All Good Diary: Sunday FestivaLog
After a Saturday jam-packed with music at the 15th annual All Good Music Festival, I was looking forward to Sunday’s lighter lineup. One of the biggest challenges of open field tent camping at a music festival is partying into the wee hours and trying to get adequate sleep, without being cooked alive in your tent in the morning summer sun like broccoli in a bamboo steamer.
After waking up in my own personal sauna and cooling off in the West Virginia mountain air I headed up to the stage area where Sunday openers All Mighty Senators were already on the main Dragon Stage. The Baltimore-based funk-soul quintet was working hard to bring their P-Funkesque sound to the noontime set; unfortunately, their set was one of the less well attended of the weekend, probably because so many folks had taken full advantage of Saturday’s final All Good late night sets – or they were still in their tents, being braised in their own juices.
Following the Senators on the Dragon Stage were Michigan-based stringsters Greensky Bluegrass whose Saturday Rock n’ Roll in Disguise playshop set at the Grassroots Stage showed one reason why they continue to garner attention. Unlike the previous day that featured covers of songs by Talking Heads, Prince and Traffic, Sunday’s set featured mostly originals and roots covers. A sizeable audience was on hand to see GB play mostly older tunes like All Four, the Reverend and No Idea which were supplemented by a strong cover of Townes Van Zandt’s White Freightliner Blues. Closing our their hour long set mandolin player Paul Hoffman took lead vocals on a newer original tune Don’t Lie (not to be confused with the Black Eyed Peas song of the same name) that demonstrated even greater maturity in their consistently skillful songwriting.
READ ON for more from Sunday at the All Good fest…
Reggae legends Toots and the Maytals brought their message of strength through unity to All Good’s main stage. For me there’s something special about spending a Sunday afternoon dancing to great reggae, and Toots showed that they are certainly no nostalgia or novelty act. Getting Pressure Drop out of the way at the beginning of their set, Toots and the Maytals brought the crowd to church that morning as backup singers and horns brought out the power of Toots’ lead vocals.
Baltimore-based sextet The Bridge took the Crane Stage next for one of their final performances ever before they call it quits in August. Ever an enjoyable jamband, Dave Markowitz and Mike Gambone provide the rhythmic foundation on bass and drums, respectively while Cris Jacobs intense electric guitar and Patrick Rainey’s soulful sax always heat things up. With only six final scheduled performances remaining, I’m glad I was able to catch them one final time.
The last band of the 2011 All Good Music Festival was Dark Star Orchestra, whose Grateful Dead covers and show recreations continue to garner praise, and Sunday’s performance was no exception. Performing an original set (i.e., not reproducing one from Dead history), DSO delivered an energetic performance that made for the perfect finale to the festival. Unlike Furthur’s Friday night set, DSO crafted a set clearly designed to engage the audience from the very beginning – and they didn’t let up until the end.
Opening with Here Comes Sunshine, lead guitarist/vocalist Jeff Mattson, rhythm guitarist/vocalist Rob Eaton, and vocalist Lisa Mackey’s harmonies brought an uplifting vibe from the outset. Picking a standout number or highlight proves difficult when a band is firing on all cylinders and performs songs packed with both emotional and cerebral appeal, and such was the case for DSO on Sunday. Personal favorites also included The Music Never Stopped and Let It Grow, although the entire second half of their set truly impressed: Help On The Way > Slipknot > Franklin’s Tower > Let It Grow > drums > Let It Grow > Shakedown Street > Sugar Magnolia.
Having played the All Good Music Festival more years than any other band, DSO’s festival-closing slot was fitting, and couldn’t have been much better. The encore of Dylan’s Tangled Up In Blue was similarly fitting, as the end to another phenomenal All Good festival was bittersweet, indeed.
Great series.