LIVE REVIEW: moe. in Somerville, MA (11.22.25)
On Saturday night, moe. capped off a three-night Boston-area run with a show unlike the two that preceded it. After playing consecutive nights at the Wilbur Theatre—a 1,200-seat room that felt appropriately sized for their following—the band downsized dramatically for their final performance at Arts at the Armory in Somerville. With a capacity of only about 495, the Armory show was a rare treat reserved almost exclusively for the band’s most dedicated devotees. To even buy a ticket, fans needed to have attended (or at least purchased tickets for) both Wilbur shows. The result: a room packed wall-to-wall with diehards who knew precisely what they were there for.
For legal reasons tied to a peculiar Massachusetts regulation about playing multiple venues in the same area too close together, this gig was billed not as “moe.” but as “Monkeys on Acid.” Longtime followers in the crowd assured me this wasn’t just a workaround—it was tradition. These “Monkeys on Acid” nights, they explained, are typically once-a-year opportunities for the band to throw out the rulebook, ditch traditional setlists, and lean wholly into instinct, flow, and improvisation. Saturday’s show made good on that ethos from the start.
A handwritten “setlist” onstage for Set 1 turned out to consist of only three items—and really only two songs, since the band essentially played “Meat” → “Tailspin” → “Meat” as one looping, exploratory suite. It set the tone beautifully: long-form improvisation, patient builds, and transitions that felt as much like discovery as performance.
Set 2 followed the exact blueprint but stretched out even further. “Recreational Chemistry” served as both opener and closer, bookending a series of deep dives and jam-heavy detours. “Letter Home” and “Dr. Graffenberg” were delivered with a looseness and confidence that can only happen when a band trusts both their own instincts and the audience’s appetite for the unknown. And then came “Rebubula”—a personal highlight and one of the early moe. Classics that still hit with the same nostalgia for ’90s jam-funk I used to love in my younger days. Hearing it in such an intimate room, surrounded by fans who reacted with collective joy, felt genuinely remarkable.
The evening closed with a thoughtful, sprawling encore: a warmly welcomed cover of Traffic’s “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.” Its dynamic, slow-burn structure was ideally suited to the night’s improvised spirit, giving the band space to stretch one more time before sending the crowd back into the cold November air.
Beyond the music, Arts at the Armory proved to be an unexpectedly delightful venue. Spacious floor, easy movement, and an upstairs balcony with open seating for anyone craving a more elevated vantage point. The bar offered local beverages not found at typical Boston clubs, plus a surprisingly charming menu of toasted pretzels, small pizzas, and sandwiches. In a city of venues that often feel overstuffed or impersonal, the Armory had character and comfort to spare.
The stage itself was dressed with rubber chickens of various shapes and sizes—an on-brand touch of moe’s quirky humor—and flanked by upright, lightsaber-like LED fixtures that shifted colors, creating an immersive, glowing atmosphere. The band seemed relaxed, almost playful, feeding off the intimate energy and the freedom inherent in these “Monkeys on Acid” nights.
In the end, this third night was the standout of the run—not because it was bigger or louder, but because it was smaller. Stripped of formality, of expectations, and of any pressure to deliver a hits-laden set, moe. Tapped into what makes jam-band culture so durable: the joy of not knowing exactly where the night is going, and trusting the band to take you somewhere worthwhile. On Saturday in Somerville, they absolutely did.
Photos – moe. At Arts at the Armory in Somerville, MA on November 22nd:
