain > Skrunk > Brent Black

Encore: Seat Of My Pants^^ >(nh) Akimbo

@ w/ al. on ’74 Gibson double-neck guitar
*w/ Grace Potter on vox
** w/ Kyle Hollingsworth on keys
^ ’97 / Reggae version
^^ SDB tease
# Last time played 3/06/08
## Last time played 1/31/11

8/11/12 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY
Set 1: Crab Eyes>(nh) Down Boy>(nh) The Bones Of Lazarus, Blue Eyed Son@, Captain America>Waiting For The Punchline, Faker>Moth

Set 2: Paper Dragon>Dr. Graffenberg, Sticks and Stones, Zed Naught Z>Don’t Fuck With Flo>Zed Naught Z, Up On Cripple Creek*>moe. / Galactic Jam>How Many More Years**, George, Recreational Chemistry

@ w/ al on electric mandolin
* w/ Galactic
** Galactic w/ Vin & Jim on percussion

8/12/12 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY
Set 1: Haze@, It>St. Augustine>Downward Facing Dog, Bring It Back Home*, Spine Of A Dog>Buster

Set 2: Bullet>Deep This Time, The Road>Kyle’s Song>Kids, Time^>moe. / Umphrey’s band-switch>Breathe

Encore: Rebubula

Encore 2: Billy Goat>meat.

@ w/ al on ’74 Gibson double-neck guitar
* w/ moe.down Kid’s Tent Parade
^ w/ Umphrey’s McGee
Mayor of moe.ville = Goldbond
Fireworks went off after Rebubula, and band played a 2nd encore as surprise to fans

moe.down XIV

Line-up: moe. Steve Kimock Band. Mike Dillon Band. Conehead Buddha. Pennyshine. Conspirator. Stanley Jordan Trio. Savoy. Floodwood. Dr. Dog. Del McCoury Band. Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. RAQ. Eastbound Jesus. Wolf! The Stepkids.

This year’s event was once again held in Turin, NY. The crowd of attendees was much smaller, and more intimate, than usual. Friday’s musical set began on a stylish note, as the Del McCoury Band took to the stage. With perfectly coifed hair and stylish suits, these guys brought nothing but class and bluegrass to the stage. It was a refreshing musical change to the festival without a doubt. moe.’s Friday set included a tip of the hat to Jerry Garcia with a performance of “Casey Jones,” as the anniversary of his death was August 9. For the first time in recent years, the Friday night sky was crystal clear, without a hint of rain in sight.

Saturday’s events brought a lost wandering Beagle puppy to the attention of everyone. moe. even made an announcement to try and find the owner. Without any luck finding who the dog belonged to, she was eventually turned over to the local Humane Society, to which she was appropriately named “Moe.Na.” Speaking of moe., their evening set busted out a ridiculously energetic version of “Plane Crash” that included Shannon and Terry Lynch, of Conehead Buddhas, on horns. If that wasn’t enough to blow fans away, second set was basically one of the most insane sets they’ve ever played. Fierce compositions followed one after the other, filled with emotional jams that brought a wave of energy up and down as the melodies ebbed into each other. That set brought down the house, and had fans staring in disbelief at the amazing shreds the band was throwing out to the mountain side.

Sunday’s musical delights included the Mike Dillon Band, with Carly Meyers of ROAR! crushing a killer trombone as part of the ever rotating cast of musicians in this project. Stanley Jordan, famous for his two-handed tapping guitar style, had fans who’ve never seen him perform watch on in awe and dropped jaws. Speaking of Jordan, he joined moe. during encore with “Rebubula,” after the new mayor of moe.down went to the ditch. “Happy Hour Hero” closed out the year, followed by the annual fireworks display.

Watch moe.’s entire second set from 8/10/13:

8/9/13 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY
Set 1 Big World>Ricky Marten>Bring You Down, Casey Jones, Blue Jeans Pizza>Silver Sun>Mexico

Set 2: St. Augustine>32 Things, Deal#, Time Ed>Water*>Brent Black%>Mar-DeMa>Time Ed

Encore: Spine Of A Dog**

# LTP > 12/02/12
* w/ Enter Sandman Jam
% unfinished
** w/ Powerhouse ending

8/10/13 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY
Set 1: Skrunk>Timmy Tucker, Wind It Up, Godzilla*, Puebla>Tubing The River Styx>The Pit>Plane Crash**

Set 2: Smoke>Chromatic Nightmare>Smoke>Recreational Chemistry>Akimbo>Tubing The River Styx>Seat Of My Pants>meat.#>Brent Black^

Encore: Traveling Light##, Dr. Graffenberg

* w/ Chris Michetti on guitar
** w/ Shannon & Terry Lynch on horns
^ completes 8/09/13 version
# unfinished
## first time played- (cover – JJ Cale) – dedicated to JJ Cale and Mikey Houser

8/11/13 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY
Set 1: Stranger Than Fiction, Suck A Lemon, Crackers, Bearsong*, Billy Goat > CalfironIA >(nh) Y.O.Y.>Buster**

Set 2: Queen Of Everything, Moth>Hi & Lo>Opium, Yodelittle%>meat.#, The Bones Of Lazarus>George

Encore: – Rebubula^, Happy Hour Hero^^

* w/ moe.down Kids Parade & Carly Meyers on trombone
** w/ Mike Dillon on percussion
% w/ Stanley Jordan on guitar
# completes 8/10/13 version
– Ditch voted in as mayor. of moe.ville
^ w/ Stanley Jordan on guitar & Kenwood Dennard switched out for a period of time with Vin, who played percussion with Jim, before switching back with Kenwood on drums
^^ Fireworks were shot afterwards

moe.down XV

Line-up: moe. Gogol Bordello, O.A.R., Lotus, Solve, Les Claypool’s Duo De Twang, Jerry Douglas Band, Everyone Orchestra, Twiddle, Floodwood, Aqueous, The Werks, Conehead Buddha, American Babies, Wild Adriatic

Since 2000, moe. has been hosting this festival for fans, friends and family. This year, the three day festival was especially welcome as the event returned to the original Labor Day weekend date at Snow Ridge in Turin, NY. Not having to go to work on Monday was a big factor for fans, as many did not want to miss the epic fireworks display after the band’s last song on Sunday. The rain held up for most of the weekend, keeping the grounds dry during the day.

