Put on your hemp threads and get ready to feel that six-minute solo. The veteran jam band moe. is coming Tuesday, Feb. 10 to Page Auditorium.
The concert will be co-sponsored by the Major Attractions and OnStage committees of the Duke University Union.
Dylan Ashbrook, chair of Major Attractions, said moe. was chosen in part because it appeals to a college crowd and has a particularly strong following in the Carolinas.
Moe.'s laid-back, jam-happy style of music also worked in its favor, added Suneel Nelson, chair of the OnStage committee. "Jam bands put on great live performances," he said. "Aside from six-minute solos... they've got an edge to them. They've got a lot of influences, [like] jazz and funk."
What moe. is not, certainly, is a top 40 act. The band has never sold millions of records and gets scant mainstream radio play. While they are better known on the college circuit because of their live shows and a reputation built by word of mouth, the Union may face an uphill battle in publicizing a band many students have never heard of.
Still, the band's fans are known for being extremely devoted, ensuring at least a solid baseline turnout, and others said they would head to Page to partake in the good times of a pop concert. Count in sophomore Charlie Benzik, for example, who said he would go although he is not too familiar with the band.
Both Nelson and Ashbrook said they expect a sellout of the 1,200-seat Page Auditorium. The Union's major fall concert performer, Ludacris, was far from a sellout, but he was attempting to fill the 9,300-seat Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Union President Jonathan Bigelow said Cameron was considered as a venue for a spring concert, but ultimately a high cost and poor availability--a Cameron concert could only have taken place in late April, only a few weeks before the Last Day of Classes celebration and concert--made the location unattractive.
Because of the venue, however, moe. security is expected to be considerably lighter than it was for Ludacris. Nelson said there would likely be no metal detectors and a minimal police presence, and Ashbrook said he was not concerned about the use of marijuana at the concert.
Moe.'s 2003 album, Wornwood, attempts to combine elements from their live shows with studio polish. The band also released a live album last year, Warts and All, Vol. 3.
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