State of the Union: moe. 2011
We’ve asked moe.ron extraordinaire Kahlil Katool to cover the moe. beat for Hidden Track and he has kindly accepted. Kahlil will be covering snoe.down for us, but starts by sharing his opinion of where the band is at after the group’s first two tours of 2011…
something new, something cool , something borrowed, something blue…
This line from moe.’s new song Haze rings true as an accurate description of what the band has offered the music world in 2011. Coming off the heels of their 20th anniversary tour in 2010, the members of moe. may have shed the suits they wore all year long to celebrate the benchmark, but have remained all business while barreling head first into 2011.
[Photo by Jeremy Gordon]
moe. has played 22 shows thus far this year, starting out with the Tropical Throe.down in the Dominican Republic, touring through the Pacific Northwest and hitting the left coast along with the Rockies, and most recently returning to Japan. Dual-lead guitarist Al Schnier, had this to say when asked how the band felt about the past two months: “New Year’s Eve in Boston was a great way to end the 20th Anniversary tour and the Dominican Republic was a great way to kick off this year. I can’t say enough good things about that trip, and we are already discussing plans for a follow up (island excursion). This run has been great one, and (we) are heading even further into 2011 with a lot of momentum.”
The New York-based “ragers of improvisational rock” continue to push the envelope nightly breaking outside of the familiar with over a dozen new songs debuted since last year’s Summer Camp Festival. The band is integrating these new songs in their set arrangements with great fervor. moe. has been taking big chances outside its comfort zone as the band mixes up its setlist writing formula of traditional staple “big guns” (ie. Moth, Recreational Chemistry, Timmy Tucker, meat., Yodelittle, Brent Black, McBain) as being the centerpieces of the energy and flow of moe. sets.
READ ON for more from Kahlil on moe.’s 2011…