Two bands making debut appearances this year included Twiddle and Wild Adriatic. Both bands are scheduled to appear this year for moe.down XVI. Conehead Buddha, Lotus, and Les Claypool’s Due De Twang gave powerhouse performance sets jam packed with high energy. Lotus took the place of The Rich Robinson Band, who were originally scheduled to perform. The most surprising act of the festival was from Gogol Bordello, an intensely high energy band whose music was a combination of bordello, punk and theatrics all rolled into one.

moe.’s Saturday evening performance included the members of Conehead Buddha horns joining the group on stage for the majority of the set. moe. put out the call to fans stating that if their Facebook page reached 100,000 likes, they would play a “Voter’s Choice” song during moe.down. They did not disappoint. They brought out the rare instrumental “Canned Pastries,” that had only been played five times previously, making it’s last appearance on the setlist on August 25, 1994. Before the encore of “Rebubula,” the mayor of moe.ville was announced. This year finally went to Rex Thomson, who had been competing for the mayor for the past few years.

Check out the encore which wrapped up the last moe.down three years ago:

8/29/14 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY
Set 1: meat.*>Dr. Graffenberg>Low, Same Old Story, Chromatic Nightmare, Don’t Fuck With Flo>Timmy Tucker, White Lightning Turpentine, Faker>meat.

Encore: Spine Of A Dog>Seat Of My Pants

* w/ Bullet Jam / false start

8/30/14 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY
Set 1: Mar-DeMa>(nh) Captain America, Okayalright>(nh) Crab Eyes, This I Know, Billy Goat%, Skrunk>Blue Jeans Pizza>Waiting For The Punchline Reprise>Waiting For The Punchline, Downward Facing Dog

Set 2: Yodelittle>(nh) Bullet, Nebraska*, Spaz Medicine*, Happy Hour Hero*>Mexico*>Akimbo*>Tenth Avenue Freeze Out*

Set 3: Silver Sun, Threw It All Away*, Not Coming Down*>Wormwood*>Brittle End*, The Wizard*^, Spanish Moon*>Blond Hair And Blue Eyes*, Late In The Evening*, Plane Crash*

Encore: Jazz Wank>Hava Negilah>Long Island Girls Rule

% w/ moe.down Kid’s Tent Parade
* w/ Conehead Buddha horns: Shannon Lynch on saxaphone, Terry Lynch on trumpet, Shaun Bazylewicz on trombone
^ w/ Terry Lynch on vox

8/31/14 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY
Set 1: Paper Dragon, Annihilation Blues, Do Or Die, Water>Hector’s Pillow>Four>32 Things, Canned Pastries#
Set 2: Big World>Rickey Marten>Time Ed>Moth, Puebla>Kyle’s Song

Encore: Rebubula

# last time played 8/25/94

June 22, 2017
moe.down 6-10: A Flash Back
NYS Music continues its review of the history of moe.down, one of the most established and successful summer festivals the state has to offer. We looked at the first 5 moe.downs last week, and here’s a look back at some of the more memorable moments in years 6 through 10, as moe.down set roots down in Turin, NY and became a Labor Day Weekend tradition.

moe.down VI

After five increasingly successful years in Turin, moe.down had established itself as one of the premier summer festivals in the Northeast. It was now not only a “must go” destination for moe.rons but for music fans alike thanks to increasingly diverse lineups that featured more and more nationally prominent acts. The sixth rendition featured Keller Williams, who was everywhere at that time, The Violent Femmes, Matisyahu and Medeski, Martin & Wood as the lineups continued to be made with a blend of popular acts and those that were favorites of the band.

Night one of the festival only calls for one moe. set, and while this year would be no different, it was definitely cover heavy with versions of “Stairway to Heaven,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and “All Along the Watchtower,” the latter of which featured Keller Williams sitting in. Setlists courtesy of Phantasy Tour.

9/2/05 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY

Set 1: Jazz Wank> Rebubula*> Cornflake Girl> Recreational Chemistry, Wind it up, Salt Creek, Stairway To Heaven Jam^> All along the Watchtower^, Faker> Moth> The Pit> Brent Black> Moth

Encore: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

* unfinished
^ with Keller Williams

The following day’s opening sat saw guitarist Al Schnier’s children get involved and ended appropriately enough with a rousing rendition of “Kids.” Other highlights included a “Timmy Tucker” that was stretched across two sets and a full on instrument switch with Japanese band Big Frog. The band switch continued a recent tradition of sorts as the same thing had been done in years past with other headliners like The Disco Biscuits and Galactic, showing just how gracious the festival hosts are in sharing the spotlight at their festival.

9/3/05 • Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY

Set 1: Spine Of A Dog> Buster, Shanna Robe^*, Ayla Schnier solo^, She, Crab Eyes, Hi and Lo> Timmy Tucker&> Kids

Set 2: New York City, Head> Timmy Tucker&+, Happy Hour Hero%> Rise> Karma Police> Head

Set 3: Not Coming Down> Wormwood> St. Augustine> 32 Things$, The Road> Kyle’s Song, Akimbo

Encore: Time, Sensory Deprivation Bank

* with Ben Schnier

^ Ayla Schnier solo on piano

& unfinished

&+ finished

% with complete band switch with Big Frog

$ with members of Dread Clampett

moe.down VI was closed out in style with a show that featured the band’s first ever take on The Grateful Dead classic “Terrapin Station” before steering back into a “Rebubula” that was left unfinished from the day before. As if that weren’t enough, the encore ended with a superb version of “Meat” that gave way to a brilliant fireworks display that left everyone gazing at the sky as the band completed another stellar chapter in the book of moe.down.

