At moe.’s final show of their February tour, the city of Albany had something special on tap to honor the group who called Albany a second home during the 1990s. Mayor Kathy Sheehan was welcomed to the stage by promoter Greg Bell where she recalled seeing moe. at Valentine’s, and issued a Mayoral Proclamation declaring February 24 as moe.day. With band on stage, the audience erupted in delight at the honor bestowed on them by a town ripe with bands following in moe.’s footsteps.
After being handed a ‘Rob. Strong’ banner, moe. dove into the first of two firey sets with a “Rebubula” intro fakeout that dove into “Buster” on a dime, and followed with back to back ~12 minute versions of heavy hitters “Haze” and “Y.O.Y.” and the second version of “Who You Calling Scared?” which debuted in Portland a week earlier. “Akimbo” and “Rise” sustained the energy of the set ahead of the only cover of the weekend run, “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” with Chuck and Al trading off throughout.
“Stranger Than Fiction” led the way in Set 2 with a hefty and fluid “Faker” and “CalifornIA” that followed. Jim Loughlin then dove into “Farmer Ben” and a rage rocker “Don’t Fuck with Flo” kept Loughlin in the spotlight on vibraphone, as well as in “McBain,” the ninth of ten 10+ minute songs played this evening alone (there were 7 the night prior). After a potential segue towards “George,” moe. opted to wrap up the show the way they started and swung for the fences with “Rebubula” to the intense delight of the crowd. Returning to the stage following a balloon drop, Al Schnier thanked the crowd and the city of Albany and led the band in “Letter Home,” wrapping up the run on a heartfelt note and giving time for the kids to keep dancing long after the show on South Pearl Street.
Setlist
Soundcheck: Johnny Lineup, Who You Calling Scared? – Listen here.
Set 1: Rebubula > Buster > Haze > Y.O.Y. > Who You Calling Scared?, Akimbo > Rise > In Memory of Elizabeth Reed*
Set 2: Stranger Than Fiction, Faker > CalifornIA > Farmer Ben > Don’t Fuck With Flo > Faker, McBain, Rebubula
Encore: Letter Home
* with Silversun tease
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