Gathering Of The Vibes

Friday

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that there were some glitches entering the event. There were some delays getting into the venue, and I'm sure the wait to enter varied, with some people having more trouble than others did. We arrived at nine AM and it took four hours to get our vehicle searched and proceed to the campground (a small price to pay to be able to park where you camp, if you ask me). From my viewpoint, things began to move much more quickly about the same time people were beginning to lose patience. I hope that what happened to me happened to others, which is once I got my tent up and got to the concert field thoughts of waits and traffic snarls quickly dissipated as the music and the vibe sucked me in. The big reason for the fast dissipation was the bang-up job Terrapin Presents did keeping the music rolling constantly. The alternating stages were coordinated nicely as hardened fans of music could experience every note if they did not mind the short walk between the Main Stage and the smaller Jam Stage. All the staff and volunteers I met were quite helpful.

I got to the concert field sometime during The Zen Tricksters set, and right away, the cool vibe rolling off the stage was setting the tone for the weekend. The Tricksters were a great band to kick-off the main stage for a festival that was a tribute to Jerry Garcia. Donna Jean Godchaux and Depth Quartet’s Julee Avallone sat in with the band for a couple of songs, giving fans of the Tricksters a nice little treat. I missed the Rafter Bats (sorry guys) due to the wait to get in, so the first band I saw on the Jam Stage was Scarecrow Collection, a young and talented group who threw down an excellent set. With solid songwriting by Gerard and Joe Fee and fine musicianship, I found myself dancing up a storm between rapid-fire bursts with my camera. Another impressive young band, The Ryan Montbleau Band lit up the Main stage with an eclectic set that ranged from old school rag time to an all out jam frenzy. The Juggling Suns have been making music for almost a decade and mesmerizing guitarist Mark Diomede is a big part of their longevity. Strangefolk has performed at the Vibes since its beginning, and they kept the tradition alive by performing as Windfalls, while awaiting the return of Jon Trafton, who is thankfully on the mend from health problems. An early highlight of the festival was Assembly of Dust. The crowd erupted into a jubilant frenzy for practically the whole set. AOD sounded incredible through the sound system of the main stage. This was the first time of the festival that I decided to quit taking pictures, find a sweet spot in front of the soundboard, and just enjoy the jam.

Friday Night Headliner - Bob Weir and Ratdog

The first thing that comes to mind when I look back on the Ratdog set is they were mirroring the insuring storm in intensity. The set started out dry enough as the band went from an opening jam excursion into a smoking version of “Bertha” that sounded super sweet with Donna Jean Godchaux on vocals. Donna Jean stayed on the stage and leant her voice again as they tore right into “Cassidy.” I think the rain hit sometime during “Lazy River Road,” and by the time they hit “Dark Star” everyone was drenched. I really didn't care by then, it was an incredible “Dark Star.” If you couldn't hear all the tight interplay Ratdog displayed, you might have tightened your poncho hood too tight around your ears. Other highlights of the set were “Silvio” with a splash of “Tequila,” “The Wheel” with real time thunder and lightning, an awesome version of “Dear Prudence,” the return to “Dark Star” and “Cassidy,” and a great “Franklins Tower” encore. Oh fuck it, the whole set was a highlight; even the rain.

Saturday

All dried out and ready to rock was the mood of the day Saturday. Depth Quartet along with some java smoothed out the morning nicely. After a sweet set by DQ, I was definitely ready to groove on some jazz, and Jazz Mandolin Project did not disappoint. Another talented young band, RAQ, from Burlington, Vermont (it seems a lot of great music comes out of there), showed that Terrapin Presents picked the perfect name for the Jam Stage. Keller Williams turned in one of the more entertaining sets of the festival, both musically and with his unique style and humor. Back to the Jam stage for David Gans, who had Jeff Matson and Klyph Black from the Zen Tricksters on guitar and bass, and Dark Star Orchestra drummer Scott Koritz keeping time on the snare. Donna Jean Godchaux made a guest appearance for the first couple of songs. My apologies to the venders because I didn't take out much time to eat, drink, or browse; too much great music! It was time for an all-out funk fest with Deep Banana Blackout. Tight band, great horns, and hot vocals had the crowd pumped up and funktified. I never got a chance to sea Ominous Seapods when they were together, but I am glad they reunited for the Vibes, because the Jam Stage got another severe ass kicking when the Pods hit it.

