Moe. Return to NYC to Play the Beacon Theatre on Saturday Night
It’s amazing to think, and maybe easy to forget, that moe. were once an upstart jam band at the dawn of a newly evolving scene that had already bred Phish, Widespread Panic, Blues Traveler and others and was soon to create seminal, unifying scenes at long-gone venues like New York City’s fabled Wetlands Preserve. Now, some three decades later, moe. are part of a still-thriving, veteran vanguard—a connoisseur’s jam-rock crew that still attacks songs with the same ferocious energy and still insists on propulsive, forward-chugging jams that don’t have much time for ambient noise or shapeless noodling. A moe. show moves.
“We’re not going to do something for 17 minutes because it’s wholly self-serving if the audience is disinterested and it’s not the right thing for us to be doing at that time,” guitarist Al Schnier said in November. “However, the only way to know is to be sort of in the moment and be present and to be a part of that, but everybody has to be a part of it. Otherwise, we’d be better off just in our garage doing this and playing this music for ourselves.”
Moe. feel fun but as the intrepid Mr. Schnier notes, the band also feels like family, especially here. On Saturday they’re back at the Beacon Theatre—a room they first headlined in the heady days of 2002—and there you’re likely to meet a few folks who remember moe. from the Wetlands or Tramps, or Nightingale’s, and maybe a few who’ve seen them play semisecret shows under aliases like Monkeys on Ecstasy—and maybe a few who have a few moe.downs or throe.downs or snoe.downs under their belt. And maybe a few who’ve seen shows with guests or themes, and maybe even a few who were there a year ago when bassist Rob Derhak played his first shows since being sidelined by cancer treatment—an emotional return that’s prompted a run of exciting new moe. originals and, as of 2019, among the healthiest and most interesting shows the band’s played this decade.
“It’s very much a family atmosphere and people have a stake in what we do,” says Schnier. “It’s part of the culture of our band and our group of fans and everything. People come for the long haul, and it’s really awesome.” —Chad Berndtson | @Cberndtson
