Hot - but Who Cares?

I've lived in D.C. for four years, and Nashville for 8 months, both of which offer pretty intense humidity from June - September. In all honesty, I cannot remember a hotter two days than what we experienced this weekend. You'd think that working this past Saturday during the Rusted Root/moe. show would have been miserable, but given the rare onstage and pit access to Rusted Root for photos during their sound check and 60 minute set, I was having so much fun the heat was barely noticeable. My intentions for video did not materialize unfortunately, due to a faulty battery in my camera, but I promise the issue will be remedied for future shows.

Once Eleena pops into the office, I will upload a moe. slide show as well, but wanted to follow up with a portion of my promised content from Friday. Below is a Rusted Root slideshow, complete with sound check and performance shots, followed by a complete set list from both Rusted Root and moe. I heard the majority of the Rusted Root set, which included their big three "Martyr," "Ecstasy," and "Send Me on my Way." They played 2-3 new songs off their upcoming record, all of which sounded very solid, but seemed a bit of a departure from their world sound, with more of a focus on Glabicki as a singer/songwriter. Vocalist, percussionist and guitarist Jenn Wertz left the band back in March, so the band's excellent harmonies weren’t quite as pronounced, with backup vocal duty falling mostly to the Root's remaining female member, Liz Berlin.

moe. sounded like a seasoned jam band, with very tight instrumentation, complex vocal harmonies, and hypnotic solos including an impressive slap bass excursion during "32 things". Great crowd overall - hardly a person sitting down in-house.

Awesome day!