Wetlands Preserved Documentary: The Story of an Activist Rock Club

Relix has put up the Wetlands Preserved Documentary: The Story of an Activist Rock Club on YouTube. It premiered in 2006 and made the rounds on the film festival circuit before a theatrical release in select theaters in Los Angeles and New York.

Archival footage, soundboard recordings and the work of a dozen digital animators help to relate the story of celebrated Tribeca nightclub Wetlands Preserve. The venue gave an early home to artists such as Phish, Dave Matthews Band, Blues Traveler, Spin Doctors, Widespread Panic, The Roots, moe., Gov’t Mule, Guster, 311, Robert Randolph, Soulive, The Disco Biscuits, all of whom appear in the film along with Bob Weir, Derek Trucks, Oteil Burbridge, Joe Russo, Darius Rucker and many others. Wetlands was not solely a music venue, as the club simultaneously supported a social and environmental activism center.

Mountain Jam 2015: The Black Keys, Gov't Mule, moe.

The Black Keys, Gov't Mule and moe. will be headliners at the 2015 edition Mountain Jam (June 4-7) Catskill Mountains, Hunter Mountain, NY. Gov't Mule will perform at late night Dark Side of the Mule, their first since the 2008 Halloween show @ Boston’s Orpheum Theatre.

» mountainjam.com

moe.: Warts & All Vol. 5

If you like jam bands, you want to hear the full show, right? Luckily most of them are taper friendly, so there are thousands of shows out there, most them audience recordings albeit taped with superior gear. So who needs an official CD set culled from the soundboard? For one thing you support the band by buying it and some shows are that good that want to hear with a killer sound. On February 22, 2005 moe. performed at the Val Air Ballroom in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The band decide to release it in full this year as Vol. 5in their Warts & All Vol. 5 series, using a stereo matrix mix recorded live to DAT (front of house soundboard and two AKG 414's). The result: a crispy soundboard with an audience feel that sounds really fucking good.

They were on stage for more than 3 hours, peaking in the second set which starts of on Disc Two. They stay close to the original studio tracks at first, before embarking on an epic Yodelittle > Spine of a Dog > Buster. Yodelittle is a bit of novelty song (Swiss yodeling anyone?) that slowly evolves into a keyboards driven ambient jam. If whales formed a jam band, they pick this song as a cover. After about 23 minutes the guitar creeps in and takes over settling into the Mexican groove of Spine of a Dog. By now you picture the audience dancing with wide grins on their faces, before moe. slows down a bit for Buster. No wonder the band and the audience needed a breather after that. The encore finds both them refreshed to go for it for two more songs. It must have been quite a night if you were there.

moe. are:
Chuck Garvey: vocals, guitar
Rob Derhak: vocals, bass guitar
Vinnie Amico: drums
Al Schnier: guitar, vocals, keyboards, moog
Jim Loughlin: percussion, acoustic guitar

Warts & All Vol. 5 is released on their own label Fatboy Records.

Tracks:

Disc One:

1. Intro
2. Bring You Down >
3. Shoot First
4. Captain America >
5. She
6. Y.O.Y.
7. George

Disc Two:

1. Intro
2. Spine of a Dog >
3. Mexico >
4. Plane Crash >
5. Spine of a Dog >
6. Yodelittle

Disc Three:

1. Yodelittle >
2. Spine of a Dog >
3. Buster
4. Encore: Tijuana Donkey Show
5. New York City

Tour dates:

• 07/20 10,000 Lakes Festival, Detroit Lakes, MN
• 07/26 Twilight Concert Series, Salt Lake City, UT
• 07/28 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO
• 08/31 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY
• 09/01 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY
• 09/02 Snow Ridge Ski Area, Turin, NY
• 09/29 Chevrolet Theatre Wallingford, CT
• 09/30 Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, Providence, RI
• 11/19 Melkweg, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• 11/20 Melkweg, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• 12/31 Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY

» moe.org

moe.: The Conch

Being a band with a solid live reputation is one thing, being able to cut it in the studio is something else. Formed at the University at Buffalo in 1990 jam band moe. slowly build a following by gigging endlessly. moe. was one the jam bands that raised the cross over flag in the nineties, treating their audiences like kids in a musical candy store. Lots of goodies, not necessarily healthy, but it sure as hell tastes good. Their fans, known as moe.rons spread the word that something special was happening on stage, a blend of southern rock, Zappa-esque keyboards, jazz tinges and - in one case - Swiss yodeling. Their latest studio album The Conch represents all that and more. It is a musical journey through time and grooves.

When the band performs live, a song can last for more than half an hour, often segueing into the next song. And the next. And the next. That doesn't happen in the studio (or if does, it is not released as such), but by adding short interludes between some of the 17 tracks to make smooth transitions if necessary The Conch is a Gesamtkunstwerk (that's German, look it up) with a running time of 74 minutes. That would be one set in a live setting. More about that in a follow-up review of their 3CD live set Warts & All Vol. 5.

moe. are:
Chuck Garvey: vocals, guitar
Rob Derhak: vocals, bass guitar
Vinnie Amico: drums
Al Schnier: guitar, vocals, keyboards, moog
Jim Loughlin: percussion, acoustic guitar

The Conch is released on their own label Fatboy Records.

Tracks:

1. Blue Jeans Pizza
2. Lost Along The Way
3. The Conch
4. Tailspin
5. Tubing The River Styx
6. The Pit
7. Another One Gone
8. Wind It Up
9. Y Eaux Massa
10. Down Boy
11. She
12. Where Does The Time Go
13. Summer o i
14. The Road
15. MacIntyre Range
16. The Col
17. Brittle End

» moe.org