Al Schnier was born in Utica, attended New Hartford Central High School, and spent his teenage years in a Rush and Neil Young tribute band called Cuttin’ Loose. He eventually made it to Buffalo, joined moe., and spent the next three decades touring at a pace averaging around a hundred shows a year on some of the larger stages the jam world offers. On Wednesday, September 30, he returns to Central New York — this time not with moe., but with bob., an ensemble built around Bob Dylan’s catalog and stocked with musicians who know what to do with it.
About the Show
bob., formally subtitled “an interpretation of Dylan,” pairs Schnier on guitar with his longtime moe. co-founder Vinnie Amico on drums, alongside Charley Orlando on vocals and guitar, Joe Bellanti on keyboards, and Zach Fleitz on bass. The project debuted on a November 2024 mini-tour that included a stop at this same venue, making September 30 a return to this particular room. Their approach to Dylan’s material is intentionally broad, moving from upbeat numbers to introspective ballads, with arrangements that bear the mark of musicians who have spent decades improvising. moe. emerged from the University of Buffalo alongside Blues Traveler, Spin Doctors, Widespread Panic, and Phish, and that heritage informs what bob. does with a Dylan lyric: the songs hold their structure, but the players bring latitude.
Schnier is, as one career profile put it, a “true New Yorker,” having grown up in the Mohawk Valley before building a career that extended to Bonnaroo, Fuji Rock, and sessions with Phil & Friends. He also co-founded Headcount, the voter registration organization that has worked alongside music festivals for years. moe. has kept releasing records: 13 studio albums since Fatboy in 1992, with The Conch reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart in 2007. Bob Dylan covers in a bar in Syracuse is, by comparison, a different kind of gig. This show, a short drive from where Schnier grew up, carries a local weight the ensemble’s out-of-state dates won’t.
Venue & Logistics
Funk ’n Waffles has been a presence on Clinton Street in downtown Syracuse since 2007. At 200 capacity, the room suits a project like bob. in ways a larger stage wouldn’t: the arrangements land close, and there’s no amphitheater lawn to get lost in. The show is all ages. Doors open at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets
Tickets start at $29.30. The show went on sale August 4. Buy tickets