moe. at The House of Blues: A review

The line stretched the length of Lansdowne Street, past the ‘street meat’ vendor, and almost to the door of the Cask’n Flagon. Temperatures were in the teens and with the wind blowing, waiting in line for 20-30 minutes went from crazy to insane. But, freezing conditions did not stop a sea of moe.rons from filling the House of Blues to capacity last night. moe. played two long sets of their feel-good jams, picking and choosing from their extensive catalog of tunes. Each song, the opposite of concise, warmed up the crowd with ease, allowing them to check their frozen cares at the door. It was jam time for Boston.

moe. fans stand out from most, exuding a come-as-you-are, everyone-is-welcome vibe. Pure and simple. Waiting outside the show, struggling to keep warm and in desperate need of a ticket, was Tara from Springfield. The sold-out show left some of her crew just shy of enjoying the evening’s event. Half of her friends were already inside, while the others did everything they could to find extra tickets. She was a moe. regular, seeing the band in Boston three times, even attending their annual moe.down. Tara described the band as phenomenal, “…they just put you in a spot where you feel free.”

Festival band or jam band, the five guys of moe. from upstate New York, connect with their fan base directly, through extensive touring. They are the style of ensemble that actually makes music on the road, fine tuning and perfecting songs on stage each night. The dominating double-guitar combo of Chuck Garvey and Al Schnier, paired with a distinct sound from Vinnie Amico (drums) and Jim Loughlin (percussion) is fronted by Rob Derhak (bass). This blend of musicians makes for that laid-back, mid-tempo sound, where a five song set seems to stretch past the hour and a half mark. There are lyrics, but the crowd becomes mesmerized, in a trance-like state, to the flow of the music. They are taken on what another reviewer called, “a lengthy musical excursion.” Last night's set list can be found here.

19-year-old, Abner, from Maine, was the most enthusiastic fan in the house. He lost his ticket in route to the show, making it all the way up to the door and only then realized he did not have it on him. He sweet-talked himself into another ticket, lucked out on getting into the venue, thus making last night his thirteenth moe. show. Abner raved about the band, stating that he loves them for their variety of music and lists his all-time favorite album as, ‘No Doy.’ He added a cryptic message at the end, stating, “…'solving the moe. puzzle.' Write that in the article.” Whatever that means.

If you read any article online about moe., you’ll find that they are constantly being compared to legendary bands like Phish and The Grateful Dead. moe. has become legendary in their own way, carving through the music scene, building a foundation of dedicated followers and producing album after album that appeals to their faithful.

If you missed last night’s shows, moe. is always on the road. Check out their website for the most updated tour schedule. Were you at last night's show?  Feel free to add your review in the comments below.