Moe. Bust-Out “Calyphornya” and Salute the Grateful Dead in Los Angeles (A Gallery + Recap)

Photo Credit: Paul Citone

On Friday, Feb. 7, moe. moved up the West Coast for a performance at Los Angeles’ The Bellwether. With the seventh performance in their 35th Anniversary Winter Tour, the band continued the celebration of their 14th studio album Circle of Giants, which arrived via ATO Records on Jan. 31; through the course of the evening, the beloved jam figurehead served up four tracks from the new album (a new tour record) alongside a carefully curated array of longtime favorites.

Moe. set off their performance with the 1996 No Doy classic “Buster,” then cruised into three new entries with “Tomorrow is Another Day,” “Ups and Downs” and a cover of Ghosts of Jupiter’s “Yellow Tigers” that opens Circle of Giants and has quickly become a setlist staple. The band laid out another classic with an excellent treatment of “Opium,” then greeted their SoCal surroundings with a long-awaited bust-out of “Calyphornya,” which they last performed in October, 2018.

Set two was defined by adventurous segues, favoring time-tested entries like “Moth” and “Head” that ran together into the new cut “Bat Country.” Moe. returned to its greatest hits with “Four,” then merged into a cover of the Grateful Dead’s Anthem of the Sun standout “The Other One.” After this moving tribute to the genres originators, the band showcased their own finely-honed jam chops by racing back through “Four,” “Head” and “Moth” to conclude the set.

Photographer Paul Citone was in attendance on Friday night to document moe.’s top-tier performance; get an inside look at the show in the gallery below.

Moe. will return to the stage tonight with a stand at Salt Lake City’s The Commonwealth Room, then continue their 35th anniversary celebration with 20 further stops across the country through April 19. For tickets and more information, visit moe.org/tour.