[To skip directly to a slideshow of moe.down 11 photos, click here.]
moe.down XI
Gelston Castle - Mohawk, NY
Festival schedule
moe.down 2010 rocked it out this year. And to think that I very nearly skipped it... what a moe.ron.
As it turned out it wasn't until the very last possible minute that I finally decided to go for it. By Friday morning I had rented a car, packed up, and was driving straight south to Mohawk, NY for moe.down 11 (yeah, moe.hawk, how appropriate eh).
I arrived without a ticket and as I was waiting for the maintenance dude to fix the ATM, somebody started yelling "Tripper!" from the long line of cars. Enter Sean and Maria (and crew). Sweet. It was truly great timing (Sean lent me the cash) and an excellent start to the weekend.
After 10 years of moe.down at Turin, NY (Snowridge) this was a new location. Between the two my preference is obviously Turin - it's an hour closer and much more convenient in terms of proximity between camping, stages, and the parking lot. I do admit the views here at Gelston Castle are somewhat nicer but if it was views I wanted I'd be hiking another 46er in the ADK. For me it's about the music, the people, and the convenience and for that Turin gets my vote.
The weather forecast was sketchy but in the end it only rained the Friday night making for some very cool effects while moe. was jamming late into the night. I certainly got wet but I was by no means soaked.
The number of bands at moe.down this year were a little scaled down compared to previous years. I would have loved to have seen Perpetual Groove, Particle, Donna the Buffalo, Railroad Earth, and Nate Wilson added to the venue but instead they were on the list of attractions the week prior at the first (and doubtfully annual) Snowridge Jamfest aka moe.down's old location. Apparently it was a flop with only about 100 attendees (read news article here). That said, moe. still managed to nail down some solids with Grace Potter, Black Keys, Built to Spill, and Lotus among my personal highlights. Some of the smaller stage bands also impressed - Turbine, Orgone, The Brew to name a few.
And then there's Grace. Grace Potter not only rocks hard, she's extremely photogenic - she can even make a wanker with a cheap camera look like they have some talent. Thanks Grace, you were amazing. And no worries, just because I saw you a few months ago at Mountain Jam doesn't mean I'm stalking you. (Or does it?)
And finally moe., a band that never fails to impress. They played six sets and nearly 10 hours of pure jam adrenaline. Awesome. Thank you.
Cheers to the gang - Sean, Maria, Timmy, Nicole, Eric, John, Mark, Brad, Kate, Lewis, Heidi, Jessica, Jessie, Randy, Michelle. Thanks for a great weekend and see you next year eh...
PS: Check out a slideshow of photos here.
