Shine On You Crazy Diamond: My Favorite Concerts Part 2

"Damn sure better than the rain"
Gov't Mule (w/opener Back Door Slam) The Orpheum Theatre Boston 10/31/08

Warren Haynes is a hardworking man. I've seen him perform three times, each time with a different band. A hard rocking blues guitarist, Haynes currently has regular gigs playing with the Allman Brothers, The Dead, and Gov't Mule, not to mention his frequent solo tours or the eponymous Warren Haynes Band. I kind of suspect that if he ever stopped touring for a moment his body would collapse from years of built up exhaustion. Sort of like a rock and roll perpetual motion machine.

On Halloween night 2008 I made my way over to the Orpheum Theatre to catch Gov't Mule play what promised to be an interesting show. For those who don't know, in the jam band community Halloween shows are considered to be special occasions. Many bands will "dress up" as another band for one of their sets, covering songs by that band or even performing entire albums. For example the band Phish, who were one of the first bands to popularize practice, famously played Loaded by the Velvet Underground on Halloween 1998. Rumors spread through the lobby and men's room before the show that this year they would be covering Pink Floyd, as apparently an inflatable pig icon had appeared on the band's website that morning. By the time I reached my seat the buzzed crowd had managed to inflate this rumor like some stoned version of telephone, so now not only were they playing "Physical Graffiti by Pink Floyd" but that David Gilmour was in the building and would be sitting in. I even allowed myself to believe that one for half a second, but it of course turned out not to be true.

British blues band Back Door Slam opened the night with an extremely entertaining set. They had a nice mix of blues standards, and original songs that seemed heavily influenced by past British blues bands like Cream. It was easy to see why the Mule would have chosen them to open the tour. Mule then came out and played a strong first set of their own songs, as well as a fantastic tease of "St. Stephen" by the Grateful Dead, a song that's always been dear to me for obvious reasons.
After a short intermission it was time for the main event. As the band came out the unmistakable wind chasm noises began to make their way around the sound system of the Orpheum, and the band began to play "One of These Days." They then made their way through Pink Floyd's greatest hits, with lots of great little touches thrown to heighten the effect. At the end "Fearless" the soccer hooligan chant that appears on the album version of the song could be heard in the background, and at another point a giant inflatable pig popped out of the side of the stage. My favorite performance may have been their cover of "Have a Cigar." First off, drummer Matt Abts took lead vocal, since the original Floyd version featured guest vocals by a singer named Roy Harper. Secondly they changed some of the lyrics to better suit the band so when it came time to sing the famous line "Which one's Pink?" they changed it to "I really think that's cool/ By the way, which one's the Mule?"

The performance ended with one of the few Floyd songs that I believe was already in the bands repertoire, "Wish You Were Here." Then the lights came up and everyone made their way to the doors with huge smiles on their faces. I had been so dazed by the music before that I hadn't realized so many people had shown up wearing their Halloween costumes. There was Bert & Ernie, Jerry Garcia, there were even two guys dressed up as The Dude and Walter. All of them made there way out into the warm autumn night, the good vibes of the show carrying them off into whatever tricks or treats could be found at this late hour.

The Music Never Stops: My Favorite Concerts

"Saranac will do just fine"

moe. Siena College New York 11/30/01

Confession time people. I am a hippie. A "dirty hippie" as my friend Drew would say. Sure I may not look the part, I keep my hair clean and short, I wash my clothes, I believe in owning property, but make no mistake; beneath my cold dead chest beats the tye-dyed heart of a hippie.

This means I've been to a fair number of concerts in my day. There was a brief period in my life where I followed a band called moe. up and down the east coast. Since leaving college, I've had less and less times for shows, but I still try to go out and see a few concerts each year. I've decided to list off the best shows I've ever attended. In making this I'm considering not just the band's performance but the over all feel and ambiance of the entire concert. In other words, the vibes.

So lets talk about moe. As I mentioned earlier I've seen this band play a lot, probably close to twenty times. And believe me, that number is small compared to some other people I know. moe. (and that's not a typo, the correct spelling of the bands name includes a lower case m and a period at the end) has been described, somewhat unfairly, as a poorman's Phish. This is due largely to the fact that they experienced a surge in popularity in the early 2000s while Phish was on their great hiatus. But other than sharing a love of noodling guitar solos, moe. is distinctly their own band, with each show a strong mix of covers as well as their own standards.

In November of 2001, my friends and I saw that the band would be playing a show at a college in central New York. Over Thanksgiving break a few of them had gone to New York City, where moe. had put on a monster two night show at the Hammerstein Ballroom, and they were all itching to see them again. This was to be my first time seeing the band and the trip, if I remember correctly, was a spur of the moment decision. One of my friends had brought his car back to school after Thanksgiving break, and we decided the only logical thing to do was take a roadtrip. So with Josh and Rob in the front seat, and myself Jess and Gypsy piled into the back, we made the three hour trip to Loudonville New York and Siena College. Siena is a tiny little liberal arts school, the type of place I sometimes regret not attending myself. We didn't have tickets, but moe. has never been the type of band to sell out an arena, so we were able to get tickets at the box office with no problem. The concert took place in what felt like a high school auditorium, and we ended up standing practically in the front row.

It had turned out that George Harrison, my favorite Beatle, had died earlier that day, and when the band came out for the second set they performed a spectacular version of "While my Guitar Gently Weeps." That pretty much sealed the show for me as being a worthwhile trip. The rest of the show was equally solid. My freshman year roommate Tyler, who for reasons I can't remember did not make this trip, used to play their music in our room constantly, so despite never seeing them before, I was familiar with all their songs. In the years that followed, I would end up seeing other shows that had stronger set lists and tighter performances, but this one has always been my favorite. Good music with good friends, it was just an incredibly happy experience.

Here is the set list of that night's performance:

1: Bring It Back Home > Water > Jazz Wank > Spaz Medicine > Buster > Spine Of A Dog

2: While My Guitar Gently Weeps > Mexico > Bullet (That Chuck Tune) > Meat

E: The Boys Are Back In Town

And here is an mp3 of "Mexico" from that night's performance, which contains a tease in the middle for "Here Comes the Sun."

A Short, Short Story

"We have nothing in common."

And there it was, the truth at last. We had been arguing for days, but it was only now, as she stood by the front door, an overnight back slung over her shoulder, that one of us had the courage to say it. The only thing that had kept us together these past few months was nothing more than fear and inertia. Part of my mind was jealous that it was her and not me who finally made the first move. The rest of me was frantically trying to think of a reason to stop her from walking out the door.

She stared at me, daring, begging me to deny what she had said. I could feel my desperation mounting as I racked my brain. Damn it, we had been together for over three years! In all that time, there had to have been something.

She sighed. A deep bracing sigh. I knew in a moment it would become too late. We'd never be able to go back. I needed to say something, anything to stop and allow me to think.

"What about 'Breakfast at Tiffanys'?" I found myself saying.

She was quiet for a moment. One endless beat of a moment. "I remember the film," she finally said, a hint of puzzled amusement in her voice.

"Thats good" I thought, "amusement is good, I can work with that." I chose my next word carefully.

"Well," I started, licking my lips. ""As I recall, I think... we both kind of liked it."

The words hung between us for an eternity. Then slowly, she placed her bag onto the floor.

"Well then" she said nodding, her eyes welling with tears, "that's one thing we got."

*LAME GUITAR SOLO*