Going to the mall on a Friday night seems something a bunch of teenagers might do. Friday, February 23 saw a slew of twenty and thirty-somethings take over Crossgates Mall in Albany. The relatively new Jupiter Hall, located toward the back of Lucky Strike Social, has been bringing a variety of great concerts to the area and they might have outdone themselves with Deer Tick.
Deer Tick’s “Twice Is Nice” tour is highlighting an acoustic set and an electric set. This allows the band to explore their wide variety of influences from folk to rock and from country to blues. It’s a special treat for the dedicated fans that want to hear over two hours of music from the incredibly talented group from Rhode Island.
Deer Tick (John McCauley, Ian O’Neil, Chris Ryan and Dennis Ryan) brought along a friend for the Albany show, the Catskills’ very own James Felice jumped in on keys and accordion adding to the energy of the evening.
The tour heads out west and back in New York for shows at The Haunt in Ithaca (March 3) and the Lost Horizon in Syracuse (March 4). The band will be taking the tour overseas to Australia and will be back in the states in April for the Rhythm and Blooms Festival in Knoxville and then another stretch of dates throughout the south.
The Plot In You premiered their latest album, Dispose, on February 16 on Billboard Music. Lead singer and songwriter Landon Tewers co – produced the album in Los Angeles with Drew Fulk, known for his work with Crown The Empire and I Prevail. As their first album with Fearless Records, Dispose contains ten tracks total and steers away from the band’s signature, heavy sound, leaving just a risky, yet shell of their previous work — and in its place a calculated contingency away from the past.
For the most part, the album backs off the heavy guitars, defiant lyrics, and warmongering breakdowns. Once classified as a metal band, The Plot In You both proves their versatility and bends unspoken rules characteristic in their previous albums, such as 2011’s First Born, instead turning to multiple genres such as pop, rock, and electronic.
Dispose opens up with “Rigged,” a slow, intense build of a track centered around a few clean, crisp guitar riffs which transition into a tense progression of Nine Inch Nails – esque industrial electronic sounds and a chaotic blitz, culminating with Tewers asking the question, “What’s left in me? Guess we’ll see. Didn’t see this coming.” This question sets the tone for the rest of the album.
While every track experiments with the extensions of the band’s songwriting abilities, such as “One Last Time,” and “Paid in Full,” Dispose falls victim to the bane of many modern releases: tracks set in a difficult – to – follow order. However, this is not an unforgivable sin as many of the songs stand well on their own to be played as one – offs as opposed to a back to back listen. A few points’ deduction, but not a total loss.
In fairness, The Plot In You, takes an exciting artistic risk. While their heavy side still exists in songs such as the anthemic “Feel Nothing,” they leave room for a Frank Ocean/Ed Sheeran – type ballad with “The Sound,” which introduces a soulful, lounge saxophone solo to accompany Josh Childress’ shining, dramatic guitar performance. Tewers plays with this same concept on “I Always Wanted to Leave.” Both songs deal lyrically with the stages that many relationships go through: comfort and security, and then betrayal and loss.
The band’s unsung heroes, however, are drummer Mathis Arnell and bassist Ethan Yoder, who hold down the basis of this rock/pop – driven album. Songs such as “The One You Love” and “Disposable Fix,” both use a building block approach, starting with input from the rhythm section and centering around their pocket. Along with Childress, Arnell and Yoder keep the instruments minimalistic yet intentional. The space left in each song provides a mysterious effect which draws the listener in and allows for the breathing and taking in of fine details in each painting. This is also true for the music videos of the album, “Feel Nothing,” “Not Just Breathing,” “I Always Wanted to Leave,” and “Disposable Fix,” all of which Arnell directed.
Although Dispose has been met with mixed criticism over the band’s changed sound, their songwriting, engineering, and production deserve acknowledgment. And whether most fans enjoy these changes or not, some credit must be given to the group for sticking to their intentions and musical wishes. Independent of any previous claims, songs, or performances, Dispose objectively displays cohesion, weighted movements, experimentation, and vulnerable soul. At the very worse, it could be a small misstep in a continuing career; at best, a welcome change in direction, an honest set of thoughts, and a passionate description of current events with a unique blend of genres. That is to say, overall, it’s a solid effort that The Plot in You can be proud of.
