SUNDAY, 9/5
On Sunday AM, we awoke to our canopy down (again) and some of the buffer-tents already being taken down as people prepped to leave that night. Losing the buffer tents always worries me, but the combination of that, the now lack of canopies (along with their privacy), and our proximity to the main drag— it wasn’t gonna be a pretty scene in the late-night.
But we’ll worry about that later, eh? Sunday was a packed schedule. I headed in for Ryan Montbleau Band (and Java Junction) and they were freakin’ awesome. Am I becoming a Ryan Montbleau Band fan? Stayed in for Grace Potter & the Nocturnals. Last year at Bonnaroo, their set kicked ass and their switch-off with moe. was killer. Maybe it was cuz I was still at the top of the hill, but I wasn’t getting the same energy this time around. Grace spent a lot of time at the organ this set and I think she’s better running around with the flying-V. The cover of Blondie’s Heart of Glass was obscenely good, though. Then, they lost my attention span and I wandered back to camp for downtime.
Screaming Chicken was hard at work on the campaign trail- which was essentially, strapped to Hern’s backpack for easy access and publicity stunts involving the port-a-potties. As Screaming Chicken’s Hype Man, my duties were mostly spreading the good word of WAAAAAAAH!!! and shit-talking the other candidates. I totally got into Rage Lincoln’s head, telling him there was a Screaming Chicken that “had his number”. He looked taken aback. “WAAAAAAH!!!” No one wants to get up early on Saturday morning, Rage.
Mike Gordon Band!!!! SWEET! Out of all the Phish side/solo projects, I’ve always been the most drawn to Mike’s, so I was totes psyched he was back at moe.down! He mostly played his solo stuff, but also a Phish and Radiohead tune. Aww, Mike! Hearts.
There was some good buzz going around about Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds, so I checked them out. They were pretty good, but their set was unfortunately in a key resting spot between Mike Gordon and the Black Keys. I stayed for a few songs but eventually headed back to camp for Black Keys pregame and additional wardrobe layerage… and tequila.
The Black Keys did totally rock, but they did not get me down that hill. They drew a big crowd and I hope that between Ryan Montbleau, Grace Potter, Mike Gordon, and the Black Keys- moe. sold a decent amount of Sunday 1 Day Passes.
The Mayoral Election was quickly approaching, so the running crew took turns saying goodbye to Screaming Chicken, and I checked out the Brew for a while before handing off our favorite Mayoral Candidate to the proper authorities. The Brew were playing to a large crowd of dancing people- lots of great moe.down vibes emanating from the Buzz Stage.
Sunday was clear & gorgeous, the night was the same… but colder. And dark. I got a nice treat when Mark brought me into the pit for Set I! The only drawback was getting pelted with glowsticks and the occasional REX FOR MAYOR beach ball. So, I got right to work on REX, who was easy to find- as he was the only grown man wearing a sash that said “REX FOR MAYOR” in my line of vision. “You don’t stand a chance, Rex. Screaming Chicken 4-EVA WAAAAAAH WAAAAAAH!!”
Buster > Haze (great) > Yodelittle (YES) > AWESOME & DRIVING McBain- fantastic! Cornflake Girl and a fun Timmay to end out the Set. Yep, the ol’ Rape > Fun segue. We must have been asking for it.
When it was time for the Mayoral Election, we gathered ‘round with much anticipation. How would Screaming Chicken do? He was clearly the inanimate-object front-runner, and sometimes that’s all it takes. Shit, we’d be happy if he just pissed off a few people. Rob had some sort of immediate aversion to Screaming Chicken. Fortunately for us, Screaming Chicken was embraced by not only the moe.lings, but also Al, who was really pulling for him. WAAAAAAH!! Rob seemed to be more agreeable with the possibility of a hybrid candidate- combining a fisting sex toy candidate & Screaming Chicken— soon dubbed “Fisty McChicken” by Chuck. While the crowd really got behind Fisty McChicken, in the end, it was Rage Lincoln with his wookified Headysburg Address who took the election. Rage then got onstage and promptly spilled a beer in Rob’s effects pedals^. So it goes, moe.ville. So it goes.
