Show Review

Amidst the overabundance of music festivals this summer, which caused everything from relative scale downs to full cancellations, moe.down should be commended for consistently providing fans exactly what it’s portrayed to be - a huge, annual three-day party, thrown by moe., where they get to invite thousands of their fans as well as many of their favorite bands. And though the crowds do come out for the event, moe. still aims to keep it intimate, and that’s exactly how it felt. And in a vast contrast to some other similarly held events, the family atmosphere enables many people to feel comfortable enough to bring their children out to celebrate the end of summer, moe. style, a true testament to the efforts put forth by the band.

For the fourth year in a row, moe. descended on the tiny, mountain town of Turin, NY and again, the mountain air made it feel like autumn had come early. Unfortunately, due to some job issues, I didn’t arrive to the site until Saturday, and apparently I missed a driving rain-storm that caused a blackout in the middle of Antigone Rising’s set and some fiery moe., including a Friday night "San Ber'dino"encore and an early Saturday set that featured the new, soon to be crowd favorite ntroduction of "McBain."

Friday may have gone on without me, but Saturday had the most stellar selection of acts, with a line-up boasting some of today’s hottest bands. Umphrey’s McGee, which played on the main stage Saturday afternoon, was one of the biggest treats of the festival and probably my favorite new find of the whole weekend. This Chicago-based sextet created a lush, melodic sound without compromising a bass-driven heaviness reminiscent of Les Claypool, Rush or old-school Genesis. The harmonizing vocals of keyboardist Joel Cummins, guitarist Brendan Bayliss and drummer Mike Mirro, as well as a slew of catchy hooks, kept the music fresh even in the face of some long, meandering jams. If this is the new face of prog-rock, label me a fan.

After the McGee was the Yonder Mountain String Band, which, as usual, put on a great show with their brand of traditional bluegrass in a contemporary flair. With the backdrop a side of a mountain, the setting seemed a catalyst, allowing the band to get comfortable early and launch into a strong set right out of the gate. Jeff Austin’s voice, with it’s down-home traditionalist tinge is a perfect fit, and the highlight of their set was a cover of Bob Dylan’s "It Takes A Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry." Then came the Flaming Lips, which drew one of the biggest crowds of the weekend.

The Oklahoma psych-poppers had spent all day gathering fans to dress up in their two-dozen furry animal costumes, and now they were ready to take the stage, armed with a large video screen, inflatable robots, giant balloons, boatloads of confetti and this time, even some fireworks. As usual, the Flaming Lips, and especially frontman Wayne Coyne, performed with total abandon, doing everything they could to spread energy through the audience while playing spot on renditions of new songs such as "One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21" and "Do You Realize?" as well as such classics as "Lightning Strikes the Postman," which Coyne sang through a bullhorn as the stage was enveloped by smoke. The family feeling was heightened during the Lips set, with a handful of kids mixed in with the adults in animal costumes. At one point, Coyne, pouring his signature fake blood on his head, went up to a boy of about 10 and rubbed his stained face on him. The boy was obviously startled for the moment, but was seen proudly wearing the blood still on his head the next day. Contrary to other moe.downs, where the next-to-headlining act joins moe. onstage, Al Schnier and Chuck Garvey joined the Lips for covers of Pink Floyd’s "Breathe" and "Us and Them," and even donned animal costumes themselves.

Then of course, it was moe.’s turn.

The opening "Four," slowly found it’s way into the powerful "Plane Crash," and from there, the music continued to loosely flow in and out of song structure with unexpected segues. But the dominant ambience of the set quickly subsided with the pop-laden "St.Augustine," before closing with the rocker "Brent Black," only to be outdone by the one song, third set to follow. Yes, for the entire third set Saturday night, the band shredded an enormous, sprawling Rebubula. At close to an hour long, with a thoroughly extended intro, it single-handedly signified how far the band can go, and equally how capable they are of coming back to center.

On Sunday afternoon, a sleepy-eyed crowd was awoken by Peter Prince and the Trauma Unit. The ex-Moon Boot Lover bandleader strutted and swaggered his way through a set full of cock-rocky power pop and blues ballads. With the vocal presence of James Brown and the waxed-bald head and big silver boots, he further propelled his image as the consummate rock star.

Rob Derhak’s side-project band, Swamp Donkey, was another highlight of the festival. Playing Gram Parsons-style country rock with incredible style and ease, they were the perfect soundtrack for a lazy, sunny Sunday afternoon. In addition to their slew of originals, they also dove into covers of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Manic Depression."

The quirkiest addition to an already eclectic lineup was certainly They Might Be Giants. Specializing in making geek-rock with a heart, multi-instrumentalist John Linnell and guitarist John Flansburgh lead the band through a surprising variety of sounds and styles. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" and "The Subliminal Song" had hooks typical of the better underground music of the 1990s, which they were in their prime. And then it was time for a bit more moe.

The fitting "Bring It Back Home" kicked off the first set, and Nate Wilson joined the band on keyboards for a trilogy of "Hi &Lo," Timmy Tucker," and an intense "Opium." "McBain" reared it’s head once again to start the second set, before moving into the smoothness of "Faker," but the band’s classic compostion "Meat" was the memorable topper. And afterward, I felt, well, if not ready for the fall, at least a little more content with my summer coming to a close.