Dispose is available digitally and physically at all major platforms.
Key Tracks: “Feel Nothing,” “The One You Loved,” “The Sound”
moe. returned to The Palace Theatre in Albany on Feb. 23 for the first time since New Years Eve 2015 and brought along Buffalo’s Aqueous, giving fans a look at the past, present and future of the New York State jam scene.
Looking to the future of the scene, look no further than Aqueous, one of the success stories coming out of Western New York. The versatile foursome set a standard for touring bands who are just getting their start or waiting for their big break out of the clubs and into the national scene. They kicked off the night shortly after doors and proceeded to give the Albany audience a five-song set. Guitarist Mike Gantzer noted they only had 15 minutes left, and that meant there was time for one more song, and with that dove into the proggy “Triangle,” which had hints of Umphrey’s McGee but still the classic Aqueous tightness throughout.
moe. stepped out with bright lights shining behind creating a silhouette during the accelerating instrumental “Jazz Wank” and instead of the usual “Buster,” “Skrunk” followed and bled into “Down Boy” with Chuck and Rob creating a vocal segue over the end of “Skrunk” with the first verse of lyrics. 15 minutes of a Chuck-led jam later, “Down Boy” moved into a high energy “Tailspin.” The new “I Can Never Remember” was the only breather in a firey first set, with “Blue Jeans Pizza” jumping the tempo back up and giving the crowd chills when Rob hit the high note. The highlight among a packed first set was Mike Gantzer of Aqueous coming out for “Waiting for the Punchline,” with Al taking the lead on the jam before turning Mike loose on the audience who greeted his moment in the spotlight with intense cheers to end the set.
Set 2 began with the Sticks and Stones era “Deep This Time” and “New York City,” followed by a break for tuning that led to Al and Rob riffing on an ‘Albany Song’ made up on the spot. “What Can I Say” was a lighthearted break in the action but from here the jamming went deep. “Hi and Lo” built the foundation for the next hour that built with a Latin-tinged “Montego,” a marvelous “Captain America,” and a 26 minute version of “She” that was at times loose and spacey and somehow found its way into “Happy Hour Hero.” The encore of “Downward Dog” closed the night at nearly 1 in the morning, with one more night in store on Saturday. Tickets are available here.
Aqueous setlist: Aldehyde > Skyway, Strange Times > Marty, Triangle
moe. Setlist: Set One: Jazz Wank > Skrunk > Down Boy > Tailspin, I Can Never Remember > Blue Jeans Pizza > Waiting For The Punchline* Set Two: Deep This Time > New York City, Albany Song^, What Can I Say, Hi & Lo > Montego, Captain America > She > Happy Hour Hero Encore: Downward Facing Dog
* with Mike Gantzer of Aqueous on guitar
^ ‘debut’, made up on spot
Easy Rider, Boogie Nights, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Pulp Fiction. What do these films have in common? Fantastic soundtracks. But what if the soundtrack preceded the movie concepts and producers were asked to build their storyline around the music? This is the question that New York’s funk trio Soulive takes aim at with their new EP, Cinematics, Vol. 1.
When you’re an all-star in any profession in life, people want you to play for their team. This is why it has taken guitarist Eric Krasno, drummer Alan Evans and keyboardist Neal Evans six years to join forces and release new material. Individually keeping busy and immersing themselves in a universe of sound has always been the formula they have used since the birth of Soulive in 1999. After nearly 20 years, the sonically mature threesome continues to say it best with their instruments and give listeners a chance to go on a wordless adventure of their own. “We didn’t have to talk about anything,” Alan says. “It all unfolded as we were working on it; one song influences the direction of the next, and soon you find yourself going down this path. We want this music to take people on a little journey.”