9/4/2005 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY
Set 1: The Ghost Of Ralph’s Mom, She Sends Me, Tailspin> Californ IA> Bullet> Big World

Set 2: Y.O.Y.> Down Boy, McBain, Four> Dr. Graffenberg> Terrapin Station*> Rebubula^
Encore: Tijuana Donkey Show, Meat&

* first time played
^ completed from friday night
& with fireworks

Here’s a clip of the aforementioned “Meat” which closed things out.

moe.down VII

The seventh rendition of moe.down had a Phish-y vibe to it with three of the four members appearing on the bill. Bassist Mike Gordon played with his side project Ramble Dove while Page McConnell and Jon Fishman also lent their talents on keys and drums, respectively, to the festivities. Naturally, rumors of guitarist Trey Anastasio appearing as well swirled about as 2006 was right in the middle of the band’s near five year hiatus – an event that undoubtedly fostered some of the festival and band’s growth. This year also featured a band skyrocketing in national popularity in Umphrey’s McGee, an up and coming act in Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Ziggy Marley and Yolk, a legendary NY band with roots in Binghamton.

moe. opened up their portion of the weekend with a ripping cover of Blue Oyster Cult’s “Godzilla” and later brought out McConnell to assist on two of the band’s more classic numbers in “Buster” and “Mexico” as well as “Blue Jeans Pizza,” a fairly new one at the time.

9/1/06 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY

Set 1: Godzilla> Spine Of A Dog> Plane Crash> Buster*, Mexico*, Blue Jeans Pizza*, Good Trip> Wind it up

Encore: Meat

* with Page McConnell

The hosts enlisted some more help the following day with two separate Umphrey’s McGee sit ins. First, Jake Cinninger (guitar) and Kris Meyers (drums) came out and assisted on “Faker” which cooled things down after a monster 2nd set “George” that was accentuated by some brilliant disco ball lighting effects. Later in the set, guitarist Brendan Bayliss came out for the staple “Rebubula,” just as he had done a few summers earlier at the first Bonnaroo during moe.’s epic late night set – an event that, arguably, entrenched both of these bands on the national stage.

9/2/06 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY

Set 1: Not Coming Down> Wormwood> The Ghost Of Ralph’s Mom, Akimbo, Lazarus*, 32 Things, Tailspin> Timmy Tucker

Set 2: Head> George, Faker^> Water> Rebubula&

Set 3: Crab Eyes, Bullet> Big World, The Road> Don’t Fuck With Flo$> The Pit> Godzilla

Encore: Karma Police> Head

* with Stephen Perkins

^ with Jake Cinninger, Steven Perkins, and Kris Meyers

& with Brendan Bayliss

$ with Andrew Bellivia and Willie Waldman

Sunday saw two more moe. classics get the special guest treatment as pedal steel guitar virtuoso Gordon Stone joined in for “New York City” and “Waiting for the Punchline” in a first set that was a highlighted by a “Moth” that nearly bookended the whole thing.

The Rolling Stones classic “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” served as a more than tasty treat in the 2nd set and the weekend was capped off with a rip roaring “Recreational Chemistry” that closed the book on the 7th moe.down.

9/3/06 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY

Set 1: Moth> New York City*, Down Boy, Waiting For The Punchline*, Y.O.Y.> Moth> Brent Black

Set 2: Jazz Wank> Dr. Graffenberg^> Can’t You Hear Me Knocking> Plane Crash, Brittle End, Seat Of My Pants

Encore: Recreational Chemistry

* with Gordon Stone

^ with Willie Waldman

Check out this 2006 promo for moe.down. It gives a great view as to the surroundings and communal vibe that this festival cultivates so well. And if that’s not enough, it also contains a baby faced Al Schnier and a tasty outro jam from a live version of “The Road.”

moe.down VIII

By 2007, the festival had become a well oiled machine and was not only producing a string of memorable Labor Day Weekends one after the other, but also showing the ability to adapt on the fly. Ryan Adams was scheduled to be one of the headliners at moe.down 8 but had to cancel. Instead of replacing him with a local or unknown artist, the festival was able to score Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction fame and his side project Satellite Party. This continued the precedent set last year when Stephen Perkins, drummer for Jane’s Addiction, appeared with his band Banyan in addition to sitting in with moe. on a take of “Lazarus.”

This year showcased a really impressive array of musical selections. There was the classic hip-hop/R&B stylings of The Roots, 90s jam band Strangefolk, alternative legends The Meat Puppets, a young electronica influenced band called Lotus and Medeski Martin Scofield & Wood all on the same bill. As moe.down continued to grow in popularity, it seemed to produce festival lineups with more and more depth each year.

8/31/07 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY

Set 1: Stranger Than Fiction, Bearsong, Bullet> Tailspin, Kyle’s Song, Opium> lyleloveit., She> 32 Things

Encore: Don’t Do It*, She Sends Me

* First time played.

Saturday’s sets at moe.down 8 exemplified everything the festival had become, beginning with a “Buster” opener that saw a parade of kids marching on and around the stage. Just as it had grown in popularity and musical talent, each year there seemed to be more designated areas and activities scheduled for children, showing that the festival could also cater to families as well. And in keeping with other moe.down traditions, Saturday also had a full band switch with the Meat Puppets in the middle of “Big World” and a captivating sit in from Perry Farrell on a cover of the Jane’s Addiction tune “Ocean Size.”

