August 7, 2021 at Iroquois Amphitheater, Louisville, KY
4 years ago I attended Sunday of the Bunbury Music Festival in Cincinnati, OH. It was one of my favorite collective musical days of my life thus far. In the lead up to the festival I created a playlist of top songs from all the artists to get a better idea who I wanted to see live. From my ‘pre-work’, Moon Taxi became a clear must see. Adding that to the list of artists my friend wanted to see and the obvious must in Muse, we had a full day ahead of us. The figures, artists, ideas, etc, that I fall in love with most are those that are most genuine. Almost all the artists I saw that day were genuine and connected with the crowd. More so than just playing their music, they were openly grateful to be there and to be doing what they love. Moon Taxi’s music had me interested, and their presence had me hooked.
The show I went to on August 7 was the 4th time I saw Moon Taxi live. It happened to be the opening night of their tour, too. Each of the venues was unique, and each concert uniquely memorable. Since the last time I saw the group live they’d released a new album and a handful of singles and EPs. They’d streamed a few shows throughout the last year and a half but hadn’t played an intimate live show in a while either. Similar to the energy that was building for Phish, Moon Taxi had energy ready to go to kick off their tour with a bang.
The setlist:
Set One:
- Make Your Mind Up
- Not Too Late
- All Day All Night
- Light Up
- Run Right Back
- JAM -> Dancing In the Dark (Bruce Springsteen cover)
- Above the Water
- The New Black
- River Water
- Live For It
- Hometown Heroes
- Let the Record Play
- Mission
- Time of the Season (The Zombies cover) -> One Step Away -> Time of the Season (The Zombies cover)
- Red Hot Lights > -Funky Drum Solo Jam- > Morocco
- Good As Gold
Encore:
- More Than Words (Extreme cover) [Duet with just Trevor and Wes]
- Two High
My only show complaint was the sound that seemed a little off balance, biased a little too heavy on the bass. This could very well be just my age coming through. It wasn’t uncomfortable, just not the best mix for the rest of the sound to come through as I would have hoped.
Moon Taxi played an amazing concert with a perfect blend of older and newer tunes. They flowed through the show and kept the crowd on their feet. I likely missed noting a few of the jams that they had throughout the show as I was a little lost in the experience (and out of practice in recording my own set info). To close out the show and keep the party going, they played House of Pain’s “Jump Around” through the soundboard as they said their goodbyes.
If you get a chance to see Moon Taxi live, DO IT. And just go listen to them on Spotify – they’re great.
