By Dave Hoffenberg
posted
Mar 22, 2013
Snoe.down with moe. returns to Killington Resort and the Beast
could not be happier. If you want to get down to some funky,
jamming bands then don't miss the the four days of shows March
21-24.
The festival began in 2006 over in Lake Placid, NY and is
produced by Great Northeast Productions. In 2010, they were looking
for a new home for the festival and found the Rutland/Killington
region to be a perfect fit. Benjamin Jaehne, vice president of the
company, says "This is a destination type festival so we look for
areas that will be fun for all the people that are travelling to
come see it. Killington Resort has a great reputation for the ski
conditions and terrain and for the quality of the skiing. That's
what attracted us. We were also looking for a venue at the resort
that could hold 3,000 fans and there wasn't anything of that size.
We knew of the Spartan Arena down in Rutland so we figured we could
hold concerts down there and put together ski packages with the
resort and tie it all together. The Killington and Rutland
combination worked really well."
Snoe.down is the only music event to ever be held at the arena,
Jaehne says. "There was no blueprint for us to go by. We had to do
it all ourselves," he said. "We even had to bring in our own
power."
This year they have teamed moe. up with some stellar acts.
Friday night Dumpstaphunk is opening the show. Formed in 2003,
Dumpstaphunk was initially assembled by keyboardist Ivan Neville on
a whim, to perform a solo slot at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage
Festival. Neville tastefully selected the unique double-bass attack
of both Nick Daniels and Tony Hall on bass, enlisted his own
bloodlines for the scorching guitar rhythms of cousin, Ian Neville,
and most recently, added the newest member to the group,
heavy-hitting female protégé Nikki Glaspie on drums, replacing
original powerhouse Raymond Weber.
The band continues to develop its sound and further push the
envelope within a progressive funk sound that has arguably become
the most defining in the modern genre from New Orleans.
Saturday's opener is the original lineup of Strangefolk. Jaehne
says "moe. and Strangefolk have known each other for many years and
lead singer Reid Genauer's other band, Assembly of Dust, has been
playing on the snoe.down lineup for many years," he says. "This
will be a great reunion to have them back. Strangefolk, at its
core, was a community (providing the very experience, perhaps, that
social media provides today), and their music - storied characters
woven into sing-along songs and infectious three-part harmonies
interpreted in a new way each night - had become the soundtrack of
some people's lives."
Albany's own Eastbound Jesus is opening the show Saturday
afternoon at Bear Mountain. "They've been picking up a lot of
moementum and there has been a lot of buzz about them," says
Jaehne. "They shred on the banjo, they have sweet sounding vocal
harmonies, they play ballads, they play fast-paced rocking tunes,
and it all comes from a real, genuine place that makes for a sound
all their own."
Schedule:
THURSDAY
Thursday night Marco Benevento kicks things off at the Wobbly Barn.
If you want to see an exhilarating glimpse into the future of rock
piano, then this is your show. Benevento is a melodically inventive
musical adventurer who artfully employs pedals, amplifiers,
circuit-bent toys and sundry effects around his acoustic piano
set-up. Benevento was on the top of Great Northeast Productions's
list so they're super excited to have him.
Opening the show is Mike Pedersen who plays soulful music.
Whether it's rock, dance or bluegrass, he plays from the heart.
With striking vocals, serious guitar chops and a very entertaining
stage presence. Regardless of the band he's playing in, Pedersen
knows how to capture an audience.
At the Pickle Barrel, Thursday, Dead Sessions headlines. Over
the past 14 years Dead Sessions has grown to become one of the
favorite Grateful Dead experiences in the Northeast. Playing since
1998, the collective is known for their authentic but unique
renditions of Grateful Dead classics, thick with heartfelt jams
that make the most jaded Deadhead rejoice. Dead Sessions is
composed of a rotating cast of musicians throughout the country,
but the roots of origin are easily traced to the Green Mountain
State.
FRIDAY
Friday afternoon bands will perform at the K1 base lodge. First
catch Tauk (12:30-2 p.m.), a band that delivers a unique blend of
funk, jazz, pop and rock with a fresh, experimental spirit. They're
an instrumental jam heavy band. With a new album under their belt
and an impressive summer lineup of shows, Tauk plans to continue to
push the envelope of their musical vision, and bring that vision to
all those who are listening around the country.
Later that afternoon (3:30-5 p.m.) is the Primate Fiasco who are
a Mardi Gras type of a band that uses the instrumentation of a New
Orleans street band (sousaphone, banjo, brass, woodwinds, drums,
etc.) but plays music that you wouldn't expect. They play high
energy arrangements and improvisation mixed with fascinating lyrics
and curveball cover decisions. Jaehne says, "They really know how
to work a crowd. I saw them recently in Boston and was really
excited that they had this date available for us."
