Let's be clear about this from the start: I bought my snoe.down (VIP) ticket the morning it went on sale. Skiing & Live Music are two of My Favorite Things... throw in some bacon (and waffles) and I'm golden. I was eager for snoe.down to redeem itself after the great Lake Placid Disco Biscuits fiasco of 2007. The move to Killington & Rutland was a spectacular idea. Despite the rising temperatures, snow conditions in the weeks leading up to the festival were also promising.
It completely shitstormed (rain) on the drive up, Thursday night.
FRIDAY, 3/26/10
Fortunately, in the wee hours of Friday morning, temps dropped just enough to coat some light powder on top of Killington’s hard East Coast surface. Just enough to "push around". We'll take it! Hern, Jack, & I were bracelet-ed and on the mtn by 9:30am. The cold air was beautiful. We made the mistake of heading over to Bear Mtn without checking conditions. It was beginning to get icy over there and patchy in places. Rain from the night before made the woods a sketchy idea. We enjoyed ourselves, nonetheless.
When it got to be that time, we headed in for lunch with Lynch. To give me the false sense of confidence needed to hit up the Outer Limits, I turned to some hot cider w/ ginger brandy. If there was any hope of going into (and out of) those moguls, alcohol was necessary. The lodge started to fill in during soundcheck and Lynch were rockin' the joint. DL THE LYNCH SET (Thanks for all the taping, Scott B.!): http://www.archive.org/details/lynch2010-03-26.tlm170.flac16
We enjoyed half of the set before hauling our asses up to the drop-in of the Outer Limits (Jack was smart and took a cruiser). After seeing how deep the moguls actually were (and watching Hannon bust his ass a few times), I chose the flat-but-icy left side. Fuck those moguls, I needed to be able to stand for 3 days of music! This is the Yin and Yang of festivals at work, people. The Tao of snoe.down, if you will.
the Outer Limits
The nice people in the Bear Mtn Lodge ski shop fixed the binding Hannon broke in the moguls* and we headed over to K1, with the intention of hitting some trails before watching Moon Alice. Hot DAMN, the K1 side was amazing conditions!! Soft & powdery! Wish we had been there all day! We put our proverbial balls to the wall and took the plunge down Cascade -> Flume, a nasty little double diamond combo trail we'd been eyeing since landing on that side. I got a little nervous going through the orange rope with the EXPERTS ONLY disclaimer, but it only took minimal encouragement ("c'mon!") and we motherfucking RULED that trail! BEST DECISION OF THE DAY**.
Exhausted but satisfied, we went into the K1 Lodge for Moon Alice. I won't call this the WORST DECISION OF THE DAY, because I did eat a Snickers bar at lunch, but Moon Alice weren't anything special. Is that harsh? That's okay, I'm allowed to be harsh, I FUCKING CONQUERED THE FLUME.
Our Whiffletree condo was hosting a full crowd for Apres Ski (myself, hern, gullo, jack, sara). We ate, drank, and be merried for quite a while.
At time o'clock, we made the quick (but not so quick as to drive above the speed limit) trip into Rutland, where we found ourselves in the parking lot of a mall that houses the Spartan Arena (a hockey rink next door to a KMart). Weird! The place was slightly empty when we got there, but people were gathered up front for Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, who were super-funky w/ soul and a lot of fun. They definitely created a welcoming energy as people filed in.
And then there was moe., who started off with a pretty rockin’ Mexico- a totally reasonable launch-point for such a large audience (sidenote: this was Leeeza’s first real moe. show and the setlist was perfectly designed to win her over). Highlights: Four, Queen of Everything, Shoot First--- with bonus points to Chuck for changing the lyrics to “bury your cat”.
During Set II they busted into Cape Cod Girls, a traditional Sea Shanty, deftly handled by Rob, as it bathed the crowd in it's warming spirit. Dig it! Yarr. Bearsong -> Hector’s Pillow -> Timmy Tucker was loud and satisfying. For the encore, they served an enjoyable She Sends Me and paired it with an amusingly sloppy version of Spine played in double-time to make curfew. moe. on Jolt. I wonder if they practice that? moe.’s good mood, much like The Clap, is highly infectious. We left teeming with happy-moe.-cooties. What an amazing way to start the weekend!
WHY WON'T YOU LET HIM BE GREAT?
