moe. - back in the Madison saddle again!
Feb. 8, 2013, at the Capitol Theater in Madison
by Sal Serio
Posted: Feb 2013
(3619) Page Views
Al Schnier of moe. Feb. 8, 2013, at the Capitol Theater in Madison. - photo by Nicole Richmond
Sometimes bands are like sports teams, and when one member of the team is under the weather (or injured in a sporting contest), someone else has to step up and give more than 100% to make up for the loss. This was the scenario when the progressive rock jam band moe. came back to Madison after an eight year absence.
Founding member and bassist, Rob Derhak, fell ill with an upper respiratory infection when moe. played Ann Arbor the day before, and as the moe. faithful (“moe-rons”) well know, Rob sings a great deal of the band’s repertoire. From the very get-go of the instrumental intro “Zed Naught Z”, it was obvious that guitarist Al Schnier was going to be pushing the envelope HARD at moe.’s debut Capitol Theater appearance. Schnier, looking a little like an amped-up Rabbi trucker, with his thick-framed glasses, brimmed PBR cap, and graying beard, was ripping out triplets during his solos to the point where it seemed like sparks would shoot from his gold-top Les Paul. The intro segued seamlessly into “Bearsong” where Schnier and fellow guitarist Chuck Garvey did their best two-part harmony since Derhak was too hoarse to sing. After “Bearsong”, Schnier acknowledged the Wisconsin fans with a quick “Hello Sconnies!” before launching into a medley of moe. favorites “Jazz Wank” and “Not Coming Down” (from 2003’s ‘Wormwood’ release). At this point, anyone in attendance who had not yet been dancing was on their feet boogieing and singing along.
The first set was a little short by moe. standards, at about 55 minutes long, and concluded with a Chuck Garvey vocal on “It” (from 1998’s classic ‘Tin Cans And Car Tires’), which blended into a spirited version of The Band’s “Up On Cripple Creek”. When I had interviewed Garvey last autumn, he mentioned how much he enjoyed playing his unique Becker Guitar, and the beautiful wood-grain-finished instrument never left his hands all evening.
After about a half hour break, the quartet was back on stage and offered up another treat to the Madison fans. Several lovely local lasses work to promote moe. and various women’s causes through a group called The Yodeladies (yodeladies.org) which got it’s name from the early moe. classic “Yodelittle”, and this song opened the second set. Garvey and Schnier’s twin lead-guitar harmonies added a transcendental element to this upbeat number. Another moe. fan favorite from their early catalog, “Time Again”, followed, with a surprise segue into Pink Floyd’s “Time”, which concluded with an extended rhythmic echo-effect guitar solo by Al Schnier. By this point, it was obvious that Schnier should be crowned MVP of this particular concert. His contributions on vocals and guitar went way above and beyond the call of duty!
The second set was more celebratory than the first, clipping along at a good pace via the rockers “Big World” and “Ricky Martin”, before going into yet another early moe. chestnut, “Threw It All Away” from the 1994 CD ‘Headseed’. Schnier’s lyrics set the mood for absurd frivolity: “Hey Monkey Man whacha gonna do now? You livin’ in a tin can, fuckin’ on the moon now. You threw it all away. Crouched in the corner of your filthy cage, lookin’ like a rocker, just like Jimmy Page”.
After a humungous rave-up jam on “Waiting For The Punchline”, the group left the stage knowing that they’d given the moe-rons their best, given the circumstances. Schnier quickly returned to the stage with a handful of notes from the audience to commemorate birthdays and special dates of significance, and to give a personal shout out to the Yodeladies. Then the group referenced the ‘Tin Cans And Car Tires’ CD again with a fired-up version of “Spaz Medicine”, and when it seemed like the group was totally spent, they gave yet one more to the Madison fans who’d waited so long for moe’s return to the Capitol City. The last song of the evening was a treat and a half, in the form of Frank Zappa’s “San Ber’dino”, which of course featured terrific singing and guitar work by Schnier.
The beauty of a band like moe. is that they’ve got an innate chemistry via the 20+ years they’ve been making music together, and a huge back-catalog of originals and covers they’ve learned, so that they can adapt to any situation and reinvent themselves at will. This quality helped to make the February eighth Madison show a truly unique and special event, and even for a fan like myself, who’s seen some 50-60 moe. shows, found this gig to be unlike any other I’ve seen the band execute previously. Thanks Al! And thanks to the powers that be that brought moe. back to town for a super-fun Friday night!