Keene
is a funky little town. If you've ever been there, you know. If
not, go. There's a great vibe. It's located in a picturesque valley
over in the southwest corner of New Hampster, under the long shadow
of Mount Monadnock, a muse of Emerson and Thoreau, and many others.
There's a state college there, quaint shops, nice restaurants,
bars, pubs, blah, blah, blah. A good portion of Jumanji,
a favorite movie of mine, was filmed there. In one scene in the
movie the animals--elephants, rhinos, giraffes, et al.--stampede
down Main Street, Keene. The scene's kind of freakish and surreal,
particularly because the stampede runs right in the direction
of the Colonial Theater, where your fave band, moe., played Wednesday
night.
I'm happy
to report no exotic beasts stampeded by the Colonial, and the
only elephant in the house was moe., but more than one freak arrived
to watch moe. launch their fall tour, along with hundreds and
hundreds of moe.rons and newbies.
I can't
think of a better place to start the tour. Well, okay, maybe Prague
or Paris, or Jackson Hole or Boulder. But in a pinch, Keene is
a good start, and it's been over a decade since moe. played there--and
that was at the college. Also, the Colonial's a gem of a theater.
It opened in January of 1924, and thankfully, has survived. It's
the kind of place that's special to see a band like moe. play
in.
And play
they did! What's amazing is it's been two and a half months since
the machine has really been rolling, and it's like it never stopped.
Sometime during the first set the band punched out "Puebla"--that
caught my attention--and wind their way through a couple of other
numbers before morphing into "George." I've always liked
that song, and I'm not disappointed tonight. The second set opens
with "Moth," and fills out with other standards, like
"Happy Hour Hero," "All Roads," and "Plane
Crash." The band crushes it. I'm astounded. Everyone's astounded.
I overhear the theater's staff, the ushers, the door people, management,
talking about how good this band is. I hear words like, "Unbelievable!"
"Incredible!" "Amazing!" It's nice to hear.
I think--if they really only knew how well they really are. The
tour is just underway.