Over Labor Day weekend, moe. hosted it's 11th Annual moe.down Festival. While anchored by established jam band moe., moe.down.xi, as is tradition, brings together musical acts from a much more diverse universe then you'd imagine. With at least sixteen acts on two stages--including Nas & Damien Marley, Tortoise, Macpodz, Turbine, Punch Brothers, Monkey Wrench, Built to Spill, Orgone, Lotus, Ryan Montbleau Band, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Mike Gordon, Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds, The Black Keys, The Brew and of course, six full sets of moe. over three days--the festival gives the crowd an experience that covers indie rock, folk, hip hop, reggae, soul and electronica.
This year, the festival faced a change in venue for the first time in a decade, sticking to the same general upstate New York area, but moving to Gelsten Castle Estate, Moe.hawk, NY from long time home Snow Ridge Mountain, in Turin, NY. The change in venue raised some strong and vocal opposition from moe.down faithful in attendance. The reaction, a mix of being spoiled by Snow Ridge's incredible convenience and unique facilities, however strong, was eventually drowned out by the music and the undeniable familial atmosphere that permeates this gathering. A quick conversation with a fellow journalist backstage really set it all straight for me as far as the venue change; he said, "You know, it's time they make the move to see what this can become. There's only so long you can keep things small for the sake of keeping them small."
So then and there, my dissatisfaction with some logistical inconvenience was put into perspective and turned toward focusing on what was important: the sounds beginning to trickle through the main stage amps, the moe.rons descending on to the huge bowl-shaped lawn, and of course, moe. and the fifteen other bands that lugged more shit, experienced much more inconvenience, and worked much harder than me to make all this happen...again.