9/1/07 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY

Set 1: Buster*, The Road, Shoot First^, Down Boy, The Ghost Of Ralph’s Mom, So Long&, Mexico%

Set 2: Lazarus> Skrunk, Ocean Size$, Okayalright> Wind it up, Plane Crash

Set 3: Big World> Meat Puppets Jam#> Big World, McBain> George, Faker> Timmy Tucker

Encore: Spine Of A Dog@> Spaz Medicine

* with The Kid Zone Buster parade lining the front of the stage.

^ with Rob on upright bass, Al on acoustic guitar

& with Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun (Pink Floyd), Al on acoustic guitar.

% with Curt Kirkwood (Meat Puppets) on guitar

$ First time played. w/ Perry Farrell on vocals

# moe. / meat puppets band switch

@ with Al solo intro

Closing out the festival this year featured more of the same with a beautiful ending to the opening set with a cover of “The Weight” that saw various members of Uncle Earl and The Brakes give this classic number an acoustic feel. Later in the evening, another band member switch of sorts took place as moe.’s crew members each took over an instrument on a cover of “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” before yet another spectacular fireworks display set from atop the hill sent everybody home.

9/2/07 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY

Set 1: Crab Eyes, Hi and Lo> Kids, The Pit> Meat, The Weight^*

Set 2: Blue Jeans Pizza> Recreational Chemistry^, Not Coming Down> Wormwood> St. Augustine> Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere%$> Rebubula

Encore: Akimbo, Letter Home#

* with KC Groves, Kristin Andreassen, Abigail Washburn, Bryn Davies of Uncle Earl on backing vocals, Rayna Gellert of Uncle Earl on fiddle, and Zach Djanikian of The Brakes on vocals.

^ with Chuck on bass guitar and Rob on guitar for part

% with Jeff Waful on Chuck’s guitar and vocals, Frank Robbins on Al’s guitar, Hector Jimenez on bass and vocals, Steve Young on keyboards, Cass Libbers on drums, and Ken “Skip” Richman on percussion

$ first time played (Neil Young & Crazy Horse)

# Fireworks followed “Letter Home” with Rainboe. singing “The Star Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America”

moe.down IX

With moe.down now firmly entrenched as a summer festival staple, the 2008 version offered a lineup chock full of easy listening with acts like The Levon Helm Band that, naturally, did a bunch of popular The Band covers, The Sparrow Quartet featuring Abigail Washburn (back from last year) and Bela Fleck, Cornmeal and Yonder Mountain String Band. For the non-acoustic fans, groups like U-Melt, American Babies and The Benevento Russo Duo offered their various takes on improvisational rock. And Presidents of the United States of America seemed to fit the early 90s/alternative band slot this year and wowed the crowd with a fun Sunday afternoon set under a blazing hot sun.

8/29/08 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY

Set 1: Spaz Medicine, Blue Jeans Pizza, Funky Reuben*, Letter Home> Okayalright, Darkness> Shoot First^> The Road> Rebubula

Encore: Sensory Deprivation Bank

* Last time played 02/15/92 (1552 shows)

^ with Bela Fleck

The guest appearances this weekend fell right in line with the country feel to this year’s bill with Bela Fleck lending his talents to “Shoot First” and Jeff Austin from YMSB fitting in perfectly on “Bring You Down.” One of the weekend’s other memorable sets was delivered by Cornmeal who played an engaging set of bluegrass and uptempo folk tunes with Allie Kral, now of YMSB, on fiddle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ9I5-_s7gI

8/30/08 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY

Set 1: Bring It Back Home, Bearsong, All Roads Lead to Home*, Captain America^> Waiting For The Punchline, Brent Black^#

Set 2: Defrost@> Crab Eyes, Sticks and Stones*, Deep This Time*, The Pit, Bullet> Bring You Down^$

Set 3: Buster> Second Cousins&> Runaway Overlude> She*%, Voodoo Child> Seat Of My Pants

Encore: Spine Of A Dog> Yankee Doodle⁺

* with Nadine LaFond on vocals

^ with Kids tent parade coming on stage

# with Marco Benevento on keyboards and Joe Russo on drums

@ last time played 01/22/97 (1228 shows)

$ with Jeff Austin on mandolin

& First time played and on stage setlist as “ShitLy”

% band segue with Fishbone

+ last time played 03/18/99 (947 shows)

For the hardcore moe. fans, there were bust outs galore at moe.down 9. Songs like “Funky Reuben” and “Defrost” that hadn’t been played since the 90s made appearances. It seemed as if the entire moe.playbook was an option this weekend. While plenty of songs from the recently released Sticks and Stones album also got some play, standout versions of old school hits like “Sensory Deprivation Bank,” “Recreational Chemistry” and a rollicking third set opener of “Buster” from Saturday night really made their mark this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeHrYNV1PwI

Sunday was not lacking in special moe.ments either as Cornmeal made another appearance and helped close out the first set set with their version of ‘jamgrass’ on a blistering “32 Things” that closed out the first set. And the second set saw Shannon and Terry Lynch of Conehead Buddha lend some brass support on “Happy Hour Hero.” Not to be outdone by the previous days’ offerings of bustouts, the second set also contained a “Roll >Armageddon Jig>Strychnine Waltz” sequence that hadn’t been seen in more than 7 years. But, by far, the most unexpected performance of the weekend may have been the last one as the entire band played around one mic and sent moe.down 9 attendees away for another year with their heads up thanks to the Monty Python sing-a-long classic, “Always Look on the Bright of Life,” replete with responsive whistling from another year’s worth of tired yet satiated fans.

8/31/08 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY

Set 1: Tailspin> Timmy Tucker> Understand, Queen of Everything, Down Boy, Macintyre Range*^> 32 Things^{^}

Set 2: George> Happy Hour Hero$> Recreational Chemistry, New York City> George> Roll#> Armageddon Jig#> Strychnine Waltz#> Plane Crash

Encore: Wind it up, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life@&

* without Rob

^ with members of Cornmeal

$ with Shannon Lynch on saxophone and Terry Lynch on trumpet

# last time played 4/22/01 (710 shows)

@ first time played (Monty Python). Chuck on guitar and Jim on tambourine. Entire band around one mic, Rob singing lead.