FRIDAY NIGHT:
SET I
Mexico
Captain America ->
Four
Queen Of Everything
Shoot First ->
Moth
SET II
Raise A Glass
The Faker ->
Tailspin
Cape Cod Girls ->
Water ->
Bearsong ->
Hector's Pillow ->
Timmy Tucker
E:
She Sends Me
Spine Of A Dog^
^ double-time to make curfew (you can actually hear the guys smiling)
DL THE FRIDAY NIGHT SET (Thanks, Scott Bernstein!): http://www.archive.org/details/moe2010-03-26.tlm170.flac16
SATURDAY, 3/27/10
Coffee’d up and on minimal sleep, we arrived at Bear Mtn. around 10ish to get back onto the slopes as quickly as possible. There was much playing to be done before the music started! We headed over to K1 where conditions had shifted from the day before. This side was definitely getting warmer and spring-ier, with an icier base by the hour.
Our hope was to conquer the best snow available, before attempting to enjoy a chunk of Hot Day At the Zoo’s set. We’d have to miss the McLovins this time around. We eventually made our way back over to Bear Mtn lodge, via the Jig(gidy gee)- which was perfect up top- but at the steep pitch towards the bottom, 2 screaming children indicated precisely where the snow turned to into sharp rocks--- hence the “thin cover” sign at the entrance of the trail. Late-March in VT. So it goes.
Eventually, we went in for lunch and Hot Day At The Zoo, who were playing to an absolutely packed Bear Mtn Lodge. I haven’t seen these guys since 1/09, when they had just adopted a new mandolin player, JT. They were great then, but I can’t even begin to describe how much they’ve matured in just one year. JT seems to have gotten comfortable enough to take on a leadership role in the group and it definitely suits them. Also, FYI- it’s very difficult to rock-out in ski boots, even for a mere 45 minutes. As a side-note, the day before this afternoon set, HDATZ played the State Prison in Rutland. What a weird scene that must have been. (check the archive to DL the HDATZ set, Salvo definitely taped but I don’t yet see it as of 4/8/10).
Then it was back on the mountain to try and get a few more runs in, before my early 2010 ski season would come to it’s probable end (with a moe. set!!). It was a good time to end it, as I nearly busted my ass taking a blind corner at full speed into a slush-made-mogul-field that did not exist on that trail the day before. DAMN YOU, SLUSH-LINE!!!!
It was time to change out of those damn ski boots and enjoy a wonderful set of moe., in the wonderfully warm weather, far away from the -10 degree temps of the afternoon Whiteface set so many years ago. Highlights: Akimbo, SOMP, Sensory Deprivation Bank, Down Boy. Al played the entire set in ski boots--- cuz he’s a mad-man!
St. Augustine
Skrunk
Not Coming Down
Wormwood
Okayalright
Akimbo
Crab Eyes
Happy Hour Hero ->
Seat Of My Pants ->
Sensory Deprivation Bank
E:
Down Boy +
+ w/ moe.lings raiding the stage
DL THE BEAR MTN SET (Thanks, Scott B.!): http://www.archive.org/details/moe2010-03-27.early.tlm170.flac16
WORST DECISION OF THE DAY: Unquestionably made by Hern, as he took a first sip of Gin that would lead him down the dark and twisted path to what will henceforth be known as The Gincident***.
- Sara Morrison Whitehair
But, more on that later...
Our priorities quickly shifted to eating and resting rather than seeing Assembly of Dust or Railroad Earth. I stand by these decisions and file them under the previously mentioned “Tao of snoe.down”. About 5 minutes after arriving at the arena, I managed to somehow misplace Hern and lose Sara & Amy while trying to find a nice spot on chuck.side. Phone reception in the rink was spotty, but I did manage to run into a few friends and then made some new ones up front in the chuck.zone: BEST DECISION OF THE DAY.
Highlights: Wind It Up (and it’s been running through my head ever since) and the funky Cissy Strut sammich in Stranger Than Fiction. Once the set ended I attempted to meet back up with some peeps, but this proved to be quite difficult as we were all in our own little worlds. It’s okay though, cuz my new friends in the chuck.zone were absolutely stellar & chock-full-o-loyalty- they let me right back into my spot! Aww!!! Wherever you folks are, you rule!
Saturday night’s SET II definitely rocked, even with a Blue Jeans Pizza smack in the middle of it. At some point one of my new buddies on the rail decided to leave and happily shifted me into the spot! LOVE IT! And I FINALLY got my Lazarus (thanks, Mark!). It was relatively short, but the crowd participation was loud, fun, and totally worth it. Other highlights: Threw It All Away, Bring It Back Home, a dark, wonderful, and driving Opium-> an AWESOME and brash 32 Things.
Chuck had accrued quite a fan club in the photo-pit directly in front of us (because he's Satan) by the end of the night. The other guys started teasing him about it (jealous much?) and changed the lyrics of 32 Things into, “every time I think about Chuck, I think about Chuck, Chuck!”. Chuck answered by laying it on thick, and it was spectacular!
