The Duo - 08/30/08 - Main Stage

Joe Russo must have been paid overtime for moe.down last year. Although he didn’t reach Warren Haynes sit-in status, he was still able to find his way onstage a few times over the weekend. A day after his performance with American Babies, Russo was back at it with his own band. This time, sitting across from his band mate Marco Benevento, the Duo welcomed everyone back to the main stage Saturday afternoon.


The Duo has developed their own sound over the course of their career that started in 2002. Perhaps this uniqueness is attributed to the fact they grew up together. It's a distinguishable looseness that makes them interesting. They have become known as an act that can bring the heat with whoever they share the stage with, but sometimes it's nice to just get some straight up Duo.


Benevento and Russo mixed things up with some shorter numbers like Sunnys, Blood Not Sap and Echo Park while delving into so more eccentric stuff. They can develop a simple beat and manipulate it with just drums and keys into a sonic landscape of sounds crashing into one another. This is most apparent in some of my favorites like Play Pause Stop, Goat! and Scratchitti.

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American Babies - 08/29/08 - Main Stage

Brothers Past is a band from West Chester, PA that has a loyal following. Depending on where you’re from there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of them… or you hear too much about them. The band typically falls into the jamband category, but they also incorporate a lot of electronic almost industrial sounds in their songs. The band went through a transition period when their original drummer Rick Lowenberg left the band to pursue other interests in late June 2006.

It was about this same time guitarist Tom Hamilton branched out musically. While remaining with Brothers Past, Tom surrounded himself with some pretty extraordinary musicians including friends Joe Russo and Scott Metzger. The band formed and American Babies released a self titled album in 2007 that showcased Tom’s songwriting ability.





American Babies opened the main stage for the weekend and performed many songs from the debut album. The first time I heard songs from it I was thrown for a loop. I’ve known these guys playing in jambands. Instead of half hour, nonstop segments of music they offered radio friendly tunes. This didn’t sound anything like BP, the Duo or Electron. I don’t know if you’d categorize this as indie rock or alt country. It was a step out of the norm, which as artists they probably enjoy. If anything it shows their diversity, especially noticeable with Tom’s writing style.



You can find American Babies getting more air on XPN, and deservedly so. They ofter perform around Philadelphia and New York area venues like the World Café Live. They're no strangers to touring and festivals across the country. Don’t worry Brothers Past is still around too. Some of my favorite tunes worth checking out would be Blue Skies, Swimming At Night, Rocker, Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You and Broken English.

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moe. - 08/29/08 - Main Stage

There is one performance every calendar year for moe. that has the potential to be an absolute smoker: Friday night of the .down. The band gets started much later than any other day of the weekend, they play one two hour set and everyone is juiced by the time it starts. You can feel the excitement every year. More times than not, moe. delivers the goods. Godzilla to open 2006, Wank>Reboob>Cornflake>Rec Chem to open 2005, meat. with Jon Fishman in 2002 and then again with Mike Gordon in 2004 are just a few standout moe.ments. I won’t even get into what went down in 2001, but if you’ve never listened to it what are you doing here?!?! Find it on the archive.org and take it for a spin or better yet get Dr. Stan’s Prescription Volume 2, an officially released master version of the show.



With expectations always high and the adrenaline pumping, moe. took the stage and wasted no time getting down to business. Jumping right into Spaz Medicine was an appropriate selection to start the night before they moved into Blue Jeans Pizza. The BJP was good but it would be hard to top the one performed with Page McConnell on Friday night in 2006.

Following this rob. lethargically comments, “Here we are again…we haven’t played this next song for a couple years.” And just like that they bust out Funky Reuben. A couple years may have been a little bit of an understatement because the last known performance was February 15th, 1992. I mean…it’s only been sixteen years and an estimated 1,552 shows since anyone’s heard a Reuben. Pretty, pretty…pretty good start.



Letter Home followed and is still one of those songs I love to hear at moe.down. “Dog days of summer further on down the road. All the kids keep dancing long after the show…My home, my heart, my best friends.” It really exemplifies the state of mind in Turin on Labor Day. moe. extended the segue nicely into Okayalright with Chuck and al. exchanging leads. I’ll agree they aren’t two heavy hitting songs, but overall they were well played and fit perfectly into this set.

moe.down got it’s first taste of Darkness next, a song off Sticks and Stones released in early 2008. The segue was spot on, while the band awaited the arrival of Bela Fleck. It was almost a given Bela would be the first guest of the weekend welcomed to the stage. He kept the improv going and practically led the band into Shoot First. I’ve never been a huge fan of the song, but this version is stellar. Between Chuck’s slide guitar work and Bela filling the space on banjo it was incredible and probably the longest version I’ve ever heard, in the best possible way.


Playfully teasing Bathtub Gin as Bela left the stage, the segues continued into The Road. “Time, time keeps rollin’ on, I think I got one comin’ on, and I’ve got to get away from here, I gotta get back to the Road.” It’s always been a favorite of mine. One reason is because it lends itself to some great jamming. This jam lead us right into Rebubula. Looking at the stats, it’s confirmed to be the first Road>Rebubula. Pretty amazing considering Reboob is one of most played moe. songs.


