Sunday, September 4

Since he burst onto the music scene in the mid 1980s, pianist Bruce Hornsby has been a band leader, an in-demand studio session player, a part time member of the Grateful Dead, a solo artist, a bluegrass musician and so much more. In all contexts he thrives in the live performance setting, as his set with The Noisemakers made clear.

“King Of The Hill” was just the right mix of upbeat jazz and improvisation to draw a large crowd down the hill Sunday morning. “Preacher In The Ring Parts 1 & 2” were played with a thick New Orleans gospel vibe, and included a spiritual sax solo. When Hornsby mentioned that being in the area brings up thoughts of The Band, a large cheer went up as many were hoping for a guest spot from the legendary Levon Helm, whose own group was set to appear directly after Hornsby’s. It was just a tease however, as he went into “Go Back To Your Woods,” a song co-written by Robbie Robertson, while dark clouds began to move in overhead. A surprise guest did appear for his set closer though, as he invited out Bob Weir, also on hand to play with Helm’s band, to join him in a rousing set closer of the Grateful Dead’s “Jack Straw.”

And then, with a loud boom of thunder overhead, the rains came. An electrical storm and a downpour blew in and put a hold on the Levon Helm Band’s set for just under an hour. Eventually the storm passed and the group began to play as fans made their way back to what had become a muddy bog in front of the stage. I personally arrived just as Bob Weir joined in. Despite the rain still falling, it was a highlight of the event to hear the music of the Grateful Dead performed with a twelve piece band and including a horn section.

“When I Paint My Masterpiece” was given a sweet, New Orleans vibe with plaintive mandolin picking and light horn inflections, and “Deep Elem Blues” was also give a New Orleans treatment, albeit with a real deep blues groove and swinging horns. Helm attempted a chorus on “Tennesee Jed,” but the strain on his vocal chords was clearly evident, though his timing on the kit was impeccable as always. A big band arrangement of “All On A Mardi Gras Day” brought out a New Orleans styled parade that included the marching horn section and a slew of folks from backstage. The lovely “Ripple” was eloquently performed as a quartet, with a gorgeous vocal duet between Weir and Fiona McBain, and then the rest of the band returned for the closing classic sing-along by The Band, “The Weight,” to end the set.

With the rain still falling, moe. took the opportunity to bust out a brand spanking new song, the ironically titled “Rain/Shine,” that began with a meandering, dark guitar groove then moved into more upbeat rock and featured three part vocal harmonies. Mid-song, Garvey and Schneir were absolutely wailing amongst each other’s parts. It’s another fine, new song from moe. that holds great promise as a jam vehicle.

Coming out of the upbeat instrumental “Ricky Martin,” moe. moved into dark and ambient improv, and a huge cheer went up as Bob Weir joined the band on stage with a wave to the crowd. The slow groove came around into The Grateful Dead’s “The Other One,” with Weir lighting it up. With a simple nod from Weir that seemed to say “follow me now, boys,” they moved through the straight electric blues of “Smokestack Lightning” and back into the same, slow ambient improv that lead back into “The Other One.” A nearly 16 minute romp through set closer “Feel Like A Stranger” provided a dense canvas for jams amongst the six musicians and drew several cheers from the crowd throughout the improv. There was a stunning contrast of styles between Weir’s New Orleans boogie woogie set with Helm and his more electric rock set with moe.

Anti-climatic though it may have been after Weir departed, moe. did return for one final set of the weekend. “Wind It Up” always makes an excellent choice as an opener or a closer, as it begins with a slow, melodic melody, and builds to a blazing crescendo and a sing-along chorus that gets a crowd going, as it did here. “Paper Dragon” is a bellowing rock song and among the best of the new tunes the band has been playing for the last few years, featuring bassist Rob Derhak’s reverberating vocals and a dynamic guitar and MalletKAT jam. Derhak’s rumbling bass then moved the song into the classic fan favorite “Recreational Chemistry.” After the tired tradition of the Mayor of moe.ville elections, moe. ripped through a two song encore of “Spine Of A Dog” > ”Seat Of My Pants,” bringing the weekend to an upbeat and rocking conclusion.

Once again, Gelston Castle Estate proved to be quite successful as far as a host site for a festival. The long walk from parking to the designated campgrounds was a bit of a challenge, and the up and down of the concert hill certainly provides one with several weeks’ worth of physical exercise. But the scenic view from the top of the hill is stunning and many fans found comfort right there through the whole weekend with no need to make the trip all the way down and then back up. Indeed, in its twelfth year and its second at this new location, moe.down certainly maintains a special, unique vibe.

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