Saturday Night Headliner - Jerry Garcia Tribute

With Dark Star Orchestra playing the role of house band to a slew of great guests, Saturday night’s headliner, A Tribute to Jerry Garcia promised to be something special and it was. Mindful of the fact that Jerry Garcia was much more than a member of the Grateful Dead, the show featured music from a wide variety of the artist’s storied career. DSO started things off with an introductory jam and “Attacks on My Life.”

This was a five-hour set with few breaks in the music, except for personnel changes and tuning, and I could probably write a thousand word article on this set alone, so I can not get into every detail. Dave Nelson (New Riders of the Purple Sage) was the first guest on the stage, a long time friend and collaborator of Garcia. Martin Fierro (Legion of Mary) joined Nelson for “Rocky Road Blues.” Peter Rowan (Old and in the Way) came out and joined forces with Nelson with “Rosa Lee McFall,” “Lonesome LA Cowboy” and “Panama Red”-wow. Jerry Garcia Band singers Gloria Jones and Jaclyn LaBranch graced the stage and I was reminded how much I missed JGB as much as the Dead. They played a moving version of “The Land of the Navajo” and a great “Midnite Moonlight.” Keller Williams joined the party in a segment more dedicated to the music of the Grateful Dead with energetic versions of “Scarlet Begonias” and “Fire on the Mountain.” Reid Genauer and Adam Terrell (Assembly of Dust) joined the Keller segment for “Eyes of the World” segueing to “Bird Song” that also featured Julee Avallone (Depth Quartet) on flute.

Then it was time for the Jerry Garcia Band portion of the show with Melvin Seals (JGB) along with Gloria Jones and Jaclyn LaBranch (JGB). Members of the Zen Tricksters filled in for DSO as the house band (five hours is a long show). They belted out smoking versions of “Don’t Let Go” and “Harder They Come” just to name a few. Donna Jean Godchaux offered her voice for “Deal,” “Mission in the Rain”, “Good Lovin”, and “The Music Never Stopped”. Then just about everybody who was in the show came out for the encore “My Brothers and Sisters” and “Ripple.” Some people probably hoped that Phil Lesh and Bob Weir had joined the celebration of Jerry Garcia’s music, but I think it was an excellent tribute and offered the audience a great variety of styles Garcia enjoyed playing.

Sunday

For those people who decided to sleep in or lay low for the early set Sunday, you missed Steven Kellogg and the Sixers as they put on a hell of a show. Very entertaining both musically and with a good-natured humor that busted from an acapella “Cripple Creek” to the groups dancing and tumbling act during the drum solo. Chuch brought their down home jam rock and all their friends, who joined the show with antics and merriment, including spraying the crowd with super soakers, throwing cans of beer to the crowd, and generally having a good old time while their friends in the band tore it up. Railroad Earth proved that an acoustic band could rip it up with the same intensity as an electric one. Their song “Bird in a House” gave me chills even in the hot afternoon sun. Jonah Smith performed on the Jam Stage with a solid set, after which, The Del McCoury band brought their old school bluegrass style, and had the Main Stage audience stomping it up, to blue grass in its purist form. Zox, another young New England based band closed out The Jam Stage, and once they hit high gear they stayed there.

Sunday Night Headliner - Medeski, Martin, and Wood with Special Guest, John Scofield

MMW, the edgy improvisational jazz trio would have kept me until the end of The Vibes by themselves, but having jazz guitar giant John Scofield sitting in made it a must see for me. The whole set killed but the highlights for me were “A Go Go” from their collaborative 1998 release of the same name, and “What I’d Say” from Scofield’s new album “John Scofield Plays the Music of Ray Charles.”

Special thanks - all the artists, their crews, Terrapin Presents, including all their staff and volunteers, and all the people from Indian Lookout Country Club brought their A-game to the Vibes this year.