The countdown started for me when the “Welcome Back Carter” theme came waltzing out of the PA system. It was noticeably louder than the stream of music lost in the pre-show chatter and buzz inside the auditorium, and I knew the show was about to begin. That, for me, was a more palpable countdown than another tick of the clock turning over another year like an invisible odometer. moe. entered the stage with cartoonish wigs in seventies big fro style and assembled for what I found out upon arriving, was to be an opening acoustic set. Well that solidified it, I thought, I had chosen wisely when I decided to make this show my New Year’s Eve destination.
“New York City” sounded great in NYC at Roseland a month or so ago, but acoustic in Ashe-moe.-ville, NC, on NYE, it sounded incredible! The crowd response to the acoustic moe, that had Chuck Garvey, Al Schnier, and Rob Derhak whittling it up old-school style over the scaled down drums of Vinnie Amico and Jim Laughlin, was nothing short of total exuberant. “Okayalright,” a song that is usually one of the more “straight-ahead” rock tunes in moe.’s arsenal, made the transition to acoustic brilliantly. The set took a bluesy turn with “Conviction Song,” before the instrumental acoustic jam “Shake Your Hips” gave way to a country stomp romp – “That Country Tune.” Meanwhile an acoustic version of “St. Augustine” was the perfect topper to an extraordinary first set of music.
The second set brought technology back into the picture with “Wind it Up.” The song started with a driving drum beat, eerie synth from Schnier and some words that were subliminal, propelling the song into a spacey jam. More killer jams punctuated an epic version of “Bring You Down” that ran into “Kids,” which was riddled with more great improvisation. The beginning of “Spine of the Dog” brought a huge ovation from the crowd that rolled over into an enthusiastic sing-along. This segment of the set was an uninterrupted volley of great songs that included “Spine of Dog,” “Yodelittle” and “Lazarus,” a song the band has not played in over three years to close out the second set.
moe. returned to the stage for the “official” New Year countdown as the place erupted with the big balloon drop and seeing Rob Derhak’s baby playing the role of Baby New Year. The crowd was able to free the balloons from the netting and Al Schnier said some nice words to thank everyone and wish them a Happy New Year, then Derhak lead the band in a bluesy-jazz treatment of “Auld Lang Syne.” Juice harps and flutes joined the more commonly used instruments in the band for a first time ever appearance of The Who’s “Join Together” that was absolutely staggering! The Who classic became total moe. as they stretched the song into another improvisational marvel before taking it back to the refrain and then another trip into jam land and a version of “Buster” that ripped with frenetic energy. A funky and adventurous “Brent Black” included a drums and percussion duet by Amico and Loughlin, which turned into the Vinnie Amico Experience soaring with energy. The rest of the band came back and Loughlin ripped it up on xylophone that danced over crunchy base by Derhak.
It took a little while for the momentum to build in the ovation from the crowd but gradually it became a fever pitch and moe. returned to the stage. They played the heart-felt ballad “Letter Home,” before they unloaded “Kyle’s Song” complete with every one clapping in unison and blazing instrumentalsm, as it sent everyone into the New Year with the ripping jam still in their ears.
