moe. has released a live video of “Lazarus” from the band’s acoustic performance on February 7th, 2013 at The Ark in Ann Arbor, MI.
Premiered on Monday, the video opens with an animated sequence made by Mike Fortunato. The scene incorporates familiar moe. iconography including Buster the flying pig, as well as several album covers from the band’s live series, Warts and All.
While the band’s acoustic set stripped away all of the usual thrills of electrified rock, the video adds trippy elements of color reminiscent of a 1960s liquid light show. “Lazarus” normally functions as a versatile jam vehicle than can stretch past the 20-mark, but this rendition keeps it to a lean 5:42. In that short time, however, the band and listener alike notice and increased emphasis on the song’s vocal component. Meanwhile, the song is slowed down a bit, with the lack of distortion adding clarity to the recognizable riff. As guitarists Chuck Garvey and Al Schnier trade clean acoustic solos, it’s clear they don’t need the added amplification to achieve their end goals of improvisation. The solos, much like the song, are brief but focused.
Watch moe. perform an acoustic rendition of “Lazarus” at The Ark in 2013.
moe. – “Lazarus” – 2/7/2013
[Video: moe.]
moe. was recently forced to postpone its annual Summer Camp Music Festival in Chillicothe, IL. Normally slated for Memorial Day weekend, the gathering has since been pushed to August 21st–23rd as a result of COVID-19. Currently, the band’s next scheduled appearance is at Phenix City Amphitheatre in Alabama on June 25th. As the line in the sand of concert cancellations continues to move further back into summer, however, even that show and the proceeding summer tour is very much in question. Head to moe.’s website for any further updates and announcements.