'Eclectic jam band' plays at local Borders

Vocalist and guitarist for Moe, Al Schnier, walked into Borders bookstore on Third Street Tuesday night and was asked by an employee, "You here for the concert?"\n"Yup," he replied with a smirk, as he made his way toward the employee lounge. Schnier's inconspicuous entrance proved fitting because the band performed like it was part of the audience.\nThe last time Moe performed in Bloomington was at the now defunct Mars Bar in 1997. Bassist and vocalist Rob Derhak reflected on the band's last trip to IU. \n"I remember we went to White Castle and we walked in and there was puke all over the floor," he said.\nNot exactly a fond memory, but Derhak acknowledged that Bloomington was once a regular stop on Moe's Midwest tours.\nPerforming in support of its recently released seventh studio album, "The Conch," the rock jam band returned to Bloomington with an acoustic preview of the new album.\nAppearing at Borders, Moe played an hour-long acoustic set of songs selected from "The Conch," followed by a group merchandise signing in the rear of the store.\nAccustomed to playing at majestic venues such as the Fillmore Auditorium and Radio City Music Hall, Moe seemed to stand taller than the bookshelves and crowd of nearly 400 that surrounded them. \nAt 8 p.m., the band took the "stage," an area marked off by a strip of red tape on the floor, next to the children's books. As if to signal a reckoning of musical forces, Derhak sounded a giant Queen Conch and announced, "The moose lodge will now be called to order."\nOpening with the adrenaline-drenched "Tailspin," the band soon made it apparent that the acoustic instruments held every ounce of power that fans have come to expect from the band's electric shows. \nThe pop-groove verses and Bee Gee-esque vocals of "Blue Jeans Pizza," coupled with the eclectic jam that ensued, sent a large part of the tie-dye-clad audience into dance. The mood was mellow, and Moe seemed to mesh with the audience; the only difference between them were the instruments in the band members' hands.\n"It's always cool to do something like this," said Derhak. "Once you get into a rhythm of playing big, electric, live shows on the road it can get redundant after a while. It's nice to break things up and do a completely different thing. And plus, it's free so you can come and watch it."\nThe explosive acoustic guitar interplay between Chuck Garvey and Schnier provoked bursts of approval. Garvey occasionally found himself singing along note-for-note to his own improvised solos, his melodies punctuated by the pulsing percussion of Jim Loughlin and Vinnie Amico.\nA Loughlin bongo solo prompted Schnier to urge the audience to "let the rhythm move your body." As dozens of audience members obliged, it became apparent that Moe's feel-good approach to its music can be felt in the strangest of places, even a bookstore.\n"Touring for us is pretty much everything," Derhak said. "Whereas we love making records, that only makes up maybe ten percent of our income. We're a lot more comfortable and better at playing live shows."\nAs the show concluded with a stomping version of the concert-staple "Down Boy," the bookshelves shook with the resounding applause of a grateful audience.\n"Tonight's performance was pretty badass," freshman Jake Kowalcyk said of his first Moe concert. "It was unique in that it was really intimate. It sounded really awesome; nothing was polished over."\nHopefully, this time, the floor in White Castle was.