October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month and moe. is certainly doing its part. This whole month has seen the Buffalo quintet debut various pink-themed covers in addition to playing pink instruments. The tradition continued on Saturday when moe. debuted a cover of John Mellencamp‘s “Pink Houses” at Thalia Hall in Chicago, IL.

Returning onstage for the encore, guitarist Al Schnier—armed with a pink semi-hollow body guitar—fired off the opening riff of the 1983 chart-topper. With Mellencamp hailing from neighboring Indiana and the Buffalo ensemble playing the song in Illinois, the mood was that of the Heartland of America as Rob Derhak sang Mellencamp’s depiction of the Great Melting Pot, getting help with the lyrics at one point from drummer Vinnie Amico. Derhak himself went through a battle with oropharyngeal cancer in July 2017, resulting in a hiatus for moe. which lasted until February 2018 when the bassist returned cancer-free.

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The pink theme has run strong throughout moe.’s performances this month, beginning during the band’s three-night hometown run at The Town Ballroom in Buffalo October 14th–16th. It all began when moe. busted out The Flaming Lips‘ “Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt. 1” for the first time since 2010. The tradition carried on with Pink Floyd‘s “Have A Cigar” the next night, followed by the debut of “The Pink Panther Theme” featuring guitarist Chuck Garvey on saxophone. The band started its three-night run at Thalia Hall with the debut of Nick Drake‘s “Pink Moon”, followed the next night by the debut of Bruce Springsteen‘s “Pink Cadillac”, and finally closing things out with Saturday’s “Pink Houses”.

Watch a fan-shot video of moe.’s debut of “Pink Houses” at Thalia Hall in Chicago on Saturday. The band continues on to College Street Music Hall in New Haven, CT on Thursday, followed the next night at The Paramount in Huntington, NY, and finally the band’s Halloween show at The Fillmore Philadelphia on the 30th. For tickets and a full list of tour dates visit the band’s website. moe. is also offering limited-edition merchandise as part of the Real Men Wear Pink campaign for the American Cancer Society. Shop merch here.

moe. – “Pink Houses” (John Mellencamp) – 10/23/21

[Video: shinepigeon]