The “Ad Lib” puzzle of carefully crafted soundtrack material begins with “Kings March,” a vintage villain theme song for any 70’s James Bond flick. When the movie theater displays the rules before the film begins, they always ask you to “turn your goddamn phone off” in the politest way possible and occasionally they will add some universally intimidating music to the background. That is “Kings March.” “Bluebird” is the easy rider of the 5-pack EP and offers listeners the opportunity to mellow out and grab some more popcorn. Imagine a drug-dealing montage where everything is going well in the storyline… there is probably trouble and intensity lurking but it is the mystery that keeps us entertained and “Bluebird” is the sound heard in the backdrop.
“Sidekick” sits in the middle of ‘Cinematics’ and highlights Neal’s ability to blast some interstellar effects into the number. Serving as a platform to give Robin some love in a world of Bruce Wayne, “Sidekick” reintroduces us to the Soulive studio time we have been asking about for the better half of a decade. Authentically groovy with a psychedelic backdrop, this track will hopefully find itself sampled on the next Wu-Tang Clan album.
Quentin Tarantino would kill for the rights to use “Millers Last Stand,” the spaghetti western infused cocktail that can be ordered on the newest Soulive menu. Krasno’s wobbly guitar is at a standoff with Alan’s whip cracking drum kit and creates a sonic landscape as vast as the desert for listeners to explore. The EP comes to a crashing finish with “Waves,” the calm, salt-water soaked ditty that gives our imaginary character some alone time to tell Sandy she’s the one that he wants.
The beauty of jazz is that like a great film, it is timeless and thought-provoking. Soulive can throw these tunes into any of their cataloged creations and fans might not tell the difference, but it is the way they place each track into a story that gives it power. While ‘Cinematics, Vol. 1’ will not win an Oscar, the next all-star director may throw on some headphones and space out to the mix, finding the next ET, Dirty Harry, or Black Panther.
Key Tracks: Kings March, Sidekick, Millers Last Stand
Juicy Connotation is the latest band to be featured on the interview/concert series Rochester Indie Musician Spotlight. The five piece group blends funk, jazz, Latin and rock to create what they identify as “juice funk.” In this episode, they speak with the show’s host Dan Gross about their origin, the magic behind the making of their material, and their upcoming self-titled album.
Upcoming Rochester Indie Musician Spotlight featured artists for Season 5 include Tough Old Bird, Hannah PK, Vanishing Sun, Grand Canyon Rescue Episode, Seth Faergolzia, and Jimmy Highsmith Jr.
For more about Juicy Connotation and Rochester Indie Musician Spotlight, read the NYS Music feature. For the latest news and access to dozens of episodes, visit Dan Gross Music and Journalism.
It was a cold and snowy night on Saturday, February 17th, outside Albany’s Parish Public House, but inside you could feel the heat with a packed house that was ready for a heavy dose of deep fried funk served up by Vicious Jimmy and special guest Morris Code. It was apparent that Vicious Jimmy’s two year hiatus from playing did not detract from their fans coming out and supporting the band. This type of fan support could be due to the fact that the lineup of the band features all Albany natives, including Tom “TK” Kretzler on guitar/lead vocal, Tim Fiato Jr. on keyboards, Jeff Jukes on Bass, Gary Nowik on drums/percussion and newcomer to the band, Jason “JY” Young on lead guitar/backup vocal.
Vicious Jimmy was formed back in 2009 and released their single LP Relatively Dangerous in 2012. The band has had a few lineup changes over the years, but with the welcomed addition of Young to the band’s roster this past year, the band has developed a new energy in their playing and showmanship. JY is no newbie, he has been a mainstay in the local musical scene for years with his long time work in the acoustic duo Yellow Dog, which just celebrated their 25th year playing together. Kretzler and Young met at a party and when JY listened to their music, he knew he wanted to be part of the band.
Vicious Jimmy took the stage first, which initially seemed strange to me, but when I asked about the band opening the show bassist Jeff Jukes stated jokingly, “Our fans like to be home before midnight so they can get their sleep”. He was alluding to the fact that the audience that came out for Vicious Jimmy was primarily comprised of their Generation X contemporaries, who are now well into their late 40’s.
