On Friday, Dec. 13 the music group moe. played a sold out show at one of Boston's most intimate venues for big named bands -- The Paradise. moe. Gordon Stone joined moe. on pedal steel and occasionally banjo throughout the night. Even without their percussionist, the members of the band still were able to pull off a great show. Al and Chuck played guitar, Rob played bass, Vinnie did the part of two drummers, and Gordon provided a solid network of tightly woven jams that remained strong for the duration of the evening.moe. has gained a reputation for playing the speediest jams for never-ending moments. Last month at the Paradise, however, they produced a more balanced show. The audience could keep pace with them as they began many of their songs in slow, tight, swaying melodies and gradually built them to mind blowing peaks.

The first set included "Nebraska," a yeehawing rodeo celebration with a breathtaking Stone solo. After Al's microphone power trip, stating, "By 35, you should have your shit together," moe. launched into "Salt Creek" with Stone's best banjo work of the evening. The tune reached an intense peak and stayed at the intense plateau.

Afterwards, a surprise "Dark Star" instrumental jam was delightful; it highlighted more of Phil and Friendsy than of Deady, and included some spacey squiggly effects. This piece segued smoothly into a fantastic "Mexico" that went from a poignant, beautifully slow, melodic storyline to a "How the hell did I get here!?" climax. Ultimately segueing back into "Dark Star," moe. gave us another story ballad in "Happy Hour Hero." This song elevated one plane at a time that led to another bright climax with the charge led head on by Stone. The last piece in the set, "Bring It Back Home" started with a happy vibe. After establishing the mood, the tune became sharply discordant and headed straight down the freaky expressway. The second part of the song was an eternal journey, opening briefly for body conquering bass drums. Ultimately, moe. successfully completed their full throttle climax with "Bring it Back Home" that left the audience breathless.

moe.'s second set included a couple of poppy sounding Christmas tunes off their new Christmas album. Early on, moe. constructed a dizzying jam out of what began as a deep, dark chasm. Al overlaid it with some trippy synth effects that brings the listener yet another step further away from reality. The band transitioned smoothly to Chuck's upbeat sliding on the intro to St. Augustine. The next piece, "32 Things," boasted a piercing bass with an edge from Rob. With strobe lights and a nasty speedy jam that penetrated the walls of consciousness, this was another in a string of highlights this evening.

Nobody expected what would happen next. Al invited a member of the audience to sing with them. This unknown then invited his girlfriend on stage turned to her, knelt down and proposed. As she embraced him, moe. provided some good feeling background to celebrate this joyous occasion.

"Jazz Wank "was a little prolonged for my taste. Although it had a nice build, it didn't seem to go anywhere. As the yawns began to set in the audience, moe. busted into "Buster," completing the evening with "Spine of a Dog." With the audience singing along and Vinnie on the snare drums to bring the piece into an unreal ending, it was a perfect song to close the second set.

moe. rewarded the audience's enthusiasm with a three-song encore. "Tambourine" was a succulent tune, although a little on the short side. The subsequent songs were short as well. A cover of Creedence's "Bad Moon Rising" was a clever acknowledgement of Friday the 13th , and "We're a Couple of Misfits" was absolutely hilarious -- an '80s style punk tune that had Chuck and Al playing power chords and yelling in typically poor punk vocals. Overall, it was a great journey, with multiple highs and lows that fit together nicely. Next time they swing by, I highly suggest going to see moe. If you want an up tempo jamband with intelligently composed tunes, moe. really knows how to rock out.