The moon lit the evening sky, as a mass of people lurked out in front of the Washington Square Armory. The energy was high, and the excitement was clear. Entering the castle-like venue it was it became apparent that it was going to be a packed house, and sweltering hot. Upon passing through security, the lobby opened up to what appeared to be a large gymnasium. The house lights dimmed, the stage lit up and out came moe dressed in skeleton costumes. Approxamately two and a half weeks after their last show (due to tour/date cancellations) moe came out heavy.
The first couple of songs sounded good, with some good guitar work and a tease of what was to come in the light show. Then the song "Farmer Ben"... This song provided some rapping as well as a bummer of a vibe for the crowd, who was left looking around in confusion. Following up that mess was a version of Paul Simon's "Call Me Al". This was one of the songs on the fan based setlist voting that I did not really want to hear, but turned out sounding really good, and the crowd dug it. The first beast of the show came when they played "George" taking it through twenty plus minutes of wailing, dance and space. This was the first point in the show that the crowd went absolutely nuts.
The highlight of the show for me was the "Echos (Pink Floyd), Stash (Phish), Meat, Eyes of the World (Grateful Dead)>Echos, Rebubula>Darkstar (Grateful Dead)>Rebubula" This core section of the show really made it for me. It was great to hear moe cover a Phish song and jam it out harder than Phish. My level of excitement shot through the roof when they broke into the song that I voted on for the set; "Eyes". I was a little unsure of how it would sound coming from moe, but it had the same sweet, mellow, flowing vibe that the Dead created. The Rebubula was uber beastly and the crowd was extremely responsive. Then to go into "Darkstar right after playing "Eyes" caught me off guard, yet pleased me to the extreme. Finishing the segment with Rebubula...
For the encore moe came back out and played a version of Tenacious D's "Fuck Her Gently". For an encore, it was completely awful. A lot of the younger bro'ed out cats were really into it and screaming the words at the top of there lungs... Quite a mess. They then played "Don't Fuck With the Flow", which had a very swing/jammy grove. The encore's saving grace was "Crab Eyes" which left everybody wide-eyed, and completely killed.
Overall I thought the show was on. I thought the covers were well done, and the peaks were excellent. My main complaints were with the venue. They ran out of water after the third song, and by set-break were completely out of all water, Gatorade, and any sort of beer/alcohol. They were completely unprepaired, understaffed, and ended up putting a lot of people at risk for dehydration. This could have been a serious problem, and looking around I saw several people struggling to not pass out. It was extremely irresponsible.
Black Rock City, NV Words & Photos by Andrew Wyatt The first time I was born again, I was no more than a 12-year-old tadpole of a kid wriggling his way through chilly baptismal waters of my father’s tiny, rural Southern Baptist church. The first time I was born into the narrow confines of evangelical religion. The second time I was born again, I was a gangly young man born into the big, wide, roiling sea of the infinite universe. And it all happened on a pirate ship and a wacky dance club at Burning Man. In 2002, I was a self-doubting preacher unsure whether to continue a fledgling career calling, when a voluptuous mountain guide neighbor asked if I would join her on a week-long experience at Burning Man. “After the week is over, and you still want to preach. Then great. If not, then you’re welcome!” she piped up. Hesitantly I agreed. “Burning Man,” wrote journalist Daniel Pinchbeck in his book, Breaking Open the Head , “is more decadent than Andy Warhol’s Factory, more glamoro
Hill Auditorium University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI Words & Photos by J. Picard In the early 1970s the music world shifted with the coming of a transformative collaboration between John McLaughlin and Zakir Hussain. The result was a relatively short-lived but incredibly impactful project that grew from the chance encounter. Shakti, from its inception, was destined to change not only the sound of Indian music and jazz, but the possibilities of musical collaboration as a whole. Nearly fifty years later, the impact of this project that began in 1974 and concluded in 1978, is immeasurable and spans generations of listeners. 2023 marked the return of Shakti, the release of a new album ( In This Moment ) and an extensive tour that wrapped around the globe from Europe to the United States. From the announcement of the American tour dates, it was decided that we would be making the long journey from Denver, CO to Ann Arbor, MI for a show at Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan
Bank of NH Pavilion Gilford, NH Words & Photos by Arlene Brown What happens when you have 9,000 people attending the biggest group therapy session of our lives? You get almost every single person at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion in tears for an experience none of us will never forget. Disturbed’s “Take Back Your Life” tour swept through Gilford, NH with so much raw and honest emotion led by the breathtaking David Draiman, vowing to each and every person there that our lives matter and that our lives are important. Mental health affects everyone; either ourselves or someone we know who is living with depression, anxiety, and/or other debilitating issues. “We are not alone.” Disturbed’s night started with their normal “Hey You,” “Stupify,” and the pyro backed “Ten Thousand Fists” in which everyone was pumping their fists (not phones) in the air. Every single person was singing every single word to every single song. The whole night. It’s been a LONG time since I’ve seen a crowd
Deschutes County Fairgrounds Redmond, OR Words by Ryleigh Hutson & Alexander Fornes We are counting down the days to the first-ever, Cascade Equinox Festival taking place September 22-24th. As we close out the summer months and welcome in the fall, we come to the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond, OR & explore a diverse and eclectic blend of music including Jam, Electronic, Funk, Bluegrass, and Soul acts. With so many artists and genres to explore, it may be overwhelming to plan which are a must-see, and which sets you’ll spontaneously stumble upon. This could be one of the greatest line-ups Central Oregon has yet to see. The following are 5 artists not to miss at Cascade Equinox! 1. Pretty Lights Electronic music pioneer Derek Smith (Pretty Lights) is following a five year hiatus and Cascade Equinox is boasting its headliner as his only Pacific Northwest performance on his Soundship Spacesystem Tour . Pretty Lights took the hiatus at the top of his game after his 10th ye
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