Jam stalwarts moe. have announced a gig at a unique NYC venue set for June 27, when the band will play the Beekman Beer Garden Beach Club in Downtown Manhattan at the South Street Seaport. The show is open to those 18 and older. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, April 17, at 10AM ET.

[via the venue's FB page]

Here’s more on the Beekman Beer Garden Beach Club…

The Beekman Beer Garden Beach Club is New York City’s hottest summer venue for outdoor events. Schmooze with guests along the East River under the stars on the 200-ton sandy beach. Lounge on couches with your feet in the sand, or show off your skills over a game of pool, foosball or ping pong. Enjoy the concert in the 10,000 sq. foot open-air beer tent with the iconic Brooklyn Bridge as your backdrop. Beers on tap include Magic Hat #9-Not Quite Pale Ale, Six Point Crisp Lager, Blue Point Toasted Lager, and Ommegaang Witte Ale.

You can delight in cuisine from a menu with everything from chicken fingers to oysters on the half shell. This is truly a unique space to hear and see live music, with the setting of multiple bridges and the East River beside you.

The venue has hosted a number of rock shows in the past from the likes of Bruce Hornsby.

The first round of artists set to perform at moe.down 13 at Snow Ridge Ski Area in Turin, New York on August 10 – 12 have been announced and there’s a familiar name involved as Umphrey’s McGee will make their fourth appearance at moe.’s annual festival. Ever since the first one in 2000, moe. has done a good job of varying the moe.down lineup each year. It’s rare that bands get asked a second time, let alone a third but Umphrey’s McGee is a special circumstance.

Rebubula, a classic moe. song, was one of the first covers Umphrey’s ever played back in 1998. In 2002, UM guitarist Brendan Bayliss lived out a dream when he performed Rebubula with moe. at the first Bonnaroo. Since then, the two jam scene staple, have gone on to co-headline the Summer Camp Music Festival each Memorial Day weekend. Bayliss had high praise when asked about the moe. for a Relix Magazine feature, “I really can’t stress enough how instrumental moe. has been in my career. I’ve met a lot of musicians and there’s nobody like those guys when it comes to being down-to-earth people not caught up in the rock star bullshit. They’re content with what they’ve created and how they’ve done it, and they should be.”

Umphrey’s last appeared at moe.down in 2009, which followed previous sets at moe.down 7 in 2006 and moe.down 4 in 2003. Buffalo prog-rockers Aqueous, who cite both moe. and Umphrey’s as influences, fellow Upstaters Timbre Coup and reggae act SOJA round out the short list of acts that made up the first round of moe.down 13 artists. Tickets are on sale now for $120.

Two stalwarts of the jam scene, moe. and Gov’t Mule, will team up for a pair of shows outside of the legendary Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey on June 22 and 23. The two bands have a long history of performing together, including a co-bill tour in 2005 and both groups participating in 1999′s Summer Sessions tour along with String Cheese Incident and Galactic. A pre-sale begins tomorrow, April 5, at 10AM ET through moe.ticketing.

Another journal entry from European jam fan Josh Bogen in Amsterdam…

Jam In The Dam 2012: moe., Mike Gordon, Lotus, Keller Williams and Dark Star Orchestra

Thursday, March 15

Our omen for the day was served with at breakfast, in the form of a “LOTUS” inscribed biscuit to accompany coffee, or maybe it was just a coincidence. The weather had improved and I was finally able to take out my shades, for a perfect day to see more of the city.

[All Photos by Jon Derow]

One should realize that Jam In The Dam is not Phish at Merriweather with the band’s fans taking over the city. Amsterdam is a major city and the festival is small. Add to that the fact that Amsterdam has more than its share of resident bohemians and backpack slinging tourists, as well as lower temperatures which keep the tie-dyes covered up by jackets, and it’s hard to even notice that we are here. It’s also possible that with the shows ending around 2 am, people are just barely managing to get up in time for the next night’s festivities. However, when you do arrive at the Milky Way, you are met by an unmistakable jam band crowd, tie-dyes bared and more than few over the top outfits.

Entrance has been smooth into the venue, so it’s really just a lot of old and new friends hanging out in the vicinity. Today, however, the line stretched out into the street an hour before the start time, as cardboard tube-wielding fans waited to get their official posters signed by their favorite artists. This is one of the perks, I guess, of an intimate destination festival like Jam In The Dam (try that at Bonnaroo; the line would stretch to the next state). All of DSO and moe. were on hand, as well as Keller. Lotus was still busy with soundcheck, and Mike Gordon’s crew didn’t seem to have made it.(In their defense, they did have the latest start time of the night and I am sure most of the festival-goers can sympathize that getting anywhere on time here is a struggle after a late night out.)

