Quick Picks:
GD, The Houseboat Tapes- Very rowdy, fun set of 4 discs
Marco Benevento, 8/10/07- A great show at Yoshis for the CD release
Monk, 2/22/64- Classic Monk
The Band, 8/16/76- Cant stop listening
Tony Williams 5tet, 10/6/88- Monster Jazz; the best
A quick note that Im now dishing out tunes for The Friday Mix Tape in the Hidden Tracks section of www.glidemagazine.com. Come check it out.
moe., Asheville, NC 2/13/00
The second set for this show opens with the requisite banter, this time about stolen set lists, after which the band charges through the dense verses of Captain America, rolling with all the dips and tucks. The jam opens on a sweet, spacey, slow-carving passage that just hangs and pools with guitars humming and buzzing. The sounds mellow and pile up on each other, allowing Mexico to surface. Its a really fine transition and a fun work horse version of a classic pairing. The rest of the show is marked with shouts of Weasel Shark! followed by quick percussion and guitar wanks. A mid set Brent Black shines spooky, and the encore is a long run of covers, including Godzilla, Sweet Home Alabama, I Know You Rider and Blister In the Sun.
moe., The E Factory, Philadelphia, 2/10/07
This show is noteworthy for two reasons; the first is the surprise acoustic set that opened the night. The band had been lacing the tour with in-stores to plug The Conch and decided to celebrate the sold-out-well-in-advance gig with a treat. Nebraska, NYC, Blue Jeans Pizza, Brittle End- hell, the whole thing is great. The second reason is the long suite in the second set. McBain starts with brilliant vibes- even after all these years Im still stunned by Jims contributions on this front. He dances high and bright across the song until the music gives way beneath him. He switches to congas and carries the transition as hometown heroes the Disco Biscuits take the stage, Brownies swollen, playful bass rising right up. The sounds shift and thump into a techno dance riff, the differences in the bands grooves seeming so distinct. Magner works a number of different licks with frayed circuit sparks here and there, all matched with speeding rhythm guitar that pins down the layers. Theres a cartoony mid-song pass on three notes that forms the foundation for the push back toward McBain. When moe. takes over again, theyre jazzed and tweaky, going spacey and slinking into Lazarus. Leaving that heavy, tribal joint, the vibes surface again, perhaps heading toward Rebubula, but instead launching into the textural freak-out of Dr. Graffenberg. The show, which ends in a 20 minute Buster is loaded with the whole range of moe.s arsenal from folky to funky, guitar slashing to pinpoint, Zappa-style precision, to junkie cosmic debris.
moe., Summerfest, Milwaukee, WI 7/2/02
This is one of my favorite shows period. The energy is incredibly high as the band responds to its genuine surprise at the huge turn out for a free show in downtown Milwaukee. Every song is spot on and flying, except for a slight misstep in the St. Augustine opener. The Spine > Buster is fantastic, as is the Captain America > Mexico. The set closing Plane Crash is worth the download all by itself. Simply put, required listening.