& second encore (after fireworks)

moe.down X

As a testament to the tireless work put in by moe.’s management team and the bond created with Snow Ridge over the years, 2009 marked the 10th year of the festival, all at the same location. And perhaps no previous lineup offered such a diverse selection of musical artists. Not too many other festivals could promote a bill that had acts like Ani DiFranco alongside ones like Method Man and Redman. And in a rare treat for any East Coast show, the festival was able to lure out California-based rock outfit CAKE who delighted the Saturday night crowd with a set of classic hits. Fledgling bands at the time like The Heavy Pets and The New Mastersounds both increased their exposure thanks to sets at the smaller stage on site. And like any other moe.down, the hosts were everywhere and playing with everyone.

moe. brought out something of a new trick this year as well. Each day, their performances began with one member on stage beginning a song before slowly being joined by everyone else one by one. Vinnie Amico got things started on night one with an opening drum solo before being joined by the rest of the band in a set that delivered such staples as “New York City,” “Hi and Lo” and “Four.”

9/4/09 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY

Set 1: Buster*> New York City, Big World> Hi and Lo> Tubing The River Styx> The Pit, The Seed^, Spine Of A Dog$> Waiting For The Punchline$, Four$> Buster$

Encore: McBain

* Vinny drum solo > Jim > Rob > Al > Chuck to start Buster

^ first time played (new moe. song)

$ with Kirk Juhaus

MVP honors for the weekend could have easily been given to Sam Bush who not only played an afternoon set with his band, but lent his violin prowess and infectious energy on sit ins with moe. on songs like “Tambourine” and a rocking “Meat” that closed out Saturday’s second set. Perhaps no song befits moe.down’s rapid ascension into the top tier of the summer music festival hierarchy better than “Where Does the Time Go?” from the final set of night two.

9/5/09 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY

Set 1: Mexico*, Crab Eyes, Tambourine^, 32 Things%, Deep This Time> Brent Black

Set 2: Zed Nought Z&> Skrunk> Akimbo, Queen of Everything, Lazarus> George, Meat#

Set 3: Dr. Graffenberg, Understand> Okayalright, Where Does the Time Go?> Plane Crash, Captain America> Recreational Chemistry@

Encore: Wind it up

* Al solo > Chuck > Vinny > Jim > Rob > jam (kids parade) prior to the start

^ with Sam Bush on vilolin w/ bow

% with Sam Bush on minature gutiar

& Jim malletkat solo > Vinny > Rob > Chuck > Al prior to the start

# with Sam Bush on violin

@ with Suke Cerulo

As the sun set on yet another year of magic in Turin, NY, expectations were that the festival would continue to motor along on its current pace and continue the tradition it had firmly established at Snow Ridge Ski Resort. As we’ll see in the upcoming part 3 of NYS Music’s moe.down review, this would not necessarily be the case. However, even though the venue may change, it’s clear that the spirit and the elements that make this festival special never will.

9/6/09 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY

Set 1: Shoot First*> Bearsong, Borderline^, Bullet> Hector’s Pillow> Ricky Marten> Second Cousins> Runaway Overlude, She$

Set 2: Timmy Tucker, Seat Of My Pants> Sensory Deprivation Bank@, Happy Hour Hero@, Not Coming Down@> Wormwood@> St. Augustine@, The Road@

Encore: Rebubula@

*Chuck solo > Vinny > Jim > Rob > Al prior to the start

^first time played (moe. song)

$ with Jake, Brendan, & Andy from Umphrey’s McGee

@ with Nate Wilson on keys
June 18, 2017
Throwdown at moe.down: A look back at the Festival’s Origins

This week we begin a three-part series looking at the history of moe.down, one of the longest running music festivals in New York State history. The first part of the series looks at moe.downs 1 through 5.

moe. is New York’s jam band, plain and simple. The five-piece started in New York and they have played throughout New York quite often in their 25+ year career.

They began hosting a weekend long festival in Central New York starting in 2000, and this July 4-6 will be the 16th iteration of the formerly-Labor Day weekend festival many fans hold near and dear.

The first moe.down, at Snow Ridge Ski Resort in Turin, featured a hodgepodge of musical talent including, of course, moe., Martin Sexton, Les Claypool, David Grisman and Charlie Hunter, among others. Fans of moe. were thrilled to get three nights of their favorite band, and a bunch of other guests.

Phil, a moe. fan who attended the first four moe.downs, said he loved every single second.

“Well, One was special because it was … one,” he said. “Didn’t really know what to expect.”

Phil said he had seen moe. three times prior, but was stoked to spend a weekend with them and a cavalcade of other artists. In a sense, it was a learning experience for everyone involved.

“The first year was small, and the staff didn’t really know what was going on,” he said.

moe.down 2, in 2001, expanded the lineup to jammier heights, featuring Donna the Buffalo and the Disco Biscuits, which were both big hits with some in attendance.

Jeff Titmus, a 2002 Plattsburgh State graduate, grew up with moe. in his repertoire of music, attending, he says, the first 11 moe.down festivals.

“I vividly remember the second festival because I had just heard the Disco Biscuits and I was quite intrigued to see them live,” he said. “Events of that night got a little hazy. Me and my friends may have raged a little too hard and I remember something that stuck with me. A security guard approached us, and we assumed he was going to tell us to stop doing what we were doing, but instead he came and simply told us he hopes we’re enjoying the festivities and to be safe. Some festival security can be a bit, uh, dickish, but never at a down. Very fan friendly.”

In an interview a few years ago with the Post Standard newspaper in Syracuse, guitarist Chuck Garvey summed up the group’s thoughts on the long running family friendly vibe that moe. presents.

