May 18th may be just any other day of the year for most of the world, but for the extended Capital Region in New York, it is a day of celebration. 518 Day highlights the variety of local music that has been a defining part of this expansive region of New York State.
The 518 region stretches all the way from the Canadian border to the Mid-Hudson region, borders with Vermont, and covers more than 12,000 square miles across 17 counties of New York. Area code 518 was established on January 1st, 1947 and has a population of more than 1.3 million residents, with major cities that include Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, Lake George, Plattsburgh, Saranac Lake, and Troy among others.
The 518 has become it’s own cultural hub and is known particularly for it’s great local music scenes. A great deal of artists come from the 518 region and call it home, including Blotto, Madison Vandenburg, Wild Adriatic, Blind Owl Band, Sawyer Fredericks, Eastbound Jesus, Ominous Seapods, moe., Glass Pony and many, many more.
518 music is being celebrated by Radio Radio X who are running an all day show from 5AM to midnight tonight featuring local music from the 518 area. There will be a pause for Big Ed’s Little Rock and Roll show at 7PM and a new CD by Off The Record Trio which will be played from start to finish. You can listen live online here.
Check out some videos of local 518 talent over the years
Beginning Monday, May 18, Nugs TV will kick off the free weekly series moe.ron Mondays. The first edition features moe.’s performance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO on July 12, 2018. Two sets of seamless jamming are in store, including an encore featuring members of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong.
Set 1: Seat Of My Pants> Who You Calling Scared> Captain America> Buster> Pastorus*> Silver Sun> Akimbo> ATL> Puebla Set 2: Plane Crash> Buster> Four> Skrunk> Prestige Worldwide> Silver Sun> Plane Crash> Letter Home> Wind it up Encore: Fame^ *official title of segue/jam debuted at Summer Camp 5/26/18 ^w/ Greg Ormont & Jeremy Schon on guitar / vox from Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
moe. has played dozens of area shows through the years at moe.down in both nearby Turin, New York and at Beardslee Castle in Little Falls, as well as at Saranac Brewery. But it had been twenty-one years since they had played the iconic, venerable Stanley Theater in Utica, New York. With the majority of the band having roots in the area, this pair of New Year’s Eve shows was a much-anticipated homecoming.
Happy New Year!
Night One, on December 30, saw both a marriage proposal and a mayoral proclamation by Utica’s Robert Palmieri declaring the date as moe. Day in the city, before the show even began. The band set the tone by opening with a scorching version of “Meat,” with percussionist Jim Loughlin displaying his astounding skills with two mallets in each hand on vibraphone. There’s no question that Chuck Garvey and Al Schnier are guitar gods, Rob Derhak is a creative bass player whose frequent onstage grin helps make him so likable, and Vin Amico keeps things chugging like a freight train, playing drums while chomping on gum and blowing enormous bubbles like he’s endorsed by Bazooka. But to this listener, Loughlin makes a distinct difference. He plays stuff that you just don’t hear anywhere else in a band of such renown and longevity.
Jim Loughlin
The band
transitioned through seven additional songs totaling nearly ninety
minutes of music to conclude the first set. Throughout both nights,
the band indeed played several favorite songs, but there was an
enormous dose of rarely, or lesser played, tunes that seemed to
surprise and delight hardcore fans of moe.
Before the second set, Al introduced the ubiquitous Utica legend, Rainbow Young, who had the crowd singing along to what was purported to be “God Bless America,” though the key, melody, and meter may have been more than a bit different. The second set began with a “Downward Facing Dog,” “Brittle End,” “Downward Facing Dog” sandwich before concluding with a string of tunes ending where they began the night, getting back to “Meat.” The bar was set high, as a goal to surpass on Night Two.
Night Two saw moe.
pull out all the stops and cut loose in so many interesting ways. On
New Year’s Eve, as we all headed into 2020, the band and their fans
paid tribute to the Roaring ‘20s in both attire and some of the
musical selections. Moe took the stage in suits, ties, suspenders and
fedoras, reminiscent of when men dressed as such to go to work one
hundred years ago. Many male fans dressed similarly, with dozens of
female fans sporting frilly or sequined flapper dresses, long gloves,
boas, and headpieces. The theater itself was a perfect setting, as
it opened in that decade, and matched the fanciful dress with
elaborate baroque design, including ornate twisted columns, a
mind-boggling enormous chandelier, and gargoyles, lions, and cherubs
adorning the walls and opera seats.
The first set saw Chuck and Al on acoustic guitars, with Al switching out to mandolin for a bit. Jim Loughlin showed his versatility throughout the evening, playing vibraphone, acoustic guitar, congas, and washboard. The three first time played songs included two from 1928, the year the Stanley Theater opened. The set opened with “It,” included a stunning version of “Statesboro Blues,” and ended with Rob Derhak’s “Tambourine.”
Set two saw the band plug in and take things even higher. It included an explosive version of “Don’t Fuck With Flo,” a return to the twenties for a cover of “East St. Louis Toodle-oo,” and ended with a nice rendition of the predictable “New Hope for the New Year.”
The third set had everyone on their feet, singing and dancing, with smiles and good wishes from many fans to others as midnight approached. Starting with a fairly new song, “Along for the Ride,” it included a nice execution of “Mack the Knife,” leading into “Silver Sun” just before the New Year’s countdown. At the stroke of midnight, air cannons showered the crowd with a colossal amount of confetti. The band and their significant others toasted and hugged each other, and moe. soon returned to their instruments. 2020 began with a joyous, infectious “Rebubula,” enhanced by a top-notch lighting presentation. This was followed by “Four,” and “Farmer Ben” segueing into a fervent “Timmy Tucker” to end the set. With a time deadline approaching, the band blazed through “Spine of a Dog” as the encore. Two nights of great music, great memories, and proof that moe. have established themselves as a premier touring band, world-class musicians, and individuals proud of their hometown.
Setlist – December 30, 2019
Set 1: Meat > Not Coming Down > Wormwood > Fearless~ > Deep This Time > Who You Calling Scared? > Akimbo > Brent Black
Set 2: Downward Facing Dog > Brittle End > Downward Facing Dog, Skrunk > Lazarus > Down Boy > Bring You Down > Meat
Encore: Letter Home, Wind It Up
~ Pink Floyd cover
Setlist – December 31, 2019
Set 1: It*, Time Again**, Shoot First**, Statesboro Blues*#, Where Does The Time Go?*, Tambourine*
Set 2: Tailspin > Puebla > Don’t Fuck With Flo > Tubing The River Styx > The Pit, East St. Louis Toodle-oo##, Opium, New Hope For The New Year
Set 3: Along For The Ride, Nebraska, Mack The Knife^, Silver Sun%, Rebubula, Four, Farmer Ben > Timmy Tucker
Encore: Spine Of A Dog
* w/ Al & Chuck on acoustic guitar ** w/ Al on mandolin, Chuck on acoustic guitar # FTP – (Blind Willie McTell cover) ## FTP – (Duke Ellington & Bubber Miley cover –) % NYE Countdown ^ FTP – (Kurt Weill & Bertolt Brecht cover)
