posted 01-03-2001 02:47 AM
I didn’t always like Phish. I remember when I first heard snatches of “The Wedge” on WMMR in Philly, I was tremendously annoyed that anyone could try so ostentatiously to imitate The Grateful Dead, a band I grew up listening to (I saw my first and only Dead show while I was still in the womb). I also hated the music.In college, I spent time with a few objectionable people who smoked a lot of marijuana and liked to think this somehow made them environmentalists. Some of these ur-hippies, however, were genuinely good people with brains in their heads and recycling bins in their kitchens, and it was through these people that I learned to appreciate Phish, particularly the albums Rift and Hoist.
It didn’t take me long to realize that these studio albums are among the most loathed by conventional Phish fans, who would rather listen to the live bootleg tapes so they can experience the most natural possible reproduction while driving their Honda CR-Vs and wearing upwards of $900 of their parents’ money in the form of North Face jackets and Eddie Bauer slacks.
Sorry. I know I’m supposed to be talking about Moe here.
I mention Phish because Moe is a very Phish-like band, with long songs prone to thirty-four minute concert renditions with chirpy guitar solos. Their most recent effort, L, is a two-disc collection of songs performed live at small venues across the nation, such as Washington, D.C.’s 930 Club and L.A.’s House of Blues.
It’s great stuff. Moe runs the gamut of their collection of styles on this disc, from funky walking bass and drum solos to guitar work the Dead would be proud of. And since it’s all live, you get longer, more tempestuous versions of songs you already know and love. It probably sounds great in a Honda CR-V.
My one complaint is that the first disc opens with “Spine of a Dog,” which is my least favorite Moe song, probably because it has that nonsensical cosmic-jester air about it that ganja-addled post-GenXer suburbanites seem to love so much. Here’s a sample of the idiot lyrics:
quote:
You say potato and I say three
You say potato and I say three
I am a pinball machine
I can tell the difference between
My bellybutton, a navel,
Ping-pong pool cue or a foosball table
It’s supposed to be about how we’re all supposed to get along despite our differences, but telling people that are baked on cannabis to get along with each other is like shooting fish in a barrel, so it kind of falls flat.
But on the whole, the discs are excellent. There’s a great rendition of “Yodelittle” on the first disc (complete with yodeling,) and the second disc is pure gold, starting with the perky and friendly “Akimbo,” leveling off with the well-harmonized, slide-guitar-laden “St. Augustine” and finishing up with “Recreational Chemistry,” a pretty mellow send-off.
I would like to have seen an appearance of “Rebulba,” my favorite Moe song, with some great lyrics:
quote:
Rip off all my limbs
Poke out both my eyes
Pull out my swollen tongue
Wear a thin disguise
When the siren song
Sweetly sucks me down
Into the ocean blue
I’ll find my way back to you.
The original is more than 11 minutes long and would have lent itself well to a live version with lots of solos. I’ve never seen Moe in concert, and hearing such a great song live would have been a treat. Oh well. No worries, as the Rastafarians might say. Now they know how to smoke pot.
(Edited to add Amazon link.)
[This message has been edited by Dave Thomer (edited 01-29-2001).]
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posted 01-03-2001 02:47 AM
