Going to a Jam Band Concert and Getting My Mind Blown - The moe. Experience

I’ve been going to concerts for a pretty long time. It’s interesting to look back at my concert progression over the course of my life to think about all the different kinds of shows I’ve been to, and all of the fantastic genres I’ve been able to experience live. I’ve seen mid-2000s ‘emo’ (A Fall Out Boy concert in seventh grade, my first live experience), progressive metal (Trans-Siberian Orchestra), 90’s music (Weezer) and much, much more.

Recently, since coming to college, I’ve tried to see the pantheon live bands that my friends profess as life-changing experiences, even if I’ve never heard a song by that band before. And, while hyperbolic, I can say that going to these shows has allowed me to enjoy genres that I never would have imagined finding interest in.

This past Wednesday was my first jam band show. There’s a lot of ‘jam band’ people in the world, and before last week, I would have said I was not one of them. I tend to think back to the “Die Hippies Die” episode of South Park – where Cartman piledrives through a massive amount of hippies who have converged on the town to have a jam festival. It always seemed like jam bands never went anywhere, and that they just played hours and hours of music with no narrative. The music happens, and it sounds nice, but there’s no progression to a musical climax .

It's the corporations, man

I am now happy to report that I was entirely wrong, after seeing the Buffalo, NY band moe. at Stage AE. The band holds many values of a traditional jam band – 45 minute songs, improvisational solos, very few lyrics. But within these long stretches of pure music were the rises and falls, and the climaxes that I had assumed were absent at a jam band concert. I had never even heard of the band before I went to the concert, only knowing what my friend Jason had told me regarding the last time he had seen the band: “They walk on, play three hours of music, and walk off.” And while the three-hour experience was broken up by a twenty minute set break, I can say that this statement totally encapsulates a moe. concert. There was very little interaction with the crowd, which I found interesting. Usually a lead singer will stop every so often and converse with the crowd, or talk about the lyrics in his song. But moe., with only a couple of exceptions, comes on the stage and plays music. They’re not reserved from the audience, but they seem to know there’s no need to entertain the people in the crowd in any other way other than their riveting and exciting musicianship.

moe. is a jam band of five – consisting of two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and a percussionist. The percussionist, Jim Loughlin, mostly stayed concentrated on his xylophone. It was a jarring sight to see before the concert – a huge xylophone at a rock show. But Loughlin’s xylophone solos were some of the best pieces of live music I’ve ever seen. 

An example of Laughlin's xylophone expertise

The two guitarists, Chuck Garvey and Al Schnier, were absolute maestros, dueling each other with longer and longer solos throughout the night. Each of these solos occurred inside a larger song, but were songs in their own right, with beginnings, middles, and ends.

The moe. concert wasn’t my favorite concert, because they weren’t my favorite band going in. But I can say that it was the show with the most musical expertise exhibited throughout the night. There was simply nothing to do after the show but admire the talent that the musicians in this band have. I’ll definitely be going to the concert the next time moe. comes to town. Next time, maybe I’ll know some of the words too.