The band started their set with a “Black White Black” jam which is strictly an instrumental led off by Tim Fiato’s funky keyboards which was slowly picked up by the rest of the band, leading them straight into “Intro,” a mainstay in the band’s set list. This number set the groove for the evening while, at the same time, musically introducing the band members to the crowd in a very Vicious Jimmy deep fried, funky way. Next up was “Ape City” which showcases the comical and irreverent lyrics that makes VJ’s music so much fun to listen to. During the break between songs, guitarist Young called for the audience not to be shy and to come up towards the stage and dance. After a brief tune up, Vicious Jimmy went into their classic song “Donkey” and kept the pressure up on the audience with their lyrical chant, “Get Your Ass Grooving”. The crowd still seemed reluctant at first, but after a few more funky licks from the boys, they finally started to loosen up and dancing started to break out right up by the stage. Vicious Jimmy showed that they came to play. During the number “Underground,” when Kretzeler and Young went into a complicated extended guitar solo, the two guitarists harmonized expertly together, creating a jam that was a personal highlight of the show.
Another high point of the night’s set was Fiato’s artful keyboard solo that was an intro into “Dr. Selkirkian,” a song that eerily depicts a menacing physician living in the tiny town of Selkirk which is located just south of Albany. VJ finished their set strong, performing fan favorite “Liquor,” but instead of playing the number as it is on Relatively Dangerous, they broke the piece up into three pieces in a variant style labeled as “Liquor in Three Jiggers.” The first part being the bluesy “Who’s Drinking?,” in which Kretzler polls the audience from the stage on what type of alcohol they were partaking in. The second “Jigger” was the more traditional “Liquor” that featured the band’s signature funky sound. The third and final movement was straight out of the Blues Brothers/Sam and Dave soul review routine. The boys sped up the tempo of the last movement, while Kretzler, in true Elwood Blues style, thanked everyone for coming out in the crummy weather and pleaded to the crowd to drive safely home and to remember to be good to one another. The set wrapped up with the band leaving the audience craving more of Vicious Jimmy’s down home, deep fried funk.
After a brief pause in the action, while the bands transitioned their gear, it was Morris Code’s turn to take the stage. The Albany 5-piece is comprised of band members Conor Donovan on vocals, Jesse Rawson on guitar, Daniel Milici on keyboard, Dan Walker on drums, and Kyle Salcedo on bass. Walker was not available for the gig so Vicious Jimmy’s drummer Gary Nowik was gracious enough to fill in for him for the performance. The band came out strong with a Morris Code original, “Take Over.” The sound of the band was much harder than Vicious Jimmy and lent itself more to hard rock than funk. The band also did a few covers and featured a mash-up of The Allman Brothers’ classic “Midnight Rider,” Lorde’s “Royals” and finally Lynyrd Skynyrd’s rock anthem “Sweet Home Alabama.” While you might think that this would not be a good combination of songs to work with musically, all in all, it really seemed to work. It became apparent that the crowd was thinning out and became much younger. Morris Code went on to play more original material including “Snake Charmer” and “Cafe Berlin,” both of which were featured on the band’s 2015 LP Decrypted. A personal highlight of the set was an interesting version of Radio Head’s “Creep” which featured Rawson on both electric guitar and trombone.
SETLISTS:
Vicious Jimmy: Black White Black Jam, Intro, Ape City, Donkey, Good For You, Blackhouse, Underground, Hard Boiled, Dr Selkirkian, Stiff Arm, Liquor in Three Jiggers: • Who’s Drinking? • Liquor
Morris Code: Take Over, Only Me To Blame, Midnight Rider/Royals/Sweet Home Alabama, No Turning Back, Charades, Hysteria, Snake Charmer, Creep, Cafe Berlin Watching Stars, Joker And The Thief, Don’t Count Me Out
On February 20, world-famous guitar legend, Joe Satriani brought internationally renowned concert tour G3 to the Auditorium Theater in Rochester. Accompanied by axe-wizards John Petrucci (Dream Theater) and Phil Collen (Def Leppard), the three shredders tore down the Auditorium Theater’s roof. Each musician played a short set and then the three came together to jam over “Highway Star” by Deep Purple, “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder, and lastly “Going Down” by The Alabama State Troopers. Check out this photo gallery courtesy of But I Was There Photography below. You will also find below the photos the full concert set list.
