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Saturday, September 2nd, 2006
The Avett Brothers :: moe.down 7 |
After a chilly evening, campers awoke aware of the impending storm and began to scarf up blankets, tarps, ponchos, and any rain gear available. And the rain did indeed come, lightly at first, just as another North Carolina act, The Avett Brothers, began their set on the main stage.
Dressed to impress, Seth and Scott Avett and Bob Crawford each wore suits. Far more impressive, however, was the band's blend of Americana, folk, bluegrass, and rock. A crowd of around 200 braved the cold, light rain, and the trio seemed very pleasantly surprised at the turnout. All three members were in high spirits and full of energy, with front man Scott Avett singing in a southern twang, plucking away on a banjo, all the while holding a beat on a kick drum with one foot and tapping his boot heal on the stage with the other. Seth Avett strummed an acoustic guitar and tapped on a hi-hat cymbal, while Crawford held the bottom-end on stand-up bass. By the end of their set, it was clear The Avett Brothers had won over many new fans at moe.down.
Yolk :: moe.down 7 |
New York bands ruled the beer tent on Saturday. Spaghetti Cake was a kids "jamband," while Whiskey Mae was a New York-based southern rock band. But the highlight under the tent Saturday was clearly the reunion of Yolk, from nearby Binghamton. It had been over three years since Yolk had performed and over five since moe. drummer Jim Loughlin had performed with Yolk.
The band performed a 13-song set heavy on funky bass lines and politically charged lyrics. Vocalist Jimmy John McCabe bounced and bobbed from one side of the stage to the other with boundless enthusiasm, while Loughlin aggressively pounded the skins. Despite the fact the band had not performed in years, the tent was packed with fans that knew every word of every song, and the band members were wearing smiles from ear to ear.
New York City quartet U-Melt then held down the tent for three sets between the main stage's two headliners. U-Melt's set differed from Yolks' in that, while not as hard-hitting, it wasn't exactly mellow either. Much heavier no synthesizers, U-Melt was also far more improvisational. And while most every song from Yolk was lyrical, many of U-Melt's songs were instrumental. All three sets were very well attended, and the crowd certainly enjoyed U-Melt.
Brendan Bayliss - Umphrey's McGee :: moe.down 7 |
Saturday night was indeed special, despite the rain. Umphrey's McGee returned to moe.down for a set just prior to the headliners'. While UM has not been together for as long as moe., they've established almost as much of a following, based mostly on live performances. The band greeted the growing crowd with a bottom-heavy instrumental as the rain began to come down harder. Ryan Stasik's bass lines thumped and bumped as he swayed and swung the bass to the left and right.
Where UM differs from moe. is in its song structure. While equally progressive in its musicianship, UM's songs are crisp, with clear breaks and fewer free-form jams. Further, as evidenced on "Words," vocalists/guitarists Brendan Bayliss and Jake Cinninger's voices meshed melodically, and on "Bridgeless," the three-part harmonies, including keyboardist Joel Cummins, rhythmically rose above the din of rain. Mohawked drummer extraordinaire Stephen Perkins (Banyan – also on the line-up Saturday) arrived for a percussion/drum jam between he and UM drummer Kris Myers. And then things got real fun!
Derhak & Cinnninger :: moe.down 7 |
Al Schnier entered stage-left and introduced Umphrey's, as if they needed any introduction. With the rain pouring down, the split-squad had arrived. Schnier replaced Bayliss on guitar, Derhak replaced Stasik, and Vinnie Amico took over for Myers. The Zeppelin classic "Fool In The Rain" drew an ecstatic ovation. This is the type of spontaneity moe. and Umphrey's fans have come to expect. The crowd danced and cheered as Bayliss melodically sang, and Cinninger and Schnier lit up the stage with playful, dual guitars in unison.
moe. then headlined Saturday night with two sets. A spacey intro gave way to an even looser "Head." Midway through, moe. was off again with seamless improvisation. "Head" segued into "George," with melodic vocals from Schnier. Cinninger joined the band for "Faker," which found its way into a drum jam on which Loughlin was joined by Perkins. As if on cue, as the rain again came down hard, drums segued - without missing a beat - into "Water," and the crowd went nuts as that transitioned into "Rebubula" featuring the twin guitars of Bayliss and Garvey. The tight musicianship and camaraderie between moe. and UM is something that is unparalleled.
Cinnninger, Derhar, Schnier :: moe.down 7 |
"Crab Eyes" began the final set of the night, and Al seemed to be in particular high spirits, his head bobbing from the left to the right, smiles all around. Yolk sax man Andrew Bellavia and Banyan trumpet player Willie Waldman arrived for what was an abstract "Don't Fuck With Flo." Here, the space seemed to hinder the band, as no one seemed in sync with the horn players. The "Karma Police" encore was given a make-over moe.-style with gruff vocals delivered by Schnier, which segued back to where it all began, closing out the night with the end of "Head."
Split Squad :: moe.down 7 |
Continue reading for Day III...
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