moe. - January 31, 2010 - Carnegie Library of Homestead

I have had an weird experience regarding this show. Mr. Zed and I went to this Sunday night show which was packed with moe.-rons at this little concert hall at the old Homestead Library. I have seen 3 shows there previously but never from the balcony. In fact, the shows I have seen there were all impressive, Patti Smith touring her covers album was typical of Patti meaning unique, transcendent, memorable; Nickel Creek played there in their "Farewell (for now) Tour including hilarious jammed out versions of Brittany and Michael Jackson songs; Gov't Mule played a fine show on my last visit.

I have seen moe. on four previous occasions so while I am not an aficionado of moe. I do have an idea about what to expect. And the results were actually quite impressive. A five piece band that have toured so long and hard with each other that they synced up with each other and their light guy that it is a wonder to see and hear. All of the musicians are impressive, though tonight I was most impressed by their bass player, Rob Derhak. Chuck Garvey and Al Schnier are locked in, trading licks in a fast and furious manner, particularly how they shoot out short phrases that the other takes up literally without missing a beat. While the drummer, Vinnie Amico, is high energy and plays some complex rhythms, it is their percussionist, Jim Loughlin, who creates what I consider a truly unique and distinctive sound for them. He plays a lot of congas that add complexity but it is his vibe, xylophone work that is quite different than other bands.

We were in the balcony for this show, center, third row. The sound, while presenting all of the instruments distinctly, was overwhelming in this small and compact hall. The vocals were lost such that neither of us could make out the lyrics. The sounds was so dense that I the show took on a relentless feel to it.

I know there is nothing particularly weird about all of this. So Monday I sit down to start writing this review and find an audience recording already up at the live music archive. You can get it or stream it here:
It is a Front of Board tape by Lenny Stubbe. It has a good bit of space in it, clean and the vocals are clear. You can take in much of the subtlety of the guitar work for example. It seems to have captured a different show than the one I just experienced. In fact, I want to go to THAT show. This illustrates my view that each experience of a show (and each recording) of a show can be seen as just one interpretation. I am now wondering if I could have experienced at least some version of THAT show if I had wandered downstairs and stood by the soundboard.

The highlights for me tonight musically were a long complicated and fairly psychedelic "32 Things" in the first set. The finish of the second set was pretty spectacular. The last hour of the three hour show was "Meat(25:20)> The Pit (13:47)> Brent Black (21:34)". The encore was the most mellow part of the evening "Funky Reuben" and "Gone". I should also finish by saying that the light show was simple and impressive because it was clear that the light person was closely following all the improvised nooks and crannies of the musicians, synced up in a way that can only come from knowing the band thoroughly.