Review: moe. Asbury Park / Bethlehem

moe. @ Musikfest Cafe – July 17

moe. has played to a sold out Radio City Music Hall, they have played to a packed Norwegian Jewel cruise ship, and this past Sunday they managed to be the first band to sell out the Musikfest Café at the Artsquest Center at the SteelStacks in Bethlehem, PA. This venue was unlike any other as it featured a backdrop of towering blast furnaces from a real steel plant that were illuminated once the sun goes down. Before the sun was down moe. busted out of the gates with a high-energy Runaway Overlude opener. Cathedral was next and found the band gathering momentum in a major way with Schnier now on his electric mandolin, while also adding some layers on his Wurlitzer as well. The New York based “ragers of improvisational rock” showed yet again why they are so deserving of the moniker with a marvelous dark segue into 32 Things, where Schnier then switched back to his guitar. Another highlight of the first set was a Letter Home played reggae style, just as the band used to back in 1997.

An unexpected Spine Of A Dog second set opener was met with great fervor by the sold out crowd as moe. played a splendid extended version. Another tight segue from the band came next as they wound their way into the rare instrumental Jazz Wank, which then out of nowhere crept into The Ghost Of Ralph’s Mom.  The group’s newest jam vehicle, Puebla, was up next and this version was nothing short of first class. It seems that every time moe. plays Puebla they try a new transition and on this night the two guitarists picked up slides as the jam went into The Queen Of Everything. This Sunday night show in Bethlehem, PA was taken to the next level with another patient, exceptional segue into the even rarer instrumental CalifornIA. Closing off the second set was more mallet-kat racing by Loughlin through Derhak’s Time Ed.

After the normal pre-encore “al.nouncements”, the Bethlehem, PA crowd, which was filled with hardcore moe.rons, started a chant unlike anything that is normally seen at most shows. Small groups of people chanting for encores is nothing new for any band, much less moe. Often times such chants will get laughed at, if they are even acknowledged at all. This past Sunday night, the sold out crowd stood as one very loud voice and let the band know over and over again what they wanted. Probably because they weren’t given much of a choice and they like to please their fans, moe. delivered the meat. the audience wanted.  The crowd was finally silenced when Derhak’s bass slapping brought out a 20+ minute rocking meat. encore that kept the room grooving and full until the last note was dropped.

moe. ~ 7/17/11 ~ Musikfest Cafe ~ Bethlehem, PA

{8:15 PM > 9:15 PM EST}

I: Runaway Overlude^, Cathedral^@ >@ 32 Things, Letter Home* >(nh) Happy Hour Hero, Crab Eyes

{9:50 PM > 11:15 PM EST}

II: Spine Of A Dog > Jazz Wank > The Ghost Of Ralph’s Mom, Puebla > Queen Of Everything > CalifornIA > Time Ed

Enc: meat.

{^ al on Wurlitzer
@ al on electric mandolin
* ’97 / reggae version}

When asked about the impending new album the fanbase has been looking for the past year or so since the band has added a number of songs to their catalog, guitarist Al Schnier said, “We are planning on heading into the studio for the month of August. We’ve got over 25 songs to sift thru (and no, we’re not making a double, triple, or super sized album).  We will be working with a producer for the first time in a long time and with any luck we’ll make one of those albums that stand the test of time. The plan is to release [the album] next year and tour, tour, tour.”

With the lineup for moe.down XII now complete, Schnier shares the excitement of the fans in looking forward to the festival, “What can I say?  We’re very psyched about the lineup, with a lot of great bands on deck this year.  It’s really shaping up to be a stellar year in Mohawk. We love the new site and look forward to another get together with all our friends and family.”

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One Response

  1. great review Kahlil. Love the way you are able to describe the show’s details. I almost feel as if I was there…almost…

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