Hear moe. Debut Stone Temple Pilots Cover At West Coast Tour Opener In San Diego

moe. kicked off their first West Coast tour in four years last night with a show at Observatory North Park in San Diego. The Upstate New York-based jam sextet honored San Diego rockers Stone Temple Pilots by premiering a cover of “Interstate Love Song” as the evening’s encore.

The last time moe. toured the Pacific was in winter 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting pause in live music led the band to cut the trek short. While the six-piece hadn’t hit the road on the left coast since, they did return to California for a pair of Napa shows in 2022 and a headlining slot at High Sierra last summer. The current excursion runs through January 27.

moe. — guitarists Chuck Garvey and Al Schnier, keyboardist Nate Wilson, bassist Rob Derhak, drummer Vinnie Amico and percussionist Jim Loughlin — jammed Thursday’s “St. Augustine” opener into fellow classic “32 Things.” The group pulled off a slick transition to link the songs. Schnier led his bandmates through a substantial “Mexico” to close the first set last night following a run that included fairly recent Al-penned tunes “Dangerous Game” and “Tomorrow Is Another Day” as well as Nate Wilson’s “In Stride” and the What Happened To The La Las chesnut “Haze.”

Rob Derhak helmed “Opium” to get the second set underway in San Diego. Spanning nearly 20 minutes, the opener featured emphatic solos from Wilson on organ and Garvey on slide. Al Schnier took the frontman baton next for “Big World” off the band’s 1998 LP, Tin Cans & Car Tires. “Big World” faded into instrumental “Ricky Marten” before moe. devoted the rest of the five-song frame to a 30-minute “Plane Crash”/”Recreational Chemistry” sequence.

moe. returned to cap the evening with their first “Interstate Love Song” performance. Rob Derhak handled lead vocals on the song from STP’s sophomore studio album, Purple. The sextet moved quickly through the 1994 smash due to curfew issues.

Stream an audience recording of last night’s moe. show taped by Jesse D. Scott below:

Setlist (via Phantasy Tour)

Set One: St. Augustine > 32 Things, Dangerous Game, In Stride, Haze > Tomorrow Is Another Day, Mexico

Set Two: Opium, Big World > Ricky Marten > Plane Crash > Recreational Chemistry

Encore: Interstate Love Song [1]

[1] – First Time Played (Stone Temple Pilots)