It was an exceptional year for live music. I am lucky enough to live in a city where music is a part of the lifeline, like matzoh ball soup and a good reuben, as much as we love to hate our mayor, and collective groans when the MTA hikes their fares. Here is to 2010. May we all have a healthy, prosperous and musically exceptional new year!
Friday was the warmup for Saturday’s crazy. It was full on all day.
photo by: Jeffrey Dupuis
McLovins: I’ve been told by numerous people to check these kids out, and I missed them at Nateva to see Max Creek. I heard they crushed it at Nateva, so I decided to forgo Max Creek. (side note: I found it very interesting that both these bands were playing at the same time at both festivals. And they are both from Connecticut. Coincidence??) I get to the Green Vibes stage about 10 minutes after they started and the place was packed. I tried to get up to the stage and check them out but I couldn’t get up there without a case of claustrophobia so I ended up to the side.
photo by: Jeffrey Dupuis
There was a bit of technical difficulty, but then they just broke out. In typical teenage style they were loud and fast, but tight. Impressively tight; technically and talented. Really talented kids. Check out more from my friend Lori’s Coventry Music. Something about a 1000 Hippie McLovin March went on, that I wasn’t privvy to. Here’s the YouTube – load it up and click it around the 5 min mark. Whooo, they go off.
Band Break: My buddy and I went back to camp for the 40 minute respite before Assembly of Dust. I got on the phone with This Week on Lot and tried to describe the surroundings to them. A conference call of sorts. You can check out me on the radio here. Afterwards, I got a bit of food in me and was off to the Main Stage.
Assembly of Dust: I have not seen these guys a lot, but each time I have seen them I like them more and more. Their talent is obvious, the music is technically sound, Adam Terrell, lead guitar, vocals (also plays with Nate Wilson) shreds it, Reid Genauer, lead vocals, guitar has a really nice voice. Two drummers, and a keyboardist that plays the violin. I mean, c’mon, you can’t go wrong. They shredded the last song to pieces and you could tell they were getting off by the energy in the crowd. Great time had by all.
photo by: Jeffrey Dupuis
photo by: Jeffrey Dupuis
Galactic: They put on a solid show, as always. Cyril Neville shows up and kicks it up a notch. Corey Henry frikkin blasts that trombone out of the universe. Ben Ellman plays the sax hard and sexy. Stanton Moore keeps the beat down and low, and the place just falls into soul funk deep grooves and swayin’ hips. Oooh, lordy lordy. Fun fun stuff, as always.
photo by: Jeffrey Dupuis
Setlist: Gemini Rising, Gossip, You Don’t Know, Balkan Wedding, Heart Of Steel, Cineramascope, Ooh Nay Nay, Boban, Tell Me What’s On Your Mind, Boe Money, No More Okey Doke, From the Corner to the Block
Band Break: Met up with some Camp Family from Nateva that day and we took it back to camp. I introduced them as “my old friends”, then realized that Nateva was less than a month away. Festival family is on another level… Old friends indeed. We collectively decided to sacrifice Umphree’s McGee for time in the shade, a change of clothes, food and drink and laughs. Sorry Umphree’s.
photo by: Jeffrey Dupuis
photo by: Jeffrey Dupuis
Rhythm Devils featuring Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Keller Williams: I have to admit, I was surprised how amazingly good these guys were. Keller added a nice level, but this was not the Keller show. This was the Rhythm Devils show in all their glory. Two incredible