On Saturday, moe. closed out a two-night stand at the State Theatre in Portland, Maine. A night after getting political the jamband stalwarts debuted a pair of new originals with “Dangerous Game” and “Jazz Cig.” The evening also featured a guest appearance from Emma Derhak who provided guest vocals on “Okayalright” subbing for her dad, bassist Rob Derhak who had lost his voice and was unable to sing all weekend.
The Buffalo-born band got their second night in the Pine Tree State going with an impressive seamless run. The five-piece act dedicated 30+ minutes to “Moth,” “Hi & Lo,” which was making its 2019 debut and “Puebla.” After kicking into “Okayalright,” the band abruptly stopped. Emma emerged declaring, “I think I may know the words.” The youngster then fronted the band for a memorable take on her dad’s song.
The second surprise of the night followed as moe. served up the debut of “Dangerous Game,” giving the brand new song a noteworthy maiden voyage as it unfolded over the course of 15 minutes. “Shoot First,” “Don’t Wanna Be” and a return back to “Moth” brought the opening frame to a close.
The quintet dug in on the pairing of “The Road” and “Head” to begin the second set of the night. The Al Schnier instrumental “Montego” was dropped in the middle of the two songs as they then reversed course to finish off “Head” and “The Road.” “Where Does The Time Go?” came ahead of moe.’s second debut of the night “Jazz Cig.” The instrumental was lead by percussionist Jim Loughlin and prominently featured his xylophone playing. Another impressive jam-filled stretch closed out the stanza with “Four” and “McBain.” moe. tapped “Wind It Up” for the lone encore.
Listen to full show audio taped by Ted Gakidis below:
Setlist
Set I: Moth > Hi & Lo > Puebla, Okayalright*, Dangerous Game#, Shoot First > Don’t Wanna Be > Moth
Set II: The Road > Head > Montego > Head > The Road, Where Does The Time Go?, Jazz Cig#, Four > McBain
Encore: Wind It Up
