moe. Makes Great Return to St. Petersburg
The moe. tour rolled through St. Petersburg’s Jannus Live, the fourth date on the winter tour and third of four in Florida (Saturday, December 1). Their last show here was almost two years ago (01.26.17), right after Jam Cruise and before Rob Derhak would take time off to beat the heck out of cancer in July of 2017.
So this was a glorious return for Derhak and moe., the outstanding jam quintet from Buffalo. The show was, as always, superbly performed, but the band was hampered by a situation I don’t think I’ve ever said before and will likely never say again: IT WASN’T LOUD ENOUGH AT JANNUS LIVE! Not only that, but the vocals were practically inaudible in a number of areas around the courtyard venue.
The first set was relatively tame, especially compared to the rager the night before in the tiny Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale, where the first set opened with “Recreational Chemistry,” the second closed with “Plane Crash,” and they encored with “Immigrant Song.”
Everything was gorgeously played, but a wee bit of volume would have given the set more oomph. “Spaz Medicine > Waiting for the Punchline” was a fine opening, with “Punchline” starting slowly before shifting into shitkicker gear. Those were followed by a pair of songs from Wormwood that often travel together: “Kyle’s Song > Kids.” Similarly, “Kyle’s Song” began slowly before the jam exploded with Chuck Garvey’s guitar, then “Kids,” highlighted by Jim Loughlin’s beautiful mallet work and Al Schnier’s guitar.
Loughlin sang the ballad “I Can Never Remember,” with more great vibes in the mix. Despite the low volume, one thing in particular stood out all night: Derhak’s spectacular bass playing. Probably my favorite show from that aspect. Schnier went to his keyboard for “Blue Jean Pizza,” Garvey with a fine solo and great conga accents from Loughlin. And as always Vinnie Amico was there to keep everyone in line from his drum kit.
My speculation was correct: Roosevelt Collier did come out to jam with moe. on the last tune of set one, a blistering “Moth.” Collier and Unlimited Devotion were playing the last of eight shows together honoring the Grateful Dead at the adjacent Ringside Cafe. Collier, with his new lap steel that has an actual guitar body, and Garvey locked horns and romped through rock and blues, the highlight of the first set.
During the break, we surmised that the boys would come out swinging in the second set. Amico’s drum intro assured us we were correct as they tore through 17 minutes’ worth of “St. Augustine,” Garvey, Schnier, and Derek all soaring before the brought the tempo back down (briefly) with “New Hope for the New Year,” featuring more superb mallet work from Loughlin and another great jam.
The heart of the entire set began with “Wind It Up,” a very Zappa-inspired song musically, Loughlin’s vibes again front and center in the mix. And that segued logically into “Underworld;” this was a wicked jam with space bass and awesomeness. Suddenly, there was a tempo change, and the intro to “Threw It All Away” emerged in all its glory, only to shift immediately into “Crab Eyes” — more Zappa-esque wonderfulness. After a few “boom boom boom bang bang bang boom boom boom” chorus and more great work from the night’s star, Loughlin, they merged back into a full-on version of “Threw It All Away” and then back to “Crab Eyes” to close. That was a delicious half-hour-plus sequence.
To close the set, we got a fine “Brent Black.” Garvey killed this, and then Amico, Loughlin, and Amico again were featured. The encore was a mellow “Johnny Lineup” into the Super Mario Brothers theme. Listen to the entire show on this archive.org link.
Amico wasn’t done. I had read earlier that Unlimited Devotion would have a second drum kit set up next door. I also knew that local drummer Michael ‘Thunderfoot’ Garrie and Amico have been long-time friends; Garrie introduced me to him at the Ringside after the 2017 show. I can do the math. Amico took the left kit, pairing with Dan DeGregory as Collier and Unlimited Devotion got the Ringside Cafe shakin’ with a massive “Shakedown Street.” Amico played the entire second set! (And sound engineer Dillon Reeder had it dialed in perfectly — once again!)
[ONE: Spaz Medicine > Waiting for the Punchline, Kyle’s Song > Kids, I Can Never Remember, Blue Jeans Pizza, Moth*; TWO: St. Augustine > New Hope for the New Year, Wind It Up > Underworld (Kid Icarus Theme) > Threw It All Away > Crab Eyes > Threw It All Away > Crab Eyes, Brent Black; E: Johnny Lineup > Super Mario Brothers Theme]
