So my original gameplan this weekend was to visit some good friends in Chicago (sorry guys), but my mind took a little detour in Ann Arbor on the way and I ended up staying in Ann Arbor with my fellow alum. Now, Phish was the ultimate jamband, at least of my era. I know that moe. has always been there, and was really bass heavy, and had the potential to get repetetive which it did some. I am a bit of a Phish snob, and coming from someone with inate musical abilities, I am very open to other music, it just takes a kick in the ass sometimes. I will never follow a band ever again like Phish (until the BUMP Worldwide tour 2007), but I have been too burned out and reluctant to discover newer music to fill it's void. Having seen Widespread Panic, String Cheese, Umphrey's, Particle, Brother's Past, and a host of other small jambands, I have to say that moe. was quite an impressive experience.
Well, actually, I did see moe. at Bonnaroo in 2003, but at an unappreciative distance.
So we get to Ann Arbor, I grab a few Arcadia beers, we chill at a place around the Michigan theatre, then make our way down to the 5th row at the show. I remember both set openers and closers rocking hard, and the encore as well, and I only counted about one time that they went into one of those Umphrey's-like tangents. The bass was heavy, but I was very impressed by the grooves that moe. could create. I think that is what made Phish a great band; they were able to create such anticipations and moods in the music that it made the show an emotional experience. Yes, I know this sounds ridiculously flowery and cheesy, but good bands create that kind of emotion. I am not saying that other jambands can't do this either, I just seem to admire those that do so more. That is what moe. did and what String Cheese and Widespread Panic failed to do. Maybe I just saw bad nights, or maybe I just saw a really good night of moe.
By the way, I bought Widespread tickets this morning for a show in Detoit. They are getting a second listen for a close friend.
So, like I was saying, moe. created grooves, anticipation in their music, no bordem the whole time. moe. is a band worth seeing for sure. I will never follow a band like this or get really deep into collecting their music, but moe. is worth seeing if they're coming to your town to help you party down. Here's the setlist.
| 2/18/05 Michigan Theater - Ann Arbor, MI | |
1: | Bullet, Brent Black, Opium, Seat of My Pants, Lost Along the Way |
2: | Head > 32 Things, Disembodied Head, McBain > Down Boy, Hi and Lo > Timmy Tucker |
E: | Godzilla |
2 comments:
I hope you don't discount Umphrey's McGee's tangents as unheady. They have improved leaps and bounds over the past two years with the addition of their new drummer. I personally used to think that they were too-tangenty, but they've gotten over that somewhat.
moe. is good, but when I saw them they did a horrible job of creating emotion. By the way, check out the live music blog.
umphreys sux, if your head wasn't in your ass, perhaps you could hear more proficently. at least come out for fresh air once and a while. ass pirates love umphreys , real men like moe.
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