“We’ve got all our families there and friends from across the country who come to hang out,” said Garvey. “I’ve got five sisters, my parents, all my nieces and nephews, and the other guys have the same. It’s a big party for us.”

With the advent of social media and the growth of cell phones turning the media landscape upside down, it has become very easy to schedule meetups, find friends and gather any information you need at the tip of your fingers. It wasn’t always that way, though, especially in the early days of moe.down.

“Before the Facebook, and Phantasy Tour, there was the “L” – a listserv group,” Phil said. “Many of us old timers met on the “L.” In any event, we’d make it a point for all of us to gather for a group picture. And at the group picture, we’d swap CDs, beers, etc.”

In 2002, moe. added some more Central New York flavor to the lineup, adding Syracuse blues wizards Los Blancos to the bill.

moe.down 4 featured some pop flavor added to the jammy recipe, as They Might be Giants and The Flaming Lips were added. Yonder Mountain String Band and a young Umphrey’s McGee were on the bill, as was Antigone Rising. It was also the first year that guitarist Al Schnier performed with his solo band Al and the Transamericans.

“Honestly, the lineup in 2003 was my least favorite they’ve ever done,” moe. super fan Jacqueline Finnerty said. “But how great is it that it can be a weak lineup but we still get three nights of the best band on earth to look forward to?”

Snow Ridge in Turin has a special place in the band’s heart, according to Garvey.

“We grew up out there. Most of us skied at Snow Ridge when we were kids,” Garvey told the Post Standard. “We wanted to bring a cool festival to the area, and no one else was doing it at the time.”

Year five of moe.down featured a shift to a bigger lineup. Phish’s Mike Gordon played with the Benevento Russo Duo, H.O.R.D.E. Tour veterans Blues Traveler played a bouncy show and acts like Leftover Salmon, Michael Franti and Spearhead and Trainwreck were also on the bill.

The first five years of moe.down saw some soaring heights from the band, lineups and the audience. In talking with a small percentage of moe.’s loyal followers, it became very clear that this time was integral in the band growing its insanely loyal following.

In the following five incarnations, the band fiddled with some things, and kept others the same. Check back next week for part two, featuring an in depth look at moe.down 6 through 10.

moe.down setlists courtesy of the Internet Archive

moe.down 1, September 1 through 3, 2000

9/1/00 Snow Ridge Ski Area – Turin, NY

With Kirk Huhas of freebeerandchicken on keyboards.

Jim solo > Bring It Back Home*, Nebraska*, Akimbo, Can’t Seem To Find, Plane Crash, Bring You Down > Brent Black, Understand, Seat Of My Pants > Sensory Deprivation Bank

E: Tambourine**, Down By The River

* With Martin Sexton on tambourine. ** Al, Chuck, and Kirk on tambourines.

9/2/00 Snow Ridge Ski Area – Turin, NY

With Kirk Huhas of freebeerandchicken on keyboards.

1: Al solo > Head, New York City, Hi and Lo > Moth*, Recreational Chemistry*# > Wildwood Weed*#^ > Sweet Emotion*#^ > Tommy The Cat*#^

2: Vinnie solo > Water, Captain America, Fathead rap** > Johnny Lineup**##, Opium^^, Mexico@

E: Meat@%

* With Jay Lane of Ratdog on percussion. # With Les Claypool on bass and vocals. ^ First time played. ** With members of Fathead. ## First verse only. ^^ With a member of Fathead on keyboards. @ With the saxophonist from Fathead. % With Emilio from Nyquil on violin.

9/3/00 Snow Ridge Ski Area – Turin, NY

With Kirk Huhas of freebeerandchicken on keyboards.

1: Rob solo > Timmy Tucker*, Blue Eyed Son, Spine Of A Dog > Yodelittle

2: Chuck solo > Four > Buster, Rise, St. Augustine, Rebubula**

E: Time Again#, San Ber’dino

* With Joe Craven of the David Grisman Quintet on percussion. With “Gil’s Theme“. ** With “I Know You Rider” (traditional) tease. # Jim on bass, Rob on washboard. Fireworks display during “San Ber’dino”

mow.down 2, August 31 through September 2, 2001

8/31/01 Snow Ridge Ski Area – Turin, NY

Moth > Lazarus > Bring You Down > Brent Black > St. Augustine > Time Ed > Moth

E: Don’t Fear The Reaper

9/1/01 Snow Ridge Ski Area – Turin,NY

1: Captain America, San Ber’dino* > Happy Hour Hero**, Spaz Medicine, Good Guys and Bad Guys#, Suck The Head## > Gummin’ Your Nub##^, Plane Crash^^

2: Spine Of A Dog% > Buster, Livin’ Again > Timmy Tucker

E: Voodoo Lady%%

* With members of Project/Object. ** With Gibb Droll on guitar. # With Cracker Van Beethoven. (David Lowry on vocals, Johnny Hickman on mandolin, Victor Krummacher on acoustic guitar, and Jonathan Siegel on violin.) ## With The Radiators. Last “Suck The Head” 2/7/99. ^ First time played. ^^ With Ed Volker on keyboards. % With “Funkytown” (Lipps, Inc.) tease. %% Jim on drums, Vinnie on percussion.

9/2/01 Snow Ridge Ski Area – Turin, NY

1: Understand, Nebraska, Hi and Lo > Kyle, The Faker > Kids

2: New York City, Rise > Recreational Chemistry*, Meat** > Bullet > Rebubula

E: Bring It Back Home

* With “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” (Iron Butterfly) tease. ** With Jim Lomonaco of Yolk on bass.

moe.down 3, August 30 through September 1, 2002

8/30/02 Snow Ridge Ski Area – Turin, NY

Meat*, 32 Things, Spine Of A Dog > Buster**, Understand, The Ghost of Ralph’s Mom, Hi and Lo > Brent Black

E: Godzilla

* With Jon Fishman on drums and Jamie Masefield on mandolin. ** With “Gin and Juice” (Snoop Doggy Dogg) tease.

