moe., Blues Traveler & G. Love rolled into Raleigh's Red Hat Amp. for a Sunday funday of heavy grooves and dazzling light displays. The All Roads Runaround Tour is bringing a jubilee of jamband joy to fans all across the East Coast and Midwest this summer, with all three acts turning in stellar sets plus a lively all-star jam sandwiched in the middle.
First up was a G. Love solo set sans Special Sauce, starting with a perfect choice in opener "Peace, Love and Happiness" followed by the slyly ironic placement of "Sunshine" as a summertime sprinkle spritzed the crowd. A fast-paced take on Jack Johnson's "Rodeo Clowns" led to Blues Traveler keyboardist Ben Wilson joining the fun to add some tasteful barroom stylings to "Fix Your Face" and "Love."
Blues Traveler is celebrating the 25th anniversary of their breakthrough album "Four", and included its two biggest hits "Run-Around" and "Hook" in a rousing and electrifying set. Still traveling at full speed after all this time, they bookended their performance with two forays into the Charlie Daniels Band's "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" and even tucked a cover of Sublime's perennial singalong "What I Got" into the middle of their set.
Usually big group jams appear at the end of a show, but the all-star set was actually up next, with every musician appearing in various combinations for an exultant and joyous jaunt through some classic rock favorites. After opening with the Beatles' "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," they turned in a thick and frisky combo of Pink Floyd's "Fearless" somehow morphing seamlessly into the Grateful Dead's "Bertha."
moe.'s set wrapped up the shenanigans with a wild ride through their long and storied songbook, starting with "Bearsong" and "Threw it All Away" leading into "The Road." A soaring version of "Mexico" twisted into "Akimbo" to close out the set, with a brilliant and glistening light show illuminating the stage into otherworldly dimensions. An encore of "Annihilation Blues" capped off over 5 hours of music which you can relive at the links below thanks to taper Michael Frasca. All in all it was a glorious way to top off the weekend, with the blues thoroughly washed away by love, even if I do say moe myself.
- Paul Kerr
- Photos by Jerry Friend
Listen here!
G. Love (solo)
Blues Traveler & the All-Star Jam
moe.