You'll need to be active on the slopes to catch all the great
acts because at the same time over at the Snoe.Shed base lodge is
Floodwood (12:30-2) and Jimkata (3:30-5 p.m.) Floodwood features Al
Schnier and Vinnie Amico from moe. and are a progressive bluegrass
sounding band. While the band is merely 1-year-old, there is
already a huge buzz as they've been tearing up festivals and clubs
on the east coast with their original brand of 'newgrass.'
Jimakata has been a mainstay of the Northeast for years. Recent
traction stemming from the rise of electronic dance music (EDM) has
afforded them the opportunity to continue expanding their signature
brand of song-oriented electro-rock. Analog synthesizers and heavy
bass notes fill the electronic role, while big guitars create space
for shredding within the structure of pure indie rock.
moe. will play his first performance Friday night at Spartan Arena
in Rutland at 9 p.m.
SATURDAY
On Saturday at the Bear Mountain outdoor stage, Eastbound Jesus
(12-12:45 p.m.) will warm up the crowd for moe. who will take the
stage at 1 p.m.
moe. will then play his last performance Saturday night at
Spartan Arena in Rutland at 9 p.m.
SUNDAY
Sunday afternoon at K1, hailing from Portland, Maine, is the Mallet
Brothers Band who will take the stage at the K-1 Lodge from 1:30 to
3:30 p.m. They earned this spot by winning the Sonicbids contest.
This fuel-injected six-piece alt-country rock band describes their
eclectic style as comparable to Steve Earle meets the Stones, in a
shack in the woods, with electricity and a bottle of bourbon.
They've won a lot of awards and Jaehne is really happy to have them
on the bill.
"All together this lineup is pretty eclectic and we're really
happy to have the support of the communities of both Rutland and
Killington," Jaehne says. "We want to be able to offer a wide
variety of music... Ultimately, we want to make sure that the bands
are active in the scene. We reward the ones that are working really
hard. It's a lot of fun picking these bands and working with
them."
moe.
The headliner of the whole festival, the band that hosts this great
weekend, is moe. They will play three concerts Friday and Saturday
night at Spartan Arena at 9 p.m. and Saturday afternoon at Bear
Mountain.
They've been jamming since 1989 when they were formed at the
University of Buffalo. The band consists of Rob Derhak (bass,
vocals), Al Schnier (guitar, vocals, keyboard), Chuck Garvey
(guitar, vocals), Vinnie Amico (drums), and Jim Loughlin
(percussion). Besides snoe.down they also host an annual summer
festival called moe.down at Snow Ridge Ski Area in Turin, NY.
Their festival repertoire should be titled "Best festivals in
the world" since it includes Gathering of the Vibes, Jazz Fest in
New Orleans, High Sierra, Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo which they
received a Grammy for their performance on June 23, 2002. That's
just a few of the 25 plus festivals they've played. They've also
recorded 10 studio albums and 10 live albums.
The band enjoys mixing their shows with the slopes. They just
played and skied at Mt Hood in Oregon and Homewood in Lake Tahoe
but they're excited to get back and ski Killington. Al Schnier
says, "The cool thing about Killington is I can bring my kids and
there is something for everyone. It's a great place to ski with
your family and I love skiing with our fans too." Everyone in the
band skis except for Jim who snowboards but he hasn't gone for a
while. Last time they played Killington in 2011, Schnier was having
so much fun on the slopes that he tried to get as many runs in
before the show as possible. He cut it so close that he skied right
up to the stage and played the first set in his ski boots!
They love the destination tours and that is how snoe.down came
about. Schnier says, "We've done island destination things, cruises
and runs through ski towns like Tahoe and the Rockies. We thought
if we could combine all the stuff we like to do and put it all in
one place, it would work. Do it in a place where we can ski with
our fans and play some shows around the clock, it's a win win. The
challenge is finding a place where you can pull it off," he
said.
The weekend wraps up with an acoustic moe. brunch at the Wobbly
Barn. Schnier ends with "That's a great way to wrap up the weekend.
It's my favorite part. We're really looking forward to it."
Just as Grateful Dead followers were coined "Dead Heads," avid
moe. fans embrace the term "moe.rons." so come join us and be one
this weekend (I've been one since 1998 when I first saw them at the
Muse in Nantucket.)
Dave Hoffenberg is a correspondent for The
Mountain Times. He can be reached directly at
djdavehoff@gmail.com
Photos by Rob Chapman, Miles Weaver and John Gullo