SETLIST:
Phil Collen’s Set: Quadrant 4 (Billy Cobham cover), Yo 2 Joe, Bless These Blues (Delta Deep song), Burnt Sally (Delta Deep song), Mistreated (Deep Purple cover), Down in the Delta (Delta Deep song)
John Petrucci’s Set: Wrath of the Amazons, Jaws of Life, The Happy Song, Damage Control, Glassy-Eyed Zombies, Glasgow Kiss
Joe Satriani’s Set: Energy, Catbot, Satch Boogie, Cherry Blossoms, Thunder High on the Mountain, Super Funky Badass, Cataclysmic, Headrush, Circles, Always With Me, Always With You, Summer Song
G3 (Collen, Petrucci, & Match) Set: Highway Star (Deep Purple Cover), Superstition (Stevie Wonder cover), Going Down (The Alabama State Troupers cover)
Vibrant pop punk outfit Young Culture made their way from their hometown of Albany to Rochester on February 17 for the first night of their coast to coast tour. They’re on the road promoting their sophomore EP, Blue, which was released in the fall. NYS Music met up with founding members Alex Magnan and Gabe Pietrafesa just before their show at Vineyard Community Space to talk about the release, tour, the importance of support from friends and family, and the game called Odds.
Photo by Danny DeRusso Photography
Paula Cummings: You’re on tour for your new EP. Tell me about Blue.
Gabe Pietrafesa: We recorded last January, about a year ago. We went out to Always Be Genius Studios in Indiana and recorded it with Seth Henderson and Derek Discanio from State Champs. We were there for eight days, did five songs. We had a blast. Now it’s out and it’s going good. The shows have been really great, and the songs are where we want them to be.
Alex Magnan: It definitely felt like a good follow-up to our first EP You because that one we recorded when we were pretty young. We were 17/18 when we recorded Blue, so it’s just more mature than the last one. It felt like the next step.
PC: You recorded with Derek from State Champs. They’re from your hometown of Albany, right?
GP: We’re homies with the State Champs guys. Derek actually worked with us on our first record, too. He’s a friend now and he’ll come to us with ideas or we’ll come to him with ideas. He just wants to be part of what we’re creating because he’s been with Young Culture from day one. State Champs has been a big thing in the Albany scene.
PC: Also important are supportive parents, and I’ve heard that you guys have an awesome band mom.
AM: Both my parents, Mike and Gina, are the greatest souls ever. They just love everybody and they really are into what we’re doing. So they’re very supportive of it. Every time before we leave for tour they always make us mad food, a big breakfast and food to take.
GP: And any time we have friends’ bands, like if Rarity was in town, they’ll have them over, let them stay and do their laundry, cook them food. They go out of their way. They’re great people.
AM: I feel like they were never doubtful about it. When I was like “Mom, Dad, I want to do music,” they were like, “This is the right move, but if you want to do it, you better haul ass and be 100% about it.” They pushed us to keep doing what we’re doing, which is pretty unorthodox. A lot of parents don’t do that.
Photo by Danny DeRusso Photography
PC: You spend a lot of time on the road. I hear you like to play a game called Odds.
GP: So the rule for Odds is… I’ll use (friend and cameraman) Danny as an example. I’ll think of a crazy task. I’ll be like, Danny, what are the odds that every photo you take tonight you have to close your eyes. Danny will be like one out of ten. And Alex will count us in like 3, 2, 1. And then we both say a number between one and ten, and if we both say the same number, then he has to do it. If I said four and Danny said six and it adds up to ten, then the odds are reversed, and I have to do it, and he won’t have to. We’ve done some pretty stupid odds.
AM: It’s like you’re on the road in a van a long time with a bunch of dudes and you’ve got to keep things interesting sometimes. So we’ve gone to some extremes.
GP: We make an agreement that we don’t do odds for the show. We don’t do anything that’s going to mess with it. That’s a big thing. One time we were doing the drive from here to Texas, and it was insane and we were really bored, and there was a cup of Alex’s pee and someone odds me to drink a sip of it. I didn’t think it would happen.
AM: Needless to say, we’re more than friends now. We’ve done some outlandish stuff.
