While at times some may have wondered whether moe.down 7 would feature more inches of rain than sets from the host group, the festival nonetheless offered numerous highlights. On Friday night, Page McConnell debuted material from his forthcoming album and then remained for three songs with moe.: Buster, Mexico and Blue Jeans & Pizza. Drummer Stephen Perkins was the belle of the ball on Saturday as the Janes Addiction alum appeared four times: during moe.s afternoon set (Lazarus), with his own group Banyan and then with Umphreys McGee (Hurt Bird Bath). As for Umphreys, the group initiated a semi-swap with moe. during a version of Fool In the Rain, as Rob Derhak replaced Ryan Stasik on bass, drummer Vinnie Amico stepped in for Kris Myers and Al Schnier played guitar for Brendan Bayliss (although Bayliss remained on vocals). Still, moe. was more than willing to share, as later that night the group invited UMs Jake Cinninger and Meyers to join Perkins on The Faker and brought Bayliss out for Rebubula (as moe. had done at the inaugural Bonnaroo). On Sunday, following main stage sets by Ziggy Marley and Ramble Dove, the host group mostly kept its own devices, although Gordon Stone appeared on New York City and Waiting For the Punchline (the latter song Stone has also performed on many occasions with Al and the Transamericans).
moe. is off until September 14 at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, BC. The group also just announced two additional fall tour dates: September 27 and 28 at the Canopy Club in Urbana, IL in between opening slots for The Who.