Review: moe. Records Live Album At The Fillmore

Words & Images by: Frank Imburgia

moe. :: 4.9.16 :: The Fillmore :: San Francisco, CA

moe.‘s West Coast Tour hit the venerable Fillmore in San Francisco Saturday night. The show was recorded for an upcoming live album, and the night was really a gift to the fan base: tickets for the show were offered for $1. And while that gesture was certainly appreciated, the real present of the evening was the music. Anyone familiar with the Warts & All series of live albums knows that some of the band’s most creative, no-limits jams can be found on those discs. Speculation about the setlist – four studio albums have been released in the nine years since the Warts & All: Volume 6 was released – began on social media almost the minute the show was announced.

Any knowledgeable fan of live music cannot help but be a bit overwhelmed walking into The Fillmore. A stroll through the building leaves you dizzy as your head swivels to take in hundreds of promotional posters from 50+ years. Echoes of the most seminal moments in rock history still reverberate within these walls, the stage boards have been walked upon by legends. A huge photo of the jam music’s founding father, one Jerome John Garcia, stands watch over the stairway. When the house lights fell and the crowd surged to life, I felt a chill.

The show opened with “Billy Goat” and jammed out into “Bearsong.” The time signatures of the two songs are quite different, but drummer Vinnie Amico gently guided the band through the twists and turns and moe. made the transition with the ease of guys who have been playing together for over 25 years. After Chuck Garvey belted out his “Annihilation Blues,” Al Schnier then picked up an acoustic and led the band into “Calyphornya,” another cut from their 2015 No Guts, No Glory album. Indeed, five of the night’s songs were from that release. “Brittle End” provided a dose of dark intensity with Chuck playing one of the best leads of the night. Set one closed with bassist Rob Derhak’s “Queen of Everything,” with Al taking over Chuck’s usual slide guitar duty and playing a spacey and psychedelic lead that was just right for the concert’s locale.

After opening the second set with “Puebla,” moe. got down to the serious jamming of the night. The eerie “Tubing The River Styx” gave way to the crashing, distortion filled opening of “The Pit.” Chuck’s hands were splayed wide and in reverse position as he just abused his Becker guitar, arms wheeling in full circles. Percussionist Jim Loughlin grabbed some attention playing a nice vibes section that hauled the band out of “The Pit” and back into “Tubing”. The segue into “George” was what one could call a moe. “signature” jam. The tempo quickened and Al played an abrupt and punctuated lead as moe. once again meshed two totally different timing schemes. When the album is released listeners will hear the transition, but you had to be in the audience to appreciate how it developed. As Rob led the band with his bass line, he was watching Al play his lead. There was a great “aha” moment when Rob picked up on Al’s idea. He broke out into a smile and gave him a thumbs up as if to say “nice, gotcha,” and altered his line to move in the right direction. It was one of those “moe.ments” – the reason we go to see live music, and it was fine.

The second set closed out with Rob’s now classic “Opium.” Before the song, Rob stood center stage, lit only from behind and seemed an almost demonic presence in his Walter White hat, a silhouette in swirling smoke and blue light. The ominous notes of the song’s opening seemed only to intensify the effect, and Chuck played a delicate, though somewhat creepy lead on his slide as the song wound down.

The audience was treated to a four song encore with the first song being a total surprise: Al, alone on stage, picking up his guitar and busting out Elvis Costello’s “Welcome To The Working Week.” The rest of the band wandered back on stage and moe. played the song that nearly everyone knew was going to make it onto a live album: “Silver Sun.” The song has evolved a bit since its 2008 debut, lately being played at a faster pace with a more driving, steady tempo. But the essence of the song remains the same with Al playing a bluesy interpretive lead in the first half and Chuck wailing out the second. A nod to San Francisco music history came with a cover of the Animal’s “House of the Rising Sun” – a song that seems tailor made for moe.’s style, and the evening ended up, of course, with “Wind It Up.”

moe.’s Live At The Fillmore will be released on vinyl sometime in the near future. Check JamBase for a behind-the-scenes look at the recording process and thoughts from the band around the release date.

Setlist

Set One: Billy Goat > Bearsong, Annihilation Blues, Calyphornya, Brittle End > Downward Facing Dog, Queen Of Everything

Set Two: Puebla > Tubing The River Styx > The Pit > Tubing The River Styx > George, White Lightning Turpentine, Skrunk > Lazarus, Opium

Encore: Welcome To The Working Week, Silver Sun, House Of The Rising Sun, Wind It Up