On a side note, I will be cutting and pasting the above paragraph onto my resume.
That election (like most) seemed to take for fucking ever, but finally they began Set II with Moth > rocking Queen of Everything. A groovy Four > noodly Rebubula intro. This was precisely when I was abducted by my friend Jen (aka JamGal), who dragged me back up front on chuck.side! Hot damn! Twist my arm, sista! Rebubula, always a warm-fuzzy at moe.down, was sweet, sentimental, and a really nice way to wrap up Set II.
Then, a stellar encore that went on for almost an hour! Deep This Time kicked it off, but for me, the encore was all aboot The Pit and Chuck being fucking awesome. He was just absolutely shredding! > Farmer Ben > Moth. Good stuff!
During the fireworks, Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds were a little too close to a live mic and happened to be cheering for every individual firework. “PURRRPLE!!! WOOOO!!!!!” “RED!!! WOOOO!!!” Then some unsolicited, “SISTER SPARROW!!! WOOOOO!!” ‘s. Insert eye-roll here.
That’s it? moe.down xi, done already? It went by so fast. We wandered back to camp and immediately tried to re-block Death On Death’s Wheels, but the floodlight actually turned out to be less of a problem than the ZOMBIE TECHNO DANCE PARTY that set up shop on the intersection and managed to go til 4-5am-ish? How is it that moe. need to be off stage by a certain time to comply with sound ordinances, but any shithead with a generator and a sub-woofer can keeps thousands of people awake and go un-regulated until sunrise? The music was at a deafening volume and the ground was literally shaking. It was as if they turned one speaker downward to vibrate the actual bedrock. Yah, I’m getting old, but I’ve always liked sleep– and sleep was impossible until they shut the fuck up right before dawn.
SUNDAY
SET I
Buster ->
Haze ->
Yodelittle ->
McBain
Cornflake Girl
Timmy Tucker
SET II
moe.ville Mayoral Election
Moth ->
Queen of Everything
Four ->
Rebubula
ENCORE
Deep This Time
The Pit- >
Farmer Ben ->
Moth
Download The Show! (Thanks, TJ!)
MONDAY, 9/6
Really? It’s over?? … Really?!?? No Ugly American?!??
Monday began early, with the realization that I had to clean up the shit-sty that had accumulated in and around my tent. Breakdown at moe.down is a time for reflection. It all went by so fast, I could have handled another day… Then again, indoor plumbing, my dog, and an actual bed were comforting thoughts. I headed back in to Java Junction for my annual moe.down Monday AM coffee. I’ll miss this place. Not the hills, or the gravel, or the Zombie Techno Dance Party, but pretty much everything else. Didn’t mind that there were no guests or band-swaps this year, it streamlined the moe. nicely. Still a few people I’d yet to run into, but hopefully I’ll see ‘em in Albany.
moe.down xi come and gone. xi/xi. I’m still covered in mystery bruises, but I’m pretty sure I had a good time. 8 HUZZAHS!
SUGGESTIONS FOR NEXT YEAR: – Many more moe.down Express carts & some sort of organized/fair system for usage. – More camping space!!! It was beyond crowded in the campsite this year. – More port-a-potties (double or triple the amount from this year)!!! The lack of port-a-potty-age & cleaning schedule for what was there, was disappointing- even inside the concert area. – Moving Sidewalks. Or maybe kill two birds with one stone here- somehow combine the moving sidewalks with the port-a-potties. That way by the time I’ve gotten to the top of that fucking hill I’ll have already peed. – Power Station: someplace people can quick-charge their phones within the concert site. Mostly so I don’t have to spend 1 1/2 hours at my car on Saturday. Maybe a booth/station in vending with a solar cell and outlets to share the juice? – Black Crowes, Ween, Elvis Costello, God Street Wine (all day/night on the Buzz Stage), Lucinda Williams… and a Todd Snider Sunday afternoon set.
^ Fisty McChicken would never have done this, FYI.
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