Tour Diary: The Brew Part 1

Arriving at moe.down was especially awesome for me [Joe (bass)], having attended four previous moe.down’s as a fan of the music. Now I am pulling a trailer with our gear, and my band is with me. It is sunny, which is welcomed weather at a festival with such a rainy past. We check in, find out our plan of attack, eat some great backstage food, and move the trailer on in to load onto the beer tent stage for our three sets.

This is where our trips always smooth out. Loading and setting up gear is definitely the calm before the musical storm. You aren’t concentrating on getting there, being on time, eating, pissing or any of that. It’s just gear time. Fishbone is rocking the mainstage, they are dinosaurs of funk and everything else, and we are about to follow them. We are all seriously pumped about that! We do a quick monitor check, everything sounds almost perfect, we get off stage, wait for the cheer from the mainstage, Fishbone is done. All this anticipation I have been dealing with is over, we step on stage…everything that had worried me is gone and I am smiling.

Set 1: Hunter’s Moon, Black Train, Princes Of The Universe (1), I Do Believe, Who’s The Boss?, Eyes Of The Giant > New Funk, Faces

This set was exactly what we needed to start things off on the right foot. As a band, there is sometimes this collective feeling upon the first note: “This is going to rock!” Highlights for me were locking in big harmonies on Hunter’s Moon, getting our wings dusted off during Black Train, the reaction of the crowd from Queens ‘Highlander’ theme, Princes Of The Universe, all of Who’s The Boss, and keeping energy up for the rest of the set. And…I locked the keys in the van when I changed out of my driving shorts…no excuse here. The passenger window was down a crack and it took about 20 minutes with a flimsy hanger to realize a stick would be better. Two minutes with a stick, the van is open! Come to find out, not only are we ok at playing music, but we are master lock pickers as well.

Luckily an hour and a half goes by pretty quick when you lock your keys in the van and Yonder Mountain is playing in the background. Got to head up to the hill and catch the last 30 minutes of their set before gearing up for Set 2!

Set 2: Machine, Birds on the Window, Sharks In The Pool, Foreplay > Longtime, Radio Swiss

This was the powerhouse set, as we were in a sense opening for moe. Foreplay > Longtime was the major highlight of the set with a few thousand people bouncing around clapping with their hands over their head. The view from stage was priceless. These moments are what we play music for. Looking around stage I can see my brothers in arms have grins from ear to ear, totally riding the energy wave provided by the moe.down community. So many strange a new faces mixed with the regulars that seem to follow us all over New England and beyond . Radio Swiss was raging and had to be following the cover we just threw down. moe. takes the stage!

Set 3: Seen It All > Looking Down, GCFNME, Control, Chance Reaching

This set was just as fun as the two previous, highlighting four songs off our latest album, Back To The Woods, and throwing in a GCFNME, off our first release for good measure. moe. and crew were great hosts, we had a blast and can’t thank them enough for the opportunity. These sets were easily some of the most fun I have had playing all year. Time to kick it with friends and family and enjoy the rest of the weekend! P.U.S.A., Levon Helm, The Bridge, Macpodz, and moe. made my Sunday off a raging good time.

Join us tomorrow for the final installment of The Brew’s tour diary, when the boys head off to the Stone Church. Will Joe locks the keys in the van again? Will Chris solve a murder mystery with the help of Shaggy and Scooby Doo? Tune in tomorrow to find out! In the meantime, check out The Brew’s website for a taste of their music and a list of tour dates. And don’t forget to catch their sure to be monumental gig at Boston’s The Paradise on September 26. We can’t think of a better way to spend $12.