The Wilbur Theatre isn’t the kind of place where you simply show up for a concert—you settle in for a night that feels equal parts musical séance and inside-joke hang with a few hundred fellow obsessives. moe. has always thrived in rooms like this. Something about the classic theatre layout, the tight acoustics, and the way the crowd stacks vertically seems to push the band into a more focused, story-like flow, and on this particular November night in 2025, they delivered a show that felt both deliberately constructed and joyously unhinged. You could sense it from the restless murmur before the lights dropped: fans comparing tours, swapping memories of wild jams, predicting what might anchor the second set. And as soon as the band walked out, the vibe snapped into place. This was going to be one of those Wilbur nights—loose, emotional, musically weird, but unmistakably moe.
Set 1
They opened with “New Hope for the New Year,” a choice that instantly told the crowd this show wasn’t going to lean on obvious anchors. The song’s warm, glowing intro rolled out across the room, a patient and heartfelt start instead of the usual high-velocity punch. The segue into “Ups and Downs” felt effortless—Rob Derhak’s tune always hits a little harder live, and the band leaned into its emotional churn with just enough grit to crack the surface. The jam never got too long, but the textures were strong, with Al and Chuck weaving tight, conversational lines.
“Crushing” followed, landing with that familiar stomp that always rallies the crowd. It’s one of those tunes that doesn’t need to stretch much to feel big, and here it hit like a mid-set exhale before the band steered things toward darker, more layered terrain. The “Brittle End” > “Giants” pairing was the first real curveball of the night. “Brittle End” carried a sharp, tense energy that the band expanded just enough to open the door for the Nate Wilson Group cover. “Giants” showed up towering, moody, and muscular—moe. has a long history of nailing covers by making them feel like lost originals, and this was no exception.
“Okayalright” arrived as a reset, bright and slightly self-deprecating the way only a Rob tune can be. It was fun, bouncy, and perfectly placed. But the real highlight of the first set was the closing run: “Blue Jeans Pizza” > “Silver Sun.” “Blue Jeans Pizza” spun into a lively, zigzagging jam, the kind where you can see band members locking eyes and leaning together as the groove tightens. The transition into “Silver Sun” was downright elegant—like the band collectively took a breath at the same moment. “Silver Sun” shimmered with patience and color, settling the set on an emotional high rather than an explosive one. That’s the kind of choice that gives the whole night shape.
Set 2
Set two kicked off with “Bat Country,” always a reliable signal that things were about to get weird. The jam was thick and rubbery, stretching into that hypnotic, trance-adjacent space moe. can hit on the right night. From there they dropped into “Lost Along the Way,” a tune that carries a lot more weight live than it does on paper. This version felt especially heartfelt, with Chuck’s vocals floating cleanly over a spacious, glowing accompaniment.
Then came one of the night’s purest bursts of energy: “Skitchin’ Buffalo.” Fast, frantic, and full of joyful chaos, it whipped the crowd into motion. “Rainshine” followed, offering one of the most emotional moments of the night. The band played it with a looseness that made the melody feel almost fragile, but in a good way—like they were letting the song breathe on its own.
The show’s biggest momentum shift hit next with “White Lightning Turpentine” > “Band in the Sky”—a quirky, experimental stretch drenched in oddball tones and unpredictable rhythmic shifts. This was the jam-heavy center of the set, the place where everybody in the room seemed to stop thinking and just ride the wave.
From there, they steered into a sequence that felt like the thematic core of the night: “Head” > “Blue Jeans Pizza.” “Head” was sprawling and warm, its jam glowing steady and unhurried. And when they circled back into “Blue Jeans Pizza,” the crowd erupted—moe. repeating a tune within the same show isn’t unprecedented, but it’s always a nod to the flow of the night, the vibes in the room, and whatever strange magic the band is collectively sensing. This second appearance was looser, funkier, and more celebratory than the first—a kind of musical grin from the stage.
Encore
For the encore, they chose “Downward Facing Dog,” a laid-back, easy-swaying tune that felt perfectly designed to send everyone out smiling. Instead of trying to top the heavy jamming of set two, they opted for something warm and human—the musical equivalent of a friendly send-off.
Setlist
Set 1:
New Hope for the New Year →
Ups and Downs
Crushing
Brittle End →
Giants (Nate Wilson Group cover)
Okayalright
Blue Jeans Pizza →
Silver Sun
Set 2:
Bat Country
Lost Along the Way
Skitchin’ Buffalo
Rainshine
White Lightning Turpentine →
Band in the Sky
Head →
Blue Jeans Pizza
Encore:
Downward Facing Dog
Conclusion
This Wilbur Theatre show worked because it felt alive. Not just well-played or well-constructed, but responsive—built in real time based on how the room felt, how the jams opened up, how the band fed off each other’s instincts. moe. didn’t come in trying to blow the roof off or lean into a nostalgic greatest-hits approach. Instead, they created a night full of rich transitions, unexpected reprises, deep emotional moments, and jams that rewarded anyone paying close attention. In the end, it was one of those shows where you walk out not feeling overwhelmed, but satisfied—like you just witnessed a band still finding new corners of its own sound after all these years.
The Videos
Set 1:
New Hope for the New Year → [0:00]
Ups and Downs [13:37]
Crushing [19:28]
Brittle End → [29:05]
Giants [36:42]
Okayalright [47:03]
Blue Jeans Pizza → [51:41]
Silver Sun [59:26]
Set 2:
Bat Country [0:00]
Lost Along the Way [10:08]
Skitchin’ Buffalo [19:07]
Rainshine [30:29]
White Lightning Turpentine → [36:03]
Band in the Sky [52:08]
Head → [1:02:49]
Blue Jeans Pizza [1:113:33]
Encore:
Downward Facing Dog [1:20:49]