The end was near, but not before a 22 minute Boob. Blah, blah, blah…al.nouncements...wait…what? Tonight Jon Merin turns 250! That’s right Jon saw his 250th show tonight. Shame on you if you don’t know The Merin is by now. His FOB recording probably smokes mine. Keep handling that tape machine :-) It’s much more important than Vinnie and his life partner Glenn winning the golf tournament, hehe. GIVE US SOME MOE.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We were finger lickin’ the scary chicken as Sensory Deprivation Bank ended the show and sent us to reel into the night. I will say leaving the show I wasn’t blown away, but listening back, it has all the makings of a great set. It has to grow on you. It’s not 08/31/01 but this set deserves some respect.

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POTUSA - 08/31/08 - Main Stage

"THESE ARE THE GOOD TIMES PEOPLE!" or "These are THE GOOD TIMES PEOPLE!" or "THESE ARE the good times people!"

It’d be hard to find a person in their mid to late twenties who hasn’t heard of the Presidents of the United States Of America (POTUSA). Their catchy songs were all over the airwaves in the early nineties. Ah the nineties…The same generation that brought us the peak of grunge and gangster rap. Wedged in between lyrics like, “Come dowsed in mud, soaked in bleach as I want you to be…as a trend, as a friend, as an old memoria.” and “Ain't nuttin but a G thang, baaaaabay! Two loc'ed out niggaz so we're craaaaazay! Death Row is the label that paaaaays me,” POTUSA were finding their own success with “Movin’ to the country…I’m gonna eat a lot of peaches.” They weren’t exactly tackling the same dark issues of the other genres.

Still, POTUSA found their niche and remain just as recognizable as Nirvana or Dr. Dre. They’ve been through a couple breakups but have reappeared of late. In 2004 the band formed their own label called PUSA Inc. and released one album titled Love Everybody. Around the same time the band was granted the rights to their acclaimed first album and re-released a ten year anniversary edition. Their newest album just came out last year.



moe.down has always played host to these “blast from the past” bands, which I’m sure al. is behind. I was expecting some nostalgia, but other than that I didn’t know what to expect. Could they still kick out the jams? It didn’t take long for them to start rockin’ with an awesome Kitty>Superstition> Kitty. Just like they did in the early nineties, the band blew through songs in their catalogue everyone was expecting to hear. Chris Ballew really impressed me as a front man. His voice sounded great, had a great sense of humor and really played to the crowd. To say their set was enjoyable would be an understatement.



And guess what? The newer material they played was just as poppy and listenable as Lump, Peaches, and Dune Buggy. If you liked POTUSA back in the day definitely check them out. You’ll immediately remember why you liked them. Although not as extensive as other bands, they do still make it out on road and are well worth it. Check out Mixed Up S.O.B., Ghosts Are Everywhere, or Rot In The Sun and see for yourself.

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Yonder Mountain String Band - 08/30/08 - Main Stage

For me, Yonder Mountain String Band was one of those bands I never got a chance to see for one reason or the other. I’ve had a great interested in them, but there was always something else going on which prevented me from getting to the show. Such is life… One month shy of their tenth year together I finally got the opportunity. That’s the beauty of moe.down. You get to a chance to see those bands you’ve been meaning to catch when they come thru your town.



It was the end of a beautify Saturday of moe.down. The sun was setting and air was beginning to cool; a perfect forecast for the Adirondacks in late August. The band treated us to a rocking set of tunes both old and new. I can honestly say this is one of my best recordings of the weekend. The FOH mix was just perfect. Plus the combination of cardiod microphones with bluegrass music is always a winning combo.



The set started off with Casualty and the Rolling Stones’ No Expectations, a cover they’ve played countless times before. Other standouts for me were If Loving You Is Killing Me…, Troubled Mind and Idaho. By the end of the set YMSB hit their stride and delivered a blistering Snow On The Pines. This one was dedicated to Chad Alexander, a soldier they met in the airport on his way to Iraq. The song, which was included on the first version on Mountain Tracks, has to be my highlight. The heartfelt singing accompanied by some fast pickin’ was executed perfectly. The recording is worth checking out for this song alone.




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U-Melt - 08/29/08 - Beer Tent

We are only one month away from the 10th annual moe.down. The music festival (hosted by moe. of course) will be held Labor Day weekend at Snow Ridge Ski Resort in Turin, NY. Snow Ridge has graciously opened their gates for every moe.down since its inception a decade ago. From humble beginnings, moe.down has continuously grown in size over the years. Every moe.ron knows if you can only make one show a year, the .down is the place you want to be. The tenth go-around is bound to be the best yet.

August can feel like an eternity for those waiting to make the pilgrimage to Turin. By the last week we are stir-crazy with anticipation. To help with the excruciating wait I decided to provide a complete review of last year's festivities leading up to Labor Day weekend. Luckily I have the audio recordings to accompany each review.

