Night One

For those in the know, The Mishawaka is an unparalleled mountain music experience nestled against the banks of the Cache La Poudre. A National Heritage Site, this river is a tributary of the South Platte and also part of Rocky Mountain National Park, but tonight it’s our backdrop. The venue makes it doable with shuttles to and from town and some limited paid parking. If it was easy to get to, it’d be Red Rocks. Despite its iconic nature the Mishawaka is intimate with room for only 1000 lucky souls. In short it’s a special place that is crushing the lineup game this summer.

As for moe., these guys are going through so many things and they continue to show up for their fans despite what is happening in their personal lives. They are heroes plain and simple. Keep crushing boys, we are behind you.

Their show started quickly a little after 8 PM with a searing “St. Augustine.”  As a noob, this song was one that hooked me early so it was nice to hear it decades later in the confines of this comfy canyon. Nate Wilson brought along more than his ample chops to this group, he’s been tossing in a few original tunes from his Nate Wilson Band / Ghosts of Jupiter Project. “In Stride” is a piano driven number that just fits moe.’s sound. “Crushing” is an Al sung tune about being in love. An unexpected “Kyle’s Song” appeared after it was performed in Dillon just a few days prior. I won’t look a gift “Kyle’s Song” in the mouth if you know what I mean. Chuck came back to the mic for “Shoot First,” this rendition featured some solid back and forth from the guitarists. “Pit” took us all down to the depths for some dark jams before they emerged to close out a solid first set with “32 Things.”

The sun found the mountains and the air began to cool. It gets so dark in the canyon at night you can forget your are surrounded by absolute beauty. The lights and the stage take the focus as the kids keep on dancing in the darkness. The guys reappeared as the house dimmed. They opened with “Blue Jeans Pizza.” This track flies under the radar but it’s a rocker through and through. They continued with a tasty rendition of “Four.” This show fell in the days between and the boys had already busted out a “Casey Jones” encore at the Monkey’s on Ecstasy show in Denver the night prior. So it made sense to keep the theme alive with a little more Good Ol’ Grateful Dead. The band transitioned beautifully into a ridiculous version of “The Other One,” before returning to “Four.” It was a Dead sandwich and we were grinning with each bite.

“Downward Facing Dog” was another shred fest. This song features the line “And in the end I’m going down swinging.” They’re fighters and this song is their anthem. They closed with a harmony infused “Bring You Down.” The encores have been short, but sweet. This time they shook the canyon walls with a Jim sung version of Deep Purple’s “Space Truckin’.” Musically moe. Is rebuilding, but they continue to push the envelope. They are not afraid to jam which getting to be more of a rarity these days. While they would have to wait another night to fill the venue, those that made the trek on night one were rewarded with a stellar show. But moe. was far from done.

Live Recording by Jesse D. Scott: https://archive.org/details/moe2024-08-02.neumann140.FOB.Flac24/02+St.+Augustine.flac

**

Night 2

The ample beauty in abundance at the Mishawaka is amplified by the amazing music that emanates from that fabled stage nightly in the summer. It’s a venue that either holds a special place in your heart or it’s the stuff of legend.

Fans tucked in and made new friends as the rest of the crowd piled inside. VIPs found their place on decks overlooking the audience while the masses found space across the lawn. The days of dipping your toes in the river during a show are long gone. Now for sake of safety a security guard watches to make sure none of the more adventurous music fans go on a walkabout. If you want free rein to roam around, head up for lunch on a non-show day. It’s a different experience entirely. The food alone is worth the drive. Anywho…

The band was on time again popping onto the stage around 8:20 PM. “Happy Hour Hero” is a fan favorite and always appropriate. Al again started strong with a huge “Understand” that featured some stellar rhythms from the Vinnie and Jim. “New Hope” has developed into quite the jam vehicle in recent years. It started slow but quickly took shape as bass driven spaceship. Nate Wilson again crushes the game with his quintessential rock covers. This time with a beautifully built falsetto version of Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home.” The snap of Vinnie’s snare drum took us back into a syrupy “Wormwood.” Rob’s bass again kicked up causing a shift in the rhythm section and suddenly the bottom dropped out. All that is left are the opening guitar chords of “Tambourine” as the band again builds a banger from scratch. It was starting to become obvious that these boys were playing like it was a tour closer.

“Yellow Tiger” would be at home on Foreigner’s 1979 release Head Games, but as it stands it’s another transplanted tune from Nate Wilson’s Ghosts of Jupiter project. It was debuted last year and personally I think it shreds. It was a no huddle heading into “The Road” with Al taking the mic again. It ended with some of the heaviest jams we’ve seen this week and we were just warming up. They took a short set break before returning ready to blow minds and break hearts.

The “Silver Sun” taken as a whole felt like the return of the two headed guitar-welding jam Hydra from days of yore. It started smooth and clean with an unassuming approach into the meat of “SS.” Suddenly the band took a hard left turn into an unbelievable rendition of The Allman Brothers’ “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.” This instrumental stretched to just shy of 20 minutes before they segued back into “Silver Sun.” The entire sequence featured some of the best back and forth between Chuck and Al that we saw all week. They wrapped up show with two massive originals, “Lazarus” into “George” both jammed well over the fifteen minute mark. It was exceptional.

The band dipped and Al returned for a few Al.nouncements before another short but sweet encore with “Gone.” It was a tight close to a great run of shows from the boys. We got to watch them reach new heights in just the four short days they played around Colorado. The Mishawaka always adds an element of awe to any show, but mo.. was sure to match the vibe especially on this final night of the run. I look forward to their continued growth as they write new songs and overcome all that life throws at them. moe. has been a constant in this scene and I see no sign of that changing. Until next time boys, stay safe and find the joy.

Live Recording by Jesse D. Scott: https://archive.org/details/moe2024-08-03.neumann140.FOB.Flac24