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[Originally Published: July 22, 2010]

The phrase “the show must go on” originally referred to Broadway and show biz, but the cliché also rings true with live music. Considering we’re talking about rock stars playing demanding, high-energy music it’s no surprise that a number of instances of bands playing one man short have come up over the years. It’s actually more of a surprise that it doesn’t happen more often.

For this week’s B List we look at ten cases where acts we cover have performed without the services of one member. Some gigs were train wrecks while others wound up being great shows. Here’s what we came up with…

1. moe. – 07/09/2010 – Minus Al Schnier

This gig was the impetus for this list as Al Schnier was unable to perform at a recent moe. gig in Peoria, but his band mates went ahead with the show and delivered a solid performance heavy on Chuck and Rob songs. moe. offered fans refunds, but we bet there weren’t many takers.

Set One: Bullet> Awesome Gary> Billy Goat> Timmy Tucker> Zed Nought Z, Buster
Set Two: Captain America> Blue Jeans Pizza> Sensory Deprivation Bank, McBain, All Roads Lead to Home, St. Augustine, Don’t Fuck With Flo> Plane Crash
Encore: Stranger Than Fiction

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Joshua Bogen of JamBandsEurope doesn’t get to catch many jam acts in action as a European resident, so he’s taking full advantage of Jam In The Dam. Each day he’ll provide a diary of his experience in Amsterdam watching DSO, Mike Gordon, Lotus, Keller and moe.

After a busy day on Tuesday I woke up late, which I think will pretty much be the case for the duration of Jam In The Dam. The weather has been unchanged, overcast but not uncomfortable, with more than a touch of grey. A quick breakfast/lunch and off I went into the city to actually see something today. We were now relatively oriented and it did not take too long to arrive at the Van Gogh museum, probably the can’t miss sight for Amsterdam. An amazing collection, well organized to make the tour really easy to follow. And in the middle, we discovered a little gem, an oil painting by Van Gogh titled Skull of A Skeleton with Burning Cigarette. If you haven’t seen it, here it is…

[Public Domain Image]

Yet another good omen for the festival, and possible evidence that Van Gogh himself may have attended the earliest incarnations of Jam In The Dam. After that, and despite a drawn out quest to try what are apparently considered possibly the best french fries in the world, which ended in failure as the place was closed, we made it the Melkweg on time.

At this point I should mention that the Jam In The Dam schedule is printed out in what, for me, is a completely backwards way. For each day’s schedule the times for the “headliner” of the day, the last band to go on, is printed first, and the start and end times for the “opener,” the first band to play, is printed at the bottom, with the other bands’ time slots listed in reverse order. If you can follow me, that means that the first time you see on the schedule is when the last band goes on, a set at midnight, and the last time you see, at the bottom, is the time that the first band is supposed to finish their set, at 9:30 PM. However, when I first glanced at the schedule, reading in a logical fashion, i got the idea into my head that each night started at 12 midnight and ended at 9:30 in the morning. (which actually if you think about it, would be quite convenient for the people coming over from the U.S., who would basically never have to adjust to European time). Thankfully, that is not the case, and the festival got rolling right on time at 8 PM.

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moe. @ Electric Factory, March 9

Words: Bill Señor Martin
Images: Nick Irving

Jam stalwarts moe. returned to Philadelphia’s Electric Factory last Friday night for the penultimate show of their U.S. tour, fresh off several sold out concerts. The venue is one of the grittiest in the country, with a notorious lot scene, uneven acoustics and sometimes overbearing security. This night, however, the stars aligned and moe. let it be known from the outset that it could structure a performance to stand up to the Factory’s somewhat harsh and dark nature.

[All Photos by Nick Irving]

Out of the blocks with an energetic and confrontational Skrunk (with its refrain of “set my people free”), the subsequent songs – Cathedral, Godzilla and Runaway Overlude – continued to reinforce that serious and hardcore mood. Bassist Rob Derhak and guitarists Al Schnier and Chuck Garvey took turns leading the crowd into the abyss, all complemented by LD Jason Huffer’s fine work. The band then showcased Garvey’s Suck A Lemon, the first of two songs played that night from moe.’s new CD, What Happened To The La Las. The band promptly shifted gears and completed the set with some seriously old school moe. – Awesome Gary > Moth (unfinished) > Don’t Fuck with Flo – that left many audience members wondering if this was indeed the sleeper show of the 2012 winter tour.

