Virtual Crate Digging In The nugs.net App – Volume 6: It JUST Happened Edition

Welcome to the sixth edition of Virtual Crate Digging in the nugs.net app, where JamBase’s editorial staff goes digging through the archives of the 10,000+ shows available for streaming via the newly launched mobile application.

Late last year, nugs.net launched their first subscription streaming service. For $12.99 per month or $129.99 per year, subscribers can gain unlimited access to the nugs.net app’s catalog of live sets (and studio albums) from artists such as Widespread Panic, Umphrey’s McGee, Pearl Jam, The Black Crowes, the Disco Biscuits, moe. and Gov’t Mule. Non-subscribers may access a rotating selection of “Featured Shows” and nugs.net radio completely free. The app is available for both iOS and Android devices.

Previous versions of this recurring feature have focused on digging through the archives to find gems of one kind or another, but this week we are going in the opposite direction and are focusing on the freshest shows available for streaming in the nugs.net app. So the one requirement? That the shows happened within the last eight days. Enjoy.

moe.– March 17 – Stage 48 – New York, New York

As we wrote last week,

Upstate New York jam-rockers moe. kicked off a three-night stand in New York City on Thursday night with a performance the intimate Stage 48 ahead of shows at PlayStation Theater tonight and tomorrow. Last night’s concert featured expansive jams, a few rarities and the bust out of a Neil Young cover after nearly 14 years.

moe. opened the evening with a “McBain” > “Down Boy” segment followed by “It” > “Smoke.” A pair of fan favorites came next as “Rise” led into “Happy Hour Hero.” From there, the band started a “Downward Facing Dog” and left it unfinished as they transitioned into “Deep This Time.” The second set featured plenty of jamming as both “Tubing The River Styx” and “The Pit” would be played and then reprised later in the closing stanza. Set two also contained the end of “Downward Facing Dog,” the geographically appropriate “New York City” and rarities “Farmer Ben” and “Interstellar Overdrive.”

The evening’s biggest surprise came within the encore. Guitarist Al Schnier led his mates through a cover of Neil Young’s “Down By The River” to start an encore that ended with “Wind It Up.” moe. had last played “Down By The River” way back on July 3, 2002. Last night’s “Down By The River” was just the 16th in the band’s history.

Phil Lesh & Friends – March 18 – The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, New York

As we wrote last week,

Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh reunited the lineup of his long-running “The Q” version of Phil Lesh & Friends on Thursday night for the first of two shows at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York. “The Q” first toured in Fall of 2000 and was Lesh’s main project until The Dead started touring again in 2003. Lesh’s quintet finds him joined by guitarists Warren Haynes and Jimmy Herring, keyboardist Rob Barraco and drummer John Molo.

Ever since the band was formed, Lesh liked to open each show with a bit of a jam ahead of starting the first actual song. That trend continued on Thursday as a stretch of improv led into a cover of Traffic’s “Dear Mr. Fantasy.” Barraco then fronted the group on “China Cat Sunflower” ahead of the band’s take on “Let It Ride” by Ryan Adams. Rob stepped back into the spotlight for a blazing “Passenger” which was followed by “Cosmic Charlie,” “Cassidy” and a set-closing “Spots Of Time,” a song Warren wrote with Phil.

Grateful Dead rarity “Mason’s Children” kicked off the second set and gave way to improv based on The Allman Brothers Band’s “Mountain Jam.” A mountainous sequence continued with Lesh singing “Mountains Of The Moon” before “The Q” dusted off the original “Night Of 1,000 Stars” from their lone studio album. The conclusion of “Mountains Of The Moon” followed. It was then back to late ’60s Grateful Dead for “The Other One” > “Cryptical Envelopment” as well as “St. Stephen.” The band ended the set with a cover of Wilson Pickett’s “In The Midnight Hour.” Most songs following “Mountain Jam” featured at least one tease of the song’s main theme. Phil Lesh & Friends said farewell with a “Days Between” encore sung by Warren.

Umphrey’s McGee – March 18 – Belly Up Aspen – Aspen, Colorado

As we wrote last week,

Chicago sextet Umphrey’s McGee continued a sold-out, three-night stand at Belly Up Aspen in Aspen, Colorado on Friday night. The band dug deep into their repertoire to treat the capacity crowd to a pair of covers they haven’t played in years as part of Night Two in Aspen.

Umphrey’s followed the instrumental “Goonville” opener with just the 10th-ever rendition of “Gents.” Old school favorites “2X2” and “Example 1” came next before Safety In Numbers’ “Intentions Clear” gave way to “Smell The Mitten.” It was within “Smell The Mitten” that the evening’s biggest surprise took place as UM worked in the Beastie Boys instrumental “Groove Holmes.” The Check Your Head classic was last played by Umphrey’s way back on January 20, 2013 – a span of 324 shows. “Syncopated Strangers” and “Push The Pig” then closed out the first set.

The second set started with an expansive “Der Bluten Kat” featuring “Mad Love” in the middle. “Der Bluten Kat’s” first jam contained a “Jimmy Stewart” with lyrics while the second jam came with a “Sweet Child O’ Mine” tease. “Attachments” followed ahead of a “Night Nurse” that UM segued into a cover of Smashing Pumpkins’ “Cherub Rock.” The Siamese Dream classic had been on the shelf for 208 shows as it was last performed by the band on February 22, 2014 in Chicago with Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The group ended the second set with fan favorites “The Fuzz” and “The Triple Wide.” For the encore, the sextet mixed dark and light motifs by inserting the major key “Glory” within the minor key “Plunger” jam.