Friday, July 22, 2011

moe. - Musikfest Cafe - 07.17.11

There are certain nights where everything clicks perfectly. The great thing about moe. is these nights can occur at any random time. Last Sunday in Bethlehem PA was one of those sleeper shows. It was the first sellout for the Musikfest Cafe. The venue offers a layout similar to Rams Head Live in Baltimore, but smaller and reserved seating in the balcony. It's character comes from a panoramic view of the steel towers behind the stage. It's a beautiful venue with some great amenities.

moe. established themselves in their new surroundings with a perfectly structured set that tore the place apart. The energy was high as the sun set with Runaway Overlude and a Cathedral > 32 Things to start things off. This trio of songs alone could have been the highlight of any show, but moe. was just getting started. The newly revived reggae version of Letter Home was next and fit nicely into this portion of the night. Both Happy Hour Hero and Crab Eyes were the only choices that were fairly standard, but Al particularly was definitely digging it.

The second set was where things really took off. A stretched out Spine of A Dog led right into Jazz Wank and would set the tone for the rest of the evening. The crowd was loving The Ghost of Ralph's Mom that followed. It was really the last segment and encore that brought this show to a different level. Puebla > Queen of Everything > CIA > Time Ed showcased some of the best moe. I've seen in a while. If that wasn't enough, the crowd's Meat chant was answered and a twenty minute encore ensued. There was even some mention of playing Brain Tuba by Al during his announcements. PLEASE let it happen at moe.down!

The quality of the recording doesn't match the greatness of this show. We were put in the worst spot and the recording suffers because of it. Word to anyone planning to record here: Get balcony seats and clamp! This show is well worth the couple bucks from Livedownloads.com for the soundboard when it's available. Until then enjoy the best my MK41's can offer from a poor location!






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