I wrote back in October that it’s an exciting time to be a Moist fan. They reunited rather suddenly in 2013 and played an incredible reunion show at the Sound Academy. Then earlier this year they released brand new album Glory Under Dangerous Skies that was better than some of their 90’s material. The bound seems fresher and more energetic than I’ve ever seen them.
I’m sure some of this can be attributed to the fact that half of the band has turned over. We’ve seen in the past that some new blood can rejuvenate a band: a prime example being Judas Priest having so much fun with new guitarist Richie Faulkner that they completely reversed course after their farewell tour and decided not to break up and instead record another record and keep the whole ship going.
Last Saturday, Moist made a stop on their tour in support of Glory Under Dangerous Skies at the Danforth Music Hall. I noted early on that there were very few people in the audience under 30, making this very much a nostalgia show. (how well “Glory” catches on with the younger crowd remains to be seen) but nevertheless, the house was full, evidence that Moist’s original fans haven’t forgotten them. But even though the audience was looking long in the tooth, David Usher didn’t appear to have aged a day as he bounced around stage and mingled with the front row of the audience (but not too deep this time as he learned his lesson after being mobbed by overzealous admirers last November.)
The set was sprinkled with new songs as the band opened with “Mechanical”, but the band didn’t lean to heavily on new material. Each album was represented as aggressive, visceral numbers like “Push” and “Kill For You” were pulled from Silver, angsty, moody songs “Resurrection” and “Tangerine” from Creature as well as lacklustre fare from their third album Mercedes Five and Dime. An extended drum solo was inserted into new track “Black Roses” and as far as drum solos go, this one wasn’t bad. Midway through the set a trio of chairs were set up at the front of the stage as Usher, guitarist Mark Makoway and bassist Louis Lalancette set up with acoustic guitar and bass and performed the title track from the new album as well as fan-favourite “Gasoline.”
The 20-song set (including two encores) contained plenty of fan-service but as a longtime fan, I was disappointed that my personal favourite song “Leave It Alone” was omitted in favour of the elevator-music-esque “Breathe” but Usher mentioned something about suffering from a lung ailment, hence the omission of such a vocally challenging song. But as a whole, the show was a loud reminder that Moist, once considered a very intense live band before mellowing near the end of their original tenure, have rediscovered their roots as a powerful rock entity.
Setlist
- Mechanical
- Kill For You
- Silver
- Broken
- Break Her Down
- Underground
- Hate
- Black Black Heart
- Glory Under Dangerous Skies
- Gasoline
- Believe Me
- Ophelia
- Black Roses
- Tangerine
- Resurrection
- Bayou
- Breathe
- Push
- All Forgiven
- Into Everything