Got to hand it to the Infinity Hall folks for bringing in jam titans moe. Billed as “30 years of moe.”, you’ll have to forgive the whiff of nostalgia that comes with this post. It was some 27 or 28 years ago that I happened upon a music festival in Memphis, called Memphis in May. My eyes widened, a blues tent, gospel offerings, as a musical omnivore I was hooked. The main stage showcased the birth of the jam scene, the highlight was the infant moe. Stellar musicianship, smartass lyrics, and a wealth of fellow purveyors was the bugle to the charge. The model is simple, periodic releases give fodder to a mammoth tour schedule. While not as popular as Phish or The Dave Matthews Band, moe. stuck to the script. Anchoring festivals, jam cruises, collaborating with anyone, moe. has had a successful 3 decades. They even host their own hometown upstate New York festival, the moe.down. Hartford Live was cagey about this show. Tempering a deluge of hippies, the formal announcement for this free show came only a week prior to the event. Didn’t matter, word travels fast in this community and a nice crowd materialized. The LedZepalicious setlist pulled from their whole career. Happy Hour Hero, All Roads Lead to Home, Time Again, Bat Country, ATL, Tubing the River Styx, The Pit, Tailspin; Set two: Brent Black, Band In The Sky, Deep This Time, No Quarter ( Zep cover), Skrunk, Blue Jeans Pizza, encored with Tambourine and another Zep nugget Immigrant Song. Clocking in at 3.5 hours, one rarely gets cheated at a jam show. Bassist Rob Derhak, guitarists Al Schnier and Chuck Garvey, and drummer Vinnie Amico have been the core unit and are joined by keys wizard Nate Wilson and percussionist Jim Loughlin. As with any jam show, part of the fun is locating the “teases” that are periodically embedded in their tunes. Pink Floyd, Santana, and more Zeppelin were just a few that I caught. An enjoyable evening, I am happy to grow old with moe. (X2).
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