Hail Satan!
Ahh, but The Gincident. Sometime during the 2nd set, midnight-ish, my phone started to light up as a result of repeated calls from Hern. This made no sense to me. I wasn’t gonna be able to hear shit on the phone, cuz moe. were playing, and if this was his 1 phone call from jail (I mentioned he'd been drinking Gin, yes?), he was gonna have to wait til the show ended, cuz I was standing in front of Chuck. I wasn’t budging. Besides, with bands like HDATZ passing through for occasional gigs, the Vermont Prison system doesn't seem like such a bad setup. If this was a medical emergency, I wasn’t even qualified to help. And if he needed beer money, I’d soup-can him in the nuts. Surely someone who wasn't standing on the chuck.side rail could assist Hern with whatever he needed. My curiosity had peaked, but I chose Chuck. DON'T JUDGE ME.
Once the show ended (the 1am time-range) and I started walking out, my phone exploded with texts and voicemail alerts from around Midnight. After listening to the evidence, my Best Case Scenario theory was that moe. played Bring It Back Home and Hern left. Bring It Back Home makes him angry... As does gin. The combination of the two could create a vortex in which all reasoning in the universe ceases to exist.
We haven't pieced it all together, but what we do know is that somehow before or during SET II, el Herno found himself outside of KMart, under the impression that the show was over and that we had left him there. It wasn’t & we had not. Also, according to the messages, he was: cold, pissed, and dying. The voicemails and texts we all received were (and still are) fabulous. They should be placed in a time-capsule or at least donated to the Smithsonian...
We only saw him again when the bus dropped him off at the condo. He looked traumatized and then he slept on the floor. Ladies and Gentlemen: The Gincident***.
SATURDAY NIGHT:
SET I
Wind It Up
Spaz Medicine
Understand
Stranger Than Fiction ->
Cissy Strut ->
Stranger Than Fiction
Plane Crash
SET II
Threw It All Away
The Road ->
Lazarus ->
The Road
Blue Jeans Pizza ->
Bring It Back Home
Nebraska
Opium ->
32 Things
E:
Willin'
New York City
DL SATURDAY NIGHT’S SET (Thanks, Scott B.!): http://www.archive.org/details/moe2010-03-27.tlm170.flac16
SUNDAY, 3/28/10
For most people, their last taste of moe. at snoe.down was Saturday night. But for some Very Important People, we were lucky enough to wake up early and wait on a Very Important line at the Wobbly Barn. This line would lead us to an acoustic moe. set, and hopefully some bacon & waffles. To help bide our time, we went across the street for coffee and a croissant, which were really really good.
We finally got inside and to our shock and dismay, did not smell the sweet sweet aroma of baconfied pork!!! Panic passed up & down the line leading to the awful truth: THERE WAS NO BACON. WTF, moe.? How could this be?!? WHYYYY????!!!!!!! No waffles is a disappointment, but no bacon at snoe.down brunch is an outrage. At least they’d have the decency to play meat.
The acoustic set was fun, casual, and a nice way to procrastinate easing back into society after such a demanding festival weekend. Highlights: Shoot First, Shake Your Hips, Deep This Time -> Meat. Buster was cute (but only reminded me of the missing bacon-- twist that knife, guys.), with the moe.lings assisting on backup vocals. The band thanked everyone and reminded us to drive the speed limit on our way out of town. I heart them.
WOBBLY BARN ACOUSTIC BRUNCH SET
Salt Creek
Shoot First
Gone
Shake Your Hips
Tambourine
Captain America ->
She
Deep This Time ->
Meat
E:
Buster ^^
^^ featuring moe.lings on backup vocals
DL THE WOBBLY BARN SET (Thanks, Scott B.!): http://www.archive.org/details/moe2010-03-28.tlm170.flac16
Was it time to go home already? Sad.
What an amazing weekend! HUGE THANKS to the moe. organization for a truly awesome time. No Rec Chem or Rebubula--- in fact, I haven’t seen a Rec Chem since moe.down, and Rebubula since moe.lloween. I’m good with that and can appreciate the hiatus, it’s nice to keep songs special.
moe. are having so much fun right now and us moe.rons are just soaking it all up! moe., you so good to us. It was awesome seeing so many friends, seeing so much good music, and getting to play in the snow together for one more weekend this season. I love snoe.down and can't wait to do it again!! snoe.down 2010: 9.9**** HUZZAHS!!! That should definitely hold me til June.
*I saw him do a cartwheel.
** Aside from the Brandy.
*** COPYRIGHT © 2010 LYNN'S KILLIN' SHACK
**** - .1 for lack of bacon & waffles… totes lame.