8/31/02 Snow Ridge Ski Area – Turin, NY

Set I, afternoon set.

1: Akimbo, Not Coming Down > Okayalright, Mexico, New York City, Bring It Back Home

2: St. Augustine, Shoot First, Crab Eyes, Tambourine, Captain America* > Recreational Chemistry

3: Seat Of My Pants** > Sensory Deprivation Bank**#, Gone, Bullet## > Kyle^ > Kids

E: Timmy Tucker > Gin and Juice^^ > Timmy Tucker

* With “Don’t Fuck With Flo” tease. ** Jim on drums, Vinnie on percussion. # With Seth Yacovone on guitar. ## With “Timmy Tucker” tease. ^ With Govinda of the Grapes on flute. ^^ First time played.

9/1/02 Snow Ridge Ski Area – Turin, NY

1: Head, Nebraska, It, Cornflake Girl > Happy Hour Hero, Moth > moe./Galactic Jam* > Galactic/moe. Jam* > Moth

2: Opium** > Rebubula, Rise, Plane Crash

E: Don’t Fuck With Flo, Bodhisattva

* With Galactic. ** With “China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider” (Grateful Dead) tease.

moe.down 4, August 29 through 31, 2003

8/29/03 Snow Ridge Ski Area – Turin, NY

Buster* > Spaz Medicine > Not Coming Down > Wormwood > Okayalright, Shoot First, New York City**, Understand, 32 Things, Cornflake Girl > Recreational Chemistry#

E: San Ber’dino

* With Jim Donovan of Rusted Root on percussion. ** With Antigone Rising. # With Steve Drizos of Dexter Grove on percussion.

8/30/03 Snow Ridge Ski Area – Turin, NY

1: Akimbo, Captain America > Rise, Money > Time Ed > McBain*

2: Four** > Plane Crash, Gone > She Sends Me > St. Augustine# > Brent Black > drumz

3: Jam > Rebubula##

E: Spine Of A Dog > Four reprise

* First time played. ** With “Us and Them” (Pink Floyd) tease. # With “Gil’s Theme.” With “Dancing Days” (Led Zeppelin) tease. ” ## With “Big World”, “So Long”, “Gil’s Theme”, “Brent Black”, “McBain”, and “Spaz Medicine” teases.

8/31/03 Snow Ridge Ski Area – Turin, NY

1: Bring It Back Home, Nebraska, Hi and Lo > Timmy Tucker* > Opium*

2: McBain**, The Faker > Kids, It, Kyle > Meat

E: Johnny Lineup

* With Nate Wilson on keyboards. ** With “Crosseyed and Painless” (Talking Heads) tease.

moe.down 5, September 3 through 4, 2004

9/3/04 Snow Ridge Ski Area – Turin, NY

Kyle’s Song > Kids, New York City, Shoot First, Spaz Medicine > Crab Eyes, Buster > Four Sticks (Led Zeppelin) > Take Five > Buster, Letter Home, Tailspin* > Meat**

E: St. Augustine

9/4/04 Snow Ridge Ski Area – Turin, NY

Lost Along the Way, Seat of My Pants, Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’, Summer o i > Understand, Dr. Graffenberg > Rebubula*

She Sends Me, Akimbo, Brent Black1> Timmy Tucker

Mountain Song> Not Coming Down> Wormwood> Okayalright> Happy Hour Hero> Sensory Deprivation Bank> Recreational Chemistry

E: Tambourine, Hi and Lo> Big World, Enter Sandman

9/5/04 Snow Ridge Ski Area Turin, NY

Plane Crash> Where Does the Time Go?> Yodelittle, Captain America> Mexico, Bearsong

Faker> Moth, McBain> George1, Mayor of moe.ville> Mayor of moe.ville jam2, Y.O.Y.> Plane Crash

E: Nebraska, Spine Of A Dog

June 6, 2017
Flashback: Phish at the Binghamton Forum, 25 Years Later

On a Friday night in late March of 1992, the 20th to be exact, everything changed. Phish had more or less hooked me the prior July and I had worn through my tapes of Junta and Lawn Boy and the handful of bootlegs I had acquired. The band’s major label debut on Elektra, A Picture of Nectar, had just been released in February and that ragtag collection of songs, new and old, was also quickly absorbed into my consciousness. After a couple of missed opportunities, I finally found myself at a real live Phish concert.

Listen along to a SBD of Phish from March 20, 1992 at the Binghamton Forum, courtesy of PhishTracks.

Back in those days, before the internet and instant satisfaction, there wasn’t much available to prepare for such an experience. No Phish.net. No YEMBlog. No YouTube videos. No LivePhish. No listening to the show from the night prior, week prior or many months prior. More or less, I was going in blind.

Nine month’s worth of anticipation and my excitement was bubbling over. Driving to the venue with my friend’s father, who was equally geeked, he was spouting off comparisons to Zappa (over my head) and telling of how he heard they jumped on trampolines in rhythm with music. Taking a pre-show bathroom break, I suddenly was peeing next to a few giggling hippie college girls. They were climbing in through the men’s bathroom window, sneaking into the show. This was an event, this was a happening and it seemed it wasn’t just me feeling it.

The band took the stage in darkness. They broke the silence with a pair of deep monotonous notes, repeated a few times. Then a creepy falsetto “Wiiiiiiiilson” rang out and white lights hit Trey and Mike’s faces from below against the dark background. It was like a scene out of Spinal Tap or reminiscent of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Spooky, theatrical, campy. I knew of Wilson the character from other songs like “Lizards” and mentions of Gamehendge in A Picture of Nectar‘s liner notes and elsewhere, but I had never heard or knew of the actual song “Wilson.” In this light, I was freaked out by this opening sequence. I didn’t know what the hell was going on, but I loved it.