GP: One time we had our manager Joe go up to someone after their set and say, “Good set. Not great, though.”
Photo by Danny DeRusso Photography
PC: You’re ending this tour with a hometown show. How psyched are you for that?
GP: So stoked.
AM: We’re going to try to sell that one out. It’s going to be at a venue called Lucky Strike Social. All the openers for it are friends of ours. The Maloy Brothers, who have never done a full show are going to be the openers. And then we have Perfect Scores. And a band called Viewpoints – they’ve been doing this as long as we have.
GP: It’s going to be two weeks of us playing shows, and then we get to come home to a big hometown show. We haven’t done a hometown show in like six months.
AM: That’s the best way to do it. You come home and end tour with a bang.
GP: We’re playing so many places we’ve never even been to.
AM: I was excited to come back to Rochester.
GP: It’s cool because not only do we get to play music, we get to travel the world.
AM: What better platform to travel than music.
GP: It’s a lot of fun.
Catch Young Culture on their remaining tour dates:
Feb. 23 – Los Angeles, CA – The Vibe
Feb. 24 – Lake Forrest, CA – Rushbar
Feb. 25 – Santa Anna, CA – 4th Street Market
Feb. 26 – Phoenix, AZ – The Rebel Lounge
Feb. 27 – Albuquerque, NM – The Jam Spot
March 1 – Indianapolis, IN – Hoosier Dome
March 2 – Cleveland, OH – Euclid Tavern
March 3 – Erie, PA – Basement Transmissions March 4 – Albany, NY – Lucky Strike Social
Find Blue, and their 2016 debut EP You on iTunes. Follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date on their adventures on (and off) the road.
Space rockers Escaper, who perfectly blend funk, rock, jazz and fusion, today released their second album Edge Detection on Ropeadope Records. NYS Music is proud to premiere Edge Detection, recorded at The Bunker Studio in Brooklyn with co-producer John Davis (Lettuce, Brad Mehldau, Black Keys). The opening track “Secret Weapon” is indeed that – with a slowly accelerating build infused with saxophone, the song gets grittier and nastier, and just when you think it’s fading out, Escaper storms back giving a Flying Frog Brigade level of intensity to the track. Give a listen to the album below.
Escaper performs in Syracuse on Saturday at Funk ‘n Waffles with special guest Ryan Vendetti.
While at The Bunker Studio, Escaper recorded over the course of two days with all five band members playing together simultaneously, while in isolated rooms. Bandleader and guitarist, Will Hanza, expresses, “This also allows for synergy to happen because instead of me playing with something that is already there and that not being able to react back to me, we can all react to each other together, alive in the moment. I think that is the most important thing. Our live show is really important to us and what we can do with that. We wanted to be able to capture that feel and that synergy in the studio as much as possible.”
The songs all had a set structure, but left plenty of room for improvisation right in the studio. The idea was to capture an in-the-moment feel of the musicians working off of each other. In regards to this, Will further states “The term ‘jam’ can be a loaded one, but the idea of having some concrete ideas, while still allowing the music to be open to take advantage of the moment is really important to us.”
On February 16 and 17, moe returned to bassist Rob Derhak in his hometown of Portland, Maine for a blistering double-header. After selling out the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester two weeks prior, moe. fans were treated to two nights of music at the gorgeous State Theatre, with fan favorites, reworked songs, well-executed covers and some deep, exploratory jams.
moe. opened with the aptly-chosen “Bring it Back Home,” which transitioned smoothly into the intense drum intro to “Water,” featuring teases of both “meat.” and “The Pit.” Both drummer Vinnie Amico and percussionist Jim Loughlin were seemingly possessed by some ferocious energy during both shows, adding all kinds of fills and teases to familiar songs, while inventing new patterns and improvisations. After “Water,” the band immediately dropped into “Bullet,” with guitarist Chuck Garvey belting out the lyrics, before the premier of his new song “Who You Calling Scared?” They then invited a friend of the band’s, Bill Waldron to the stage to play pedal-steel on a highly-charged rendition of the Rolling Stones’ “Dead Flowers.” Waldron had recently lent the use of his practice space for moe. to prepare for the Capitol Theatre run. The latin-inspired instrumental “Mar De-Ma” followed, with the newly reworked “Lazarus” in tow. They then closed the first set with a soaring version of “The Road” before taking a short break.
