moe.down XII
Sept 2-4, 2011
Gelston Castle Estate, Mohawk, NY
While we’ve obviously been covering the hell out of the Phish Summer Tour, we’re also hella excited about this weekend’s annual moe.down Festival in Mohawk, NY. Our friend Nick Irving is going to be on-site shooting photos for the site (as best he can; we were too late to get a photo pass for the pit) and we’ll hope to have some coverage up after the fact. This lineup is eclectic as hell and the announcement is something I love to see year after year. While it’s definitely stacked with heavy hitters that you’d know and love already — moe., Bob Weir with Levon Helm Band, TV on the Radio, etc. — I’d take a look at the following artists on the lineup and make sure they get your full attention as well.
WEEN (main stage, 9-10:30pm)
I missed most of their set at this year’s High Sierra Music Festival, but what I caught was nothing short of genius. The “Voodoo Lady” was jammed and really out there in terms of flow, and their version of “Your Party” with Skerik is forever a memory from this year’s fest and I’ve been humming along with that tune ever since.
After this set you’ll get one more set from The New Mastersounds, 45 minutes of funk dance party. But they actually start the night, so don’t miss them when the music begins at 8pm over at the Buzz Stage. Then see Ween, then go back to the Buzz Stage…
THE NEW MASTERSOUNDS (buzz stage, 8-9pm, 10:30-11:15pm)
I’ve caught this band recently and their new album Breaks from the Border is hot off the presses giving them a new set of songs to riff on live, which were all featured pretty prominently at their album release party earlier this summer at Brick & Mortar. Here’s a highlight clip of some of the hot jams we saw that night:
It’s great that they get a whole hour and 45 to rock and I think they’ll serve to perfectly offset the moe. and Ween sets up on the Main Stage. What a first night lineup, though, and really I dig the whole lineup this year front to back.
Fans are going to be treated to a full day of music on Saturday with two sets by Gary Clark, Jr., Railroad Earth, a daytime moe. set, 45 minutes of Floodwood, Slightly Stoopid, TV on the Radio, three (!) sets by the Brew and two more sets by moe. That’s a really solid day of music and it’d lead into a great day three where you could see Dangermuffin, Ozomatli, Bruce Hornsby, Levon Helm with Bob Weir, The Ragbirds and definitely more moe. Rubblebucket would be on my list of absolute must-see, though…
RUBBLEBUCKET (buzz stage, 7-8pm, 9:30-10pm)
I’ve been especially digging on this band ever since I gave their latest album, Omega La La, a full listen and it’s been on my iPhone ever since. Having missed their last time in San Francisco I’d be psyched to have a crack at them at moe.down, and I’ll even be in Chicago this weekend when they play the North Coast Music Festival. They’re an awesome band live, though, and I think they’ll add a spirit to the night that moe. will pick up on and hopefully bring some of their horns over to get some cross-pollination happening on stage.
Check out the band on tour starting this weekend with their two festival spots…
All in all it’s looking like a fun weekend for friends attending moe.down and I’m jealous I can’t be there as well, although it’s up against Phish’s Labor Day Run in Colorado and that’d probably be a cheaper ticket for this here blogger (plus my entire crew is going to be there this time around). Maybe next year for me.
moe.down 2011 Lineup
moe.
Ween
The Levon Helm Band (plus very special guest Bob Weir)
TV on the Radio
Slightly Stoopid
Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers
Ozomatli
Railroad Earth
The New Mastersounds
Rubblebucket
Dangermuffin
The Ragbirds
Empire Sound
Gary Clark, Jr.
