Saturday at the Vibes turned out to be another fantastic day at the festival as Bill Evans continued to make himself present as Artist in Large on each of the stages, sitting in with fellow jazz legend John Scofield at the Green Vibes Stage.
The New Orleans music scene was well represented at the fest this year, and The Funky Meters got the festivities started on the main stage. These elder statesmen of the Crescent City always bring their A game when playing at Vibes and though this reporter only made it for the tail-end of their set, they certainly received gracious applause as the set concluded.
It’s no longer fair to lump The Roots in with the hip hop genre, as the Philadelphia act is truly among all of music’s most preeminent entertainers. In fact, I’ll postulate, that the band is far better described as a “hippie-hop” band rather that hip-hop. One look around the crowd at most events they perform at reveals a mostly frat boy following, as was the case Saturday afternoon at the Vibes. And onstage, some of their performance stylings are mimics of those of their peers.
On “Mellow My Man,” for instance, the guitarist and bassist bounced from one side of the stage to another, often crossing, exciting the full crowd; and at one point, they jumped up and down in place, in an act that resembles the trampoline bounce of Trey and Mike from Phish. They teased the Kool and the Gang classic “Jungle Boogie.” And late in its set, the group went in another direction, hard rock, with a cover of “Sweet Child of Mine,” which morphed into a heavy blues rock tear through “Who Do You Love.” One thing for sure, they always manage to steal the show wherever they go, and on Friday, they were truly some of the finest entertainers at the Vibes.
Vermont rockers Grace Potter & the Nocturnals have become one of the hardest rocking bands on the scene over the course of the last several years. “Medicine” opened the quintet’s performance Saturday, and was a ragged with hard, ripping guitars, while “Never Go Back,” was thick with pounding rhythms. “Goodbye Kiss, on the other hand, was a sugar coated pop song. She dedicated the lovely ballad, “Stars” to JJ Cale, who had passed away earlier in the morning as it was reported. Later, she rocked hard with the title cut of her last studio CD, “The Lion, The Beast, The Beat,” and then closed the performance with a raucous cover of Cale’s “Cocaine.” With two performances at the Vibes since ’09, Potter and her band have ingratiated themselves amongst the GOVT regulars.
With Warren Haynes extensive musical heritage, the Gov’t Mule set promised much collaboration, and certainly didn’t disappoint. Setting the scene, he opened with a scorching cover of Mississippi Fred McDowell’s “Worried Mind Blues,” followed by “Captured,” an emotionally aching blues ballad that tugged at the heart strings of anyone who has ever loved and lost. Artist-At-Large, Bill Evans, who has performed with the Mule previously sat in for a cover of The Band classic The Shape I’m In.” “Broke Down on The Brazos” was a hard driving, heavy, blues rock. After leaving he stage and having fans leave the front of the stage thinking the set was over, Haynes came back out for an encore, with Evans, John Scofield, and George Porter (Funky Meters) joining him on a gorgeous JJ Cale cover of “After Midnight.” This bluesy, rocking set was one of Saturday’s highlights for certain.
Phil Lesh & Friends brought another showstopper headlining set on Saturday evening. It’s safe to say, this line up of Friends is one of the musically tightest he’s put together. Opener “Cumberland Blues,” was mrollicking and upbeat, featuring John Scofield, who added a country tinged twang on guitar. “China Cat” on the other hand featured John Medeski leaning into his Hammond organ. The lovely “Birdsong” segued into a rocking “All Along The Watchtower,” which featured both Medeski and Scofield creating a howling wind.
Set two once again provided more open space for extended improvising, including Evans who joined the band for the entire set. “Alligator” moved into a splendid “New. Speedway Boogie.” Joe Russo was deft from behind the kit throughout the weekend, replicating the sound of a drummer and percussionist on several songs. The “Darkstar>The Other One” twenty minute run found the sextet intricately improvising amongst each other’s signals and smiles at one another. The beautiful ballad “Stella Blue” mellowed the tone just a bit, but it returned on “Not Fade Away” and a heartfelt encore of “Box of Rain” that brought an enormous ovation from the VibeTribe faithful.
The evening came to a close with two raging DJ sets from Rob Garza and James Murphy. Garza’s set brought an industrial, Kraftwork styled edge, while Murphy incorporated Talking Heads covers and some Motown influences into his set. The Vibes certainly drew a younger demographic this year with some newer sounds, including these innovative DJ sets.