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This Friday jam stalwarts moe. will bring their What Happened To The LALAs? Tour to the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, a city the group first played nearly 17 years ago. Friday’s concert marks only the second moe. show within city limits since 2008, so we wanted to celebrate this rare appearance by looking at the band’s history with The City of Brotherly Love.

The Upstate New York-based band made their Philadelphia debut at J.C. Dobbs on South Street on September 21, 1995 with new drummer Mike Strazza and returned a few months later on February 16, 1996 sporting a different drummer (Chris Mazur). J.C. Dobbs was sold shortly thereafter, so moe. headed to the Middle East in March, May and September of ’96. In 2007, moe. stepped up to the much bigger Theater of Living Arts on January 23 and did so well they booked two shows at the 1,000-capacity venue that May. Clearly a band on the rise, moe. headlined the large Electric Factory on November 28, 1997,  just over two years after first playing in Philly.

moe. in Philadelphia: Venue Segues

J.C. Dobb’s (09/21/1995, 02/16/1996) > Middle East (03/29/1996, 05/17/1996, 09/20/1996) > Theater of Living Arts (01/23/1997, 05/08/1997, 05/09/1997) > Electric Factory,  (11/28/1997, 06/12/1998, 12/31/1998, 10/30/1999) > Tower Theater (10/31/2000) > Electric Factory (04/19/2002, 04/20/2002) > Theater of Living Arts (04/21/2002) > Tower Theater (12/27/2002, 12/28/2002, 12/30/2003, 11/05/2004) > Festival Pier (07/23/2005) > Electric Factory (01/20/2006, 01/21/2006) > Festival Pier (06/09/2006) > Electric Factory (02/10/2007, 02/01/2008) > Tower Theater (10/09/2010) > Electric Factory (03/09/2012)

Capacities: J.C. Dobbs (190), Middle East (?), Theater of Living Arts (1,000), Electric Factory (3,000), Tower Theater (3,119), Festival Pier (6,500)

Only includes shows open to the public within city limits

Including Friday’s show, moe. will have played a total of 11 gigs at the Electric Factory over the years. In April ’02  the group followed two sold-out performances at the Electric Factory, which featured special guest John Popper, with an undersell at the much smaller TLA. For Halloween ’00 moe. performed at the Tower Theater for the first time and covered Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd while The Wizard of Oz was shown on large monitors. The Tower also housed a pair of moe. shows towards the end of 2002, one at the end of 2003, a November 2004 gig and most recently the band’s last Philadelphia performance on October 9, 2010. Penn’s Landing’s Festival Pier hosted the only two outdoor moe. shows open to the public – a set opening for the Allman Brothers Band in 2005 and a co-bill with the North Mississippi Allstars in 2006.

For the past two years jam stalwarts moe. held their annual moe.down festivals at Gelston Castle Estate in Mohawk, New York following ten years at the event’s original home – Snow Ridge in Turin, New York. Today, the band has announced that moe.down will return to Snow Ridge this summer.

[Photo by Jeremy Gordon]

In another big change, moe.down won’t take place on Labor Day Weekend in 2012. Moe.down 13 will be held on Aug. 10 – 12 with moe. scheduled to play six sets over the course of the weekend. Look for a lineup announcement in the next few weeks. Early-bird tickets go on sale March 5 at Noon ET.

In the midst of the excitement around the new moe. album, What Happened to the LA LAs, we thought we’d highlight a classic old live performance. This video, from exactly 15 years ago today at Starlight in Fort Collins, Colo., catches Rob in his element on stage and highlights what a  fun band moe. was in the small room environment. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to relive some old glory remotely, as the band heads to Europe soon to play for new crowds in some intimate settings.

