moe. @ Brooklyn Bowl – June 25
Photos: Andrew Blackstein
Words: Scott Bernstein
Jam titans moe. have become the old reliable of the live music world. Twenty-three years after forming on the campus of the University of Buffalo, you can always count on moe. to deliver a tight and well-jammed performance on any given night. Case in point was the quintet’s Tuesday night show within the cozy confines of Williamsburg’s Brooklyn Bowl, where moe. showed off the improvisational talents and deep songbook that keep the ever-growing legion of “moe.rons” coming back for more.
[All Photos by Andrew Blackstein]
Though Brooklyn Bowl is a venue smaller than most moe. plays these days, they brought their full production to the venue. The band has a long history with Brooklyn Bowl visionary Pete Shapiro, dating back to moe.’s days as defacto house band at Wetlands Preserve in the early and mid ’90s. Though packed, the intimate environs of The Bowl gave fans a good opportunity to see the teamwork that defines moe. in the current era.
Both sets were filled to the brim with improv and one thing that has always been a trademark of moe.’s jamming is the long, drawn-out segue. The band telegraphs their transitions in a way no other band in the scene does. An example of this was found in the “>” that connected hearty instrumental “McBain” and the southern-rock tinged “Head” towards the end of the first set. Bassist Rob Derhak first laid down the line from “Head” about five minutes before the band started the song. Guitarists Chuck Garvey and Al Schnier took their time transitioning into “Head” as they laid down one powerful anthemic riff after another. This trend continued throughout the show, with moe. delivering an another impressively telegraphed segue between White Lightning Turpentine and Opium.
Set 1: Suck A Lemon > Dr. Graffenberg, Not Coming Down > McBain > Head > McBain > Wormwood > Okayalright
Set 2: Can’t Seem To Find, Blue Jeans Pizza > She, White Lightning Turpentine 1 > Opium, Big World > Ricky Marten > Plane Crash
Encore: St. Augustine
1 – LTP 5/26/12 (2nd Time Played)
[via Phantasy Tour]
Now, you don’t stay together as a band for 23 years unless you genuinely have a love and respect for each other, and the brotherhood of moe. was another element of the band’s success that was on display at Brooklyn Bowl. moe. doesn’t seem like the lovey-dovey types that give each other a hug when they mess up, in fact when drummer Vinnie Amico messed up the intro to a song, Derhak turned around and gave him shit for it like an older brother would do to a younger brother. You know the love is there, but these are “guy’s guys” who show their appreciation in more crude ways. The bond that has developed between the quintet shows in their jamming as well as they would turn directions on a dime with the ease that only comes from thousands of hours of performing together.
There was a time when moe. was extremely dependent on the songs from their early days, but on the heels of an impressive string of albums that dates back to 2002’s Wormwood, moe.’s repertoire has turned into a strength. A first set Dr. Graffenberg and the St. Augustine encore were the only songs played at the Bowl which moe. debuted before 1997. There was no Rec Chem or Timmy Tucker or Rebubula or Buster, but the concert still flowed and had many highlights including the aforementioned McBain > Head, an intense Opium jam and the bombastic Plane Crash second set closer. moe. is in the midst of a glorious period, where their jamming has sounded as good as ever and they continue to unveil impressive originals. The future’s bright as the band prepares to head to Levon Helm Studios to record their next album. If they continue at this rate there’s no reason they can’t play for another 23 years.
Gallery…