Last year I decided to attempt an impossible mission: Record every note played at moe.down. The motivation behind it was simple. Each year after moe.down there's always a couple performances that go untaped. I wanted audio documentation of everything. It would be a daunting task that required two recording rigs (one for each stage) and a lot of running up and down the mountain between sets. I set out with enough batteries and SD cards to last the whole weekend. With the exception of a late night moose sighting, it was a success.

We begin the retrospect with the three set performance by U-Melt on Friday at the beer tent. Its a very desirable slot to be granted because the band receives the most time on stage and are the last band to play before moe. hits the stage Friday night. If you're lucky enough to get it you have to bring your A game. U-Melt did just that.





The band took the stage while people were still gathering, but by the time they finished a captive audience had assembled. U-Melt wasted no time and got into some heavy jamming in their first set highlighted by Marvin the Pussy and everything that followed. The guys bobbed and weaved their way through A Portrait of Kismet. They briefly slowed down the tempo with Disclaimer/Disillusion only to build it back up with Schizophrenia. The bar was definitely set high for the next two sets.

The beginning of the second set showcased U-Melts versatility as they combined soaring guitar solos with blistering drum fills and funky riffs on keys. They maneuvered through Panacea > A Robbins Tale 1 and 2 > Escape > Pura Vida creating some unique jams as they went. They capped off the set with an ode to Michael Jackson for his 50th birthday (sadly his last R.I.P.). The medley had everyone getting down. The night was young, the freaks were out and moe.down had begun. U-Melt had people dancing atop picnic tables by the end of the second set. Thriller was an appropriate choice to end the second set, complete with Vincent Price's voice-over.

U-Melt wasn't finished with the segues and seamlessly combined Green Amber > Elysian Fields > Clear Light for their third set. This band really impressed me and continues to tour relentlessly. Their dedication has earned them some great gigs that gain them more exposure. This show marked their fifth year as a band. I think a couple years down the road this will be viewed as one of U-Melt's more memorable performances.

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moe. - 07/23/09 - Grand Opera House

"Hi, I'm in Delaware."

You would never know tucked in the heart of Wilmington there is a little gem of a live music venue. The Grand Opera House has more charm and character than most of the multimillion dollar blockbuster places built today. The Grand, built in 1871, has withstood the test of time. It has gone from hosting vaudeville acts at the turn of the century to welcoming moe. a hundred years later. Because of restoration projects from 1971 to 1973 the theater maintains the same mystique of when it first opened. I setup the mics right on the isle six rows from the stage. Having been here for Umphrey's McGee once before I knew this would be the sweet spot for taping. Turns out I was right because this is arguably my best recording of 2009. This is also due to the very respectful crowd around us.



The night began fairly standard with Tailspin, Shoot First and Bring It Back Home. Then, completely out of left field we are treated to Awesome Gary. "Ex-squeeze me? Baking Powder?" moe. blasted through only the second Gary they've played in ten years. It was, well...AWESOME!

Opium followed and segued into Spaz Medicine, which would be a taste of things to come in the second set. It was a nice patient jam complete with a Brent Black tease. Patience was the theme of the night from this point. The band seemed to play with a focus on not rushing things and letting the segues develop almost by themselves. A bouncy uplifting segue lead us into Buster to close the set. This Buster built gradually with some interesting themes about half way through.

It also gave Jason Huffer, moe.'s newly appointed lighting director, a song to light up this great canvas of a theater. His timing was slightly off, but he's only been on the job since Summercamp and will get better with time. He's a little more in your face than Hans and, in my opinion, a keeper.



The second set opened with the one-two punch of Seat Of My Pants and Dr. Graffenberg. I've been craving Dr. G for a long time and this one didn't disappoint. It wasn't the longest, but it built patiently until the climatic ending. These two songs were a great choice to start the second set because it got the tempo moving a little faster than the first.

The Water > Bearsong was another great one-two punch. You could tell the band was ready to jump right into Bearsong, but al. needed a minute to tune. His absence was unnoticeable as the other four found themselves into a nice Inna Gadda Da Vida jam. al. joined the impromptu jam and kept it going another minute before launching into Bearsong. Oddly enough the band also jammed on Inna Gadda Da Vida five years ago to the day at the Borgata (another GREAT show!).

The set ended with a thirty minute Jazz Wank > Skrunk > McBain. Similar to the Opium > Spaz during the first set, the segue from Skrunk to McBain developed nicely without urgency. Plane Crash was on the setlist to close the show, but I think the boys decided to dig into this segue and omit PC. Instead of rushing through McBain to get to PC they took their time letting the song develop. This gave them time to extend the ending more than usual.

Due to time constraints moe. only had time for a one song encore. Karma Police was a fine cover to end the night, I just wish they had another fifteen minutes! It was good to see the usual suspects: Elayne, Chase, Greg, Jared, Lizzie, Colin, Dave, Tommy, Mitch, Joe, Pat, Julie, Josh and everyone else.

That's all for now, until the biggest party of the year, moe.down 10: Something big. Something mega. Something copious. Something capacious. Something cajunga!

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