moe. finished up their run of drive-in performances this past Saturday (11/7/20) at Showtime At The Drive-In in Frederick, Maryland with a rousing pair of celebratory sets that repeatedly referenced the historic presidential election which had (thankfully) been called in favor of Democratic nominee Joe Biden earlier that afternoon.
The overwhelming feeling of relief and sheer joy among the near-sold-out crowd was palpable as the Buffalo, NY quintet opened with the remarkably apropos moe. classic “Captain America”, which featured a particularly psychedelic outro-jam before segueing into another fan-favorite “Mexico” that saw some trademark countrified guitar-work from Al Schneir before leading the group towards an explosive climax.
Next up was the first public performance of the rarity “The Pines and the Apple Trees”, for just the first time since 2016, followed by a trifecta of originals: “Don’t Wanna Be”, “Bullet” & “Down Boy” – of which the former featured some inspired vocals from percussionist Jim Loughlin along with a quick tease of the Grateful Dead’s “Bird Song”, and the latter containing the first of the evening’s several politically-charged lyric changes (“And it was four years too long”.) The Chuck Garvey original “New Hope For The New Year” capped off the opening stanza on an auspicious note, highlighted by the dual-guitar-fireworks of Messrs. Schneir & Garvey.
moe. kicked off the second set with another tongue-in-cheek electoral allusion (this time choosing to focus on our current lame-duck President’s response to losing an election) with a hard-charging version of the relatively new original “Screaming & Kicking” that seamlessly segued into “Waiting for the Punchline”, which contained an energetic double-time instrumental jam as well as another adroit lyrical alteration, this time referencing MSNBC “Chart-throb” Steve Kornacki, in lieu of the original lyric’s Peter Jennings.
A hypnotic version of the Talking Heads-esque moe. original “Along for the Ride”, which featured an extended instrumental intro that briefly touched on Phish’s “Punch You In The Eye”, allowed Loughlin to show off his remarkably impressive e-drums & percussive skills, which was a common theme throughout the evening. While moe. has made a point to eschew the “traditional” jamband instrumental setup that typically features piano/organ/synth etc., the varying sonic palettes that Loughlin adds to the overall group dynamic with his array of drums, sample pads, and even a MalletKat act as an incredibly innovative substitute and are a key part of defining moe.’s unique sound.
The set was brought to a frenzied close with another trio of moe. Classics: “Tailspin”, “Meat”, & “Don’t Fuck With Flo”, with the latter featuring a brief tease of Van Halen’s “Running With The Devil” as well as a few final shrewd lyrical changes (“Don’t Fuck With Joe” & “the election was rigged, man”.) The group returned for a brief encore with another original chestnut, “Seat of my Pants”, though the performance was ultimately cut short shortly before the climax as the PA system was abruptly shut down due to the venue’s hard 10pm curfew.
On a historic evening in which our country came together and chose hope over fear and love over hate, there was simply no better way to celebrate this much needed victory than being among a few thousand other like-minded live-music-lovers while listening to the harmonious stylings of a true American-musical institution: moe.