Set 2 began with a one-two punch: “Big World,” which dropped into the funky and danceable “Ricky Marten.” The two are often paired, but following them with “Time Ed” was a rare treat for the moe. fans in attendance. “Time Ed” slowly and patiently built towards its intense climax, and then no huddled into “Puebla.” They followed this with one of the best versions of “Four” ever played, featuring an extended bass jam in the middle that featured strong teases of “In a Gadda da Vida” and a much subtler, blink and you’ll miss it “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” tease. “Four” clocked in at a staggering 30 minutes long and featured an incredible, progressive segueway into the punky intro to “head,” which served as the set closer. After a short encore break, the boys returned to the stage for their rendition of Blue Oyster Cult’s “Godzilla,” which featured an exploratory jam and some vocal shenanigans from Rob. Hardcore moe.rons would recognize the references to the raunchy moe. rarity “Tijuana Donkey Show” that were inserted into the “Godzilla” vocal jam. Listen to the show here.
Saturday night, an even bigger crowd made its way to the State for the second performance, which somehow managed to top the already phenomenal first night. They took the stage, and Rob wasted no time dropping into the bassline of “Billy Goat,” a song he penned for his late father. After a well-performed “Billy Goat,” they transitioned into Jim’s new song “Don’t Wanna Be,” that might be on the next album and features his gruff vocals and dark, pensive lyrics. The transition featured heavy “Tailspin” teases and was followed with the technical “Crab Eyes” and then “ATL,” which debuted in 2012 at Summer Camp, only to be shelved for several years before finally being resuscitated last year. “ATL” was followed by the first repeat of the tour, Rob’s new song “LL3,” which describes his harrowing victory against cancer. They transitioned into “Bearsong,” which went into a long, spacey, ambient jam reminiscent of 2001-era moe. Jim led them into “Tubing the River Styx,” the intro to the Satanic “The Pit,” and then back into “Bearsong,” to complete the sandwich. It is most certainly worthy to note that Rob was in a bear costume for the second half of “Bearsong.”
Set 2 began with Rob’s relatively new jam vehicle, “Prestige Worldwide,” which debuted at the holiday show in 2016, followed by the erratic and playful fan favorite, “Seat of my Pants,” and the hyperactive “Sensory Deprivation Bank.” This was followed by the second repeat of the tour, Chuck’s immaculately composed “New Hope for the New Year,” an intricate tune with tons of potential for future improvisation. This and “LL3” were both played for the first time in Port Chester, at their first performances since the end of their hiatus. After, they dove into an uplifting “Bring You Down,” which featured one of the most patient, smooth, and entrancing segueways of the weekend, into “Kyle’s Song,” which flowed into its sister song “Kids” to close the second set. moe. then encored with the sing-a-long “Spine of a Dog” before bidding the crowd farewell. Both nights featured heavy improv from the rhythm section and alterations on classics, as well as deep psychedelic jams and segues that left the crowd guessing. moe. is back, and they are hungry. Listen to night 2 here.
Friday, Feb. 16
Set 1: Bring it Back Home > Water (nh)> Bullet, Who You Calling Scared? (FTP), Dead Flowers, Mar De-Ma (nh)> Lazazarus, The Road
Set 2: Big World > Ricky Marten > Time Ed (nh)> Puebla, Four > head.
Encore: Godzilla
Saturday, Feb. 17
Set 1: Billy Goat > Don’t Wanna Be, Crab Eyes, ATL, LL3 > Bearsong > Tubing the River Styx > The Pit > Bearsong
Set 2: Prestige Worldwide > Seat of my Pants > Sensory Deprivation Bank, New Hope for the New Year, Bring You Down > Kyle’s Song > Kids
Easy Rider, Boogie Nights, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Pulp Fiction. What do these films have in common? Fantastic soundtracks. But what if the soundtrack preceded the movie concepts and producers were asked to build their storyline around the music? This is the question that New York’s funk trio 