My newb-iness would shine through repeatedly throughout the first set. Phish had just released Nectar, but it was a prolific period for them and they were already working out the material that would later become their next release, Rift. Though “Brother” wasn’t on Rift and it was heavy in the rotation dating back to the fall, it was new to me. Trey introduced it by making a joke about the orchestra pit in front of the stage. “This is the alligator moat up here, make sure you don’t fall into it.” Later they even changed the lyrics to “alligator pit.” None the wiser, I assumed the name of the song was “Alligator Pit,” a mistake that lived on months later when I acquired a recording of the show. I can still remember those tapes, with the deep red cover and Jim Pollock artwork, and the third song mislabeled as “Alligator Pit.” Later in the set, they would play the new song “Maze,” though I thought they were singing “living in outer space” and I can remember my friend and I dancing around the aisle singing along with the final chorus, “We’re living in outer space!” That was also mislabeled on my tape. Another new song, “Mound,” had bassist Mike Gordon purposefully goading the the crowd to clap along to it’s simplistic blues beat before mixing it up and leaving the crowd clapping instead on the off beat. Fooled again! After wild runs though complex and head-spinning material, when they landed on “Mound” I felt a bit of a relief with something a bit more straightforward. But that quickly went out the window when what I thought was a blues number turned into a zany, genre-less romp. It was like a “Mike’s Corner” column come to life.

The first set was stocked full of Phish’s signature intricate instrumental gymnastics with “Reba,” “Glide,” the newly minted “Rift,” “Fluffhead,” “Lizards” and the set-closing “Run Like an Antelope.” Each was executed flawlessly. These are my baselines – when they can’t dismount on those or their ilk, points are deducted. Second song into the show and I was presented with a top-notch “Reba.” My baseline “Reba.” If it isn’t at least as good as this one, it isn’t all that great. And this one was incredible. A jam I know so well I can sing along.

This whole show would serve as my Phish baseline. The versions of these songs would be what I would judge every subsequent version. The energy at this show was the energy upon which I would judge all others. This show, these versions and these memories hold up after countless listens 25 years and 100 shows later. It was a great show with unique touches throughout, setting a high bar to hurdle for future shows. It’s like eating your first barbecue at the Dinosaur BBQ, which I also did around this same time. While it isn’t necessarily the best, it sets an unusually high bar for the rest.

And the care free, off-the-wall energy exhibited at this show is also my baseline. Drummer Jon Fishman came out to play trombone during “Antelope” and played a bagpipe hooked up to a vacuum cleaner during a cover of Syd Barret’s “Terrapin.” Weird and wild! They ended the show with instructions for a secret language intent on confusing random concert-goers. What in the holy hell?! The language was prompted by musical signals. One of the signals was the theme song from my favorite TV show at the time, The Simpsons, and I was blown away. These guys like what I like! When you’re a sophomore in high school, that is the pinnacle of cool. Another signal had the entire crowd and band simultaneously falling to the ground. I didn’t realize you could smile and laugh so much and so heartily at a music show. These guys were crazy and played by their own rules. And I loved it!

After one near 90-minute set, I could have left and been completely satisfied. But it was only half over. And that second set started with “Mike’s Song.” It has been my favorite song to see live for as long as I can remember and I trace it, once again, back to this baseline show. To see “Mike’s” in those days was to see the perfect amalgamation of Phish’s energy, music and wackiness. On this night they opened with a hearty tease of Yes’ “Roundabout.” As an avid consumer of classic rock radio at the time, my heart almost stopped. Would they? They wouldn’t. But what they did do… oh boy. Here came those trampolines my friend’s father spoke of. The stage was filled amply with smoke. Strobe lights flashed revealing Mike and Trey’s bouncing shadows amidst the white-out. The smoke would engulf the first handful of rows at least and the pounding bass, swirling organ and powerful drumming were your only guides. Some fans these days clamor for the return of the so-called ‘second jam,’ but I would rather see the the return of tramps, smoke and strobe lights during “Mike’s Song”. Trey’s guitar solo was drenched in feedback, bringing the energy to a fever pitch. Heavy, dark and glorious. I think my eyes may have just glazed over. The rest of the set was a blur of more oddball, genre-jumping, rule-breaking signature Phish-iness. Trey was certainly the hero, even if it was Mike’s birthday. But it was a lot of high-pitched noodling to absorb in one night for this sixteen-year-old. By the time their blistering cover of “Fire” closed out the night, my head was spinning from all the guitar. I had had my fill and was ready to go. But the next morning, I was primed and ready to go again. Fortunately, it would be less than two months later that they’d be playing my hometown for show number two.

25 years and 100 shows later, here I am. The sheer volume of music introduced to me through this band, both directly and tangentially, be it Frank Zappa, bluegrass, jazz and so much more, makes this first show much more than just a first show, but a defining moment in a lifelong musical journey.

Setlist via Phish.net

Broome County Forum, Binghamton , NY

Set 1: Wilson > Reba, Brother^[1], Glide > Rift, Fluffhead > Maze, The Lizards, Mound > Run Like an Antelope^[2]

Set 2: Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove ^[3], Sanity^[4], The Sloth, The Mango Song > Cavern, Uncle Pen, Harry Hood, Cold as Ice >Terrapin^[5] > Cold as Ice, Possum > Secret Language Instructions^[6] > Possum^[7]

Encore: Lawn Boy, Fire

[1] Lyric changed to reference “alligator pit.”
[2] Fish on trombone and Simpsons signal.
[3] Oom Pa Pa and Random Note signals.
[4] Band and crew nicknames shouted in intro. More names mentioned in ending vocal jam.
[5] Fish on Bag-Vac.
[6] Simpsons, Random Note, Turn Turn Turn, and All Fall Down signals introduced with Bowie being played in background.
[7] Two Simpsons signals and an All Fall Down signal.

March 20, 2017