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Moonshine Still
Georgia Theatre | Athens, GA | 11.09.02
Athens' Georgia Theatre is simply a wonderful place to see live music. The old theater bears many of the nostalgic qualities that you expect from a rundown burlesque. Though it might not seem like it, I mention this with an affectionate tone. On first impression, the theater seems like a dive, with its balcony full of broken seats and the dimly lit interior. After the music kicks in, though, the space quickly proves its worth by delivering one of the best sound systems in Georgia.
SET I
On this night it was the setting for locally celebrated funk/groove outfit Moonshine Still along with opening DJ Trey Smith. The Macon-based funksters proceeded to fuse their polyrhythmic jams with Smith's deft scratches and expert cuts. Shortly after Smith left the stage, this fusion gave way to the synthed-out sound of Tripp Wright's keys as the beat picked up, signaling the start of Moonshine's popular jam, “The Puppeteer.” This particular version became a long one as the band extended its high-energy jam into a deep trance segment, and then back into the song's primary barrelhouse rhythm.
At this point, the funk-fueled groove melded into Scott Baston's soulful lyrics ("You can bury your politics under the sand...") - beginning one of my favorite Moonshine songs, "Cancer of the Answer." I like this song in particular because it is structured enough to lend form to the band's spacey jams. Additionally, it sounds really upbeat with David Shore's soaringly complex guitar riffs.
From here, the jam took on some reggae bounce as first Shore, then the rest of the band moved into a cover of Sublime's "Pawn Shop." Though I never associated Moonshine's style with Sublime's, it seemed fitting that these guys (who opened for the Wailers last year) could cover "Pawn Shop" in a deserving manner. Specifically, it was Tripp Wright who blew me away here as he mashed away at the ivories of his hammond to fuel the fires of this jam.
Wright's fingers continued to take over the jam and morph into "Same Train," a song that blends Baston's "Fiddler on the Roof"-inspired lyrics along with Pink Floyd-esque electronic soundscapes. Wright's squealing synth lines and Ray Petren's yiddish-style bass rhythms hit their crescendo as Baston pumped the crowd up, shouting "Hey!...Hey!."
The next two songs, "Mr. Munson" and "In My Haste," were lively ones. I found myself standing at the front of the stage, my head bobbing violently as I went into a dance trance that only released me when the first set ended.
INTERMISSION
The intermission itself was so eventful that it could hardly even be called an "intermission" in its purest sense. DJ Trey Smith, a longtime friend of Moonshine's, reclaimed the stage to keep the crowd dancing with his eclectic mix of breaks, scratches, and trance grooves. Shortly into Smith's set, Moonshine's drummer (a shirtless, hairy animal named Will Robinson) sat down at the drum set, preparing to wail mercilessly on the skins.
SET II
For obvious reasons, it was really hard to distinguish where it was that the intermission ended and where the second set began. One by one, Moonshine slowly retook the stage with Smith rocking his turntables the entire time. First, Bill Jarrett rejoined the jam to hammer out rhythms on the congas, and then Bason returned to the stage, momentarily taking Wright's place at the keys to tease the set's opening song, "Coffee and Kind Buds." At this point, Smith dropped off from his tables and Petren strolled out to pick up his bass. Shore was the last to come out onstage, and his return was hailed by the gospel-inspired funk of Wright's Hammond.
The next two songs, “Carolina” and “Shoofly,” both seemed to meld together. The jam moved seamlessly from “Carolina's” backwards country sound (with Baston's crooning lyrics) into the timeless funk of “Shoofly.” At this point, Shore put down his guitar to take up the Korg while Wright jammed away on the Hammond. After an extended period of improvisation, the jam suddenly settled into a repetitive vamp so that Baston could step up to the microphone and speak to the audience.
In particular, it is these moments that make Moonshine Still a truly unique live experience. The band often cuts into its jams somewhere in the second set so that they can horse around together, showing the audience that the guys onstage are having just as much fun as the fans on the floor. Baston, specifically, is a total riot at these moments with his rich voice, playful attitude, and his goofy antics. On one occasion a few months ago, Baston jumped down into the audience and danced erratically all over the theatre. At another show, Baston and Shore stopped their cover of Zappa's “Titties and Beer” to assume the personas of the devil and his pawn (characters from the song) and exchange lewd, but tasteful, jokes with one another.
This occasion was no exception. Baston dropped the rhythm on his semi-hollow body guitar in order to explain the meaning of Moonshine's scathingly satirical song, “MTV,” chanting "Ain't nothing on TV these days... ain't nothing, except a haze." Then, in a sing-song rhyme scheme, Baston said "When there's something on TV that's got control of your mother or your sister - try to turn them onto something better... take your TV into your bathroom and put it in your toilet bowl (whispers "'cause there's peanuts in it, there's peanuts in it") - round and round in your toilet bowl (there's peanuts in it, there's peanuts in it)." On this note, Shore returned to his guitar from Wright's Korg. He was the first to depart from the over-extended vamp, latching onto the song's primary riff in order to kick off the jam. Petren, Robinson and Jarret accelerated the rhythms accordingly towards the song's crescendo.
As Baston had explained, the song was clearly written as a burning critique of mainstream music. Structurally, it sounded almost like one of those "angst-rock" songs that are so popular in the "nu-metal" scene. Baston's crooning, whiny lyrics of "Whyyy… do...you..." gave way to Shore's savage metal guitar riffs, and Baston yelled "EAT YOUR SHIT! EAT YOUR SHIT! IT’S MTV! IT’S MTV!" Though the song seemed to alienate some of the more sensitive tree-huggers in the crowd, it is simply hilarious when taken into context.
After this little display, the band moved directly into one of its hypest jams, “Trash.” Baston set his guitar down on this jam and donned a fedora to sing "Who's gonna take it away? All this trash is here, and its here to stay," while Shore improvised some reggae/funk on the guitar. The resulting jam flowed into a short, almost "country-fied," version of “Be Nice to the Farmer.” I found myself dancing like crazy and wanting some more when the set ended with "Mr. Reed."
ENCORE
Though the crowd had thinned out considerably, it didn't take much to bring them back out on stage. The remaining crowd may have been somewhat small, but those loyal fans that had remained were vocal enough to get themselves an encore. Thin crowd or not, these guys just weren't ready to go home.
Having seen Moonshine's show with Perpetual Groove a week earlier, I must admit that I was not surprised when I realized what the encore would be. Petren began thumping out the low, menacing bassline of Dr. Octogon (aka Kool Keith's) “Earth People.” Though the lyrics make no sense, Moonshine's version of this jam always gets the crowd bouncing off the walls. To this end, Shore's hip-hop lyrics, along with Baston's backup vocals (chanting "controlled by Gamma light"), are simply classic in their comical delivery.
They proceeded to tie up the show from this point, fully confident that they had succeeded in delivering the funk to their fans. Even though Moonshine Still may only be a regional act now, it seems clear to me that it is just a matter of time before these guys get the recognition they deserve from larger audiences.
Set I
Jam w/ DJ Trey Smith ->
The Puppeteer ->
Cancer of the Answer ->
Pawn Shop
Same Train
Mr.Munson
In My Haste
Set II:
Jam w/ Trey Smith ->
Coffee and Kind Buds
Carolina
Shoofly (*with David on keys)->
MTV
Trash
Be Nice to the Farmer
Mr. Reed
Encore: Earth People
Edwin Childs
JamBase | Georgia
Go See Live Music!
Atlanta native Edwin Childs currently works as a music writer for UGA's The Red And Black in Athens, Georgia.
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