Photo by Carla Kilgore

Seattle is a long way from the Dominican Republic where moe. just wrapped up their Tropical Throe.down vacation extravaganza. In fact Seattle is a long way from Buffalo, NY where moe. calls home but these distances between played no part in stifling them from putting together an amazing show in the heart of Seattle’s famous Pike’s Place Market.

The Showbox at Market is a unique venue not only because of its location, but just the way it’s built, creating a spherical dance floor for the fans to fill along with upper tiered seating areas. It’s an intimate yet rather large space and moe. took advantage of this fully with people crowded almost packed to the stage yet still breathing area for those in need of a dance reprieve on the upper-sides, for what was one solid jam session from beginning to end.

Coming off of their “20 Year Anniversary Tour” moe. came out in plain clothes, not the black suits of 2010 and opened the show with a savory version of “Good Trip.” The stage setup was rather different with drummer and percussionist Vinnie Amico and Jim Loughlin both behind plexi-glass shields, capturing their sounds in a more pure form, where Loughlin’s vibe and percussive work on “Good Trip” came through perfectly during the mellow but meaningful opener. Al Schnier took to lead vocals as the band invited everyone to join in and start this tour off right. A barrage of jammed out vehicles then followed in this order: “Lazarus” > “Skrunk” > “Billy Goat”, “Haze” > “Paper Dragon.” It was an intense and rocking way to meld almost an entire set of just seven songs into one big jam. Chuck Garvey took lead guitar almost the entire first set, while bassist Rob Derhak work held the songs (and in some opinions the band) tight together. The venue swirled with lights and smoke as a disco ball was illuminated from the stage to spin circles around the room as they made the most of the impressive non-stop of “Lazarus” > “Skrunk” > “Billy Goat,” a defining highlight of the first set.

The second set took on an even more progressive feel as they opened with “Four” off of their 1996 release, No Doy, the song built and built to the powerful chorus, and gave plenty of space for Schnier to rock out a fast fingering solo on his guitar. Garvey stood back playing rhythm for the most part as they stretched out a ten minute version of this rare and catchy classic. The jam at the end of “Four” gave to a very interestingly placed fan favorite “Plane Crash.” The “Moth” that followed was by far the highlight of the second set, while laser beams shot up and down from the stage in every direction. Meanwhile, the passion and changes in the guitar work of Schnier was ripe, yet very raw. Then, with his delicate efforts on vibes, Loughlin introduced us to “Tubing The River Styx” > “The Pit,” paired songs that were performed elongated and in that almost 80’s butt-rock style. The encore that followed showcased “That Country Tune,” played with Garvey, Schiner and Derhak’s acoustic trio DiSGRACe last November but this was only the second time moe. had played it in four years, and with Rob on lead vocals you could tell the band was having as much fun as the crowd. The final song of the evening was “It” with Garvey and Schnier trading lead guitars, a steamy and jamming way to end an evening worthy of praise.

moe. is the consummate “jamband” in every sense of the word. They cannot be compared to any other band because for example while Phish tends to reinvent themselves over the years moe. seems to stick to jamming in its purest form and they just keep getting better at it, no matter how far traveled or away from home. Their performance, kicking off the West Coast Tour, before they’re off to Japan, was a testament to their growth and their ability to gel together as a cohesive unit still getting better with each day.