One-man-band Keller Williams opened for jam stalwarts moe. last Saturday night at Club Nokia in Los Angeles. Guitarist Al Schnier of moe. emerged during Keller’s set to help out with a cover of Birds of a Feather by Phish. YouTuber Smasher69 was on hand to capture the whole song…

Keller Williams w/ Al Schnier – Birds of a Feather

Jam stalwarts moe. are hitting the road hard this winter in support of their recently released WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LA LAs album. The tour kicked off with an album release party at NYC’s Hiro Ballroom on January 23 and continued across the country in San Francisco two days later, where moe. performed brief sets at Amoeba Records and the MacWorld trade show. For moe.’s MacWorld appearance they started their set by playing Suck A Lemon and Crab Eyes on iPads. While we’re sure an “official” video of Suck A Lemon will surface soon (as it did for the iPad Crab Eyes from moe.down), we couldn’t wait and tracked down a fan-shot clip by YouTuber RosieRoseyRosy…

moe. – Suck A Lemon (iPad Version)

The tour continued last night in Portland, Oregon, where old friend Allie Kral of Cornmeal came up to rock a total of three songs with moe. over the course of the evening. The violinist first came out at the end of the first set for Al Schnier’s country boogie Backwoods and Up On Cripple Creek by The Band. Kral returned a few hours later for the Waiting For The Punchline encore. Thanks to YouTuber IraSail we can already watch footage of Allie on Backwoods…

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moe. @ Hiro Ballroom, January 23

Words: Scott Bernstein
Images: Rob Chapman

Over 20 years after forming on the campus of the University of Buffalo, jam stalwarts moe. are still cutting their own path through the notoriously finicky music industry. The band that bucked industry trends by releasing a 45-minute single in 1996 as their debut single on a major label, threw their own festival before it became the norm and has kept the same lineup for 13 years, just put out their tenth studio album, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LALAs, and celebrated with a typically unorthodox album release party featuring two sets and acrobats at the intimate Hiro Ballroom in New York City on Monday.

[All photos by Rob Chapman]

For Monday’s “show,” moe. treated fans to two sets – a 45-minute acoustic performance and a much longer electric set. The acoustic set was the entertainment for VIPs who plunked down $100 that also entitled them to an open bar, event poster, meet and greet and sushi. Perhaps 150 of the band’s most devoted (and well-heeled) fans gathered around the quintet who opened with the LALAs track Smoke, which like many songs in moe.’s repertoire would fit nicely on ’70s rock radio.

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For the start of moe.’s second set on New Year’s Eve at the State Theatre in Portland, Maine, the jam stalwarts lit into a cover of Money by Pink Floyd for the first time in over eight years. Drummer Vinnie Amico’s ninth grader daughter Marley emerged to play the sax solo made famous by Dick Parry and did a fantastic job with it. Marley’s proud mother Debbie was in attendance and captured the whole song on video and uploaded it to YouTube for our viewing pleasure. Nice work, Marley!

moe. w/ Marley Amico – Money

Halloween and New Year’s Eve are traditionally the two biggest nights of the year in the jam world as each band within the scene gathers their devoted fans from across the country for a musical celebration. We’ve rounded up setlists from around the country in one handy post.

Widespread Panic

Set 1: Chilly Water > JAM > Imitation Leather Shoes > Mr Soul, Cotton Was King, Shut Up and Drive, Walkin’ (For Your Love), Saint Ex > Slippin’ Into Darkness*^> Bust It Big* > Chest Fever*# (76 mins)

Set 2: $> Henry Parsons Died, Quarter Tank of Gasoline, Coach^^, L.A.**, Degenerate#, C. Brown##, Blue Indian##, Ain’t Life Grand%## (41 mins)

Set 3: $$ Countdown by Steve Lopez >>>> Tall Boy*, Love and Happiness*^^, Tail Dragger*, Space Wrangler > Papa’s Home > Funk JAM > Drumz > Papa’s Home, Machine > Barstools and Dreamers, Pigeons, Up All Night*, On Your Way Down*, You Should Be Glad*# (98 mins)

Encore: Disco > Surprise Valley > Pilgrims > Surprise Valley > Climb To Safety (29 mins)

Notes: * Mega Blasters ~ Horns, ^Lopez on percussion , # John Keane on guitar
$ Acoustic Set, ^^ LTP 11.20.09, ** W/ Randall Bramblett, ## John Keane on pedal steel, % JB mandolin, ^^ LTP 10.13.07,

[via PanicStream]

Widespread Panic’s NYE Run was short and sweet – just one show at the Time Warner Arena in Charlotte. The band previewed their upcoming Wood Tour by offering an acoustic second set that included rarity Coach, a song from the Todd Nance side project Barbara Cue. The MegaBlasters horn section, who sat in with the band on their ’09 – ’10 NYE Run, were Widespread Panic’s guests last night for the end of the first set and all of a third set that started off with a countdown led by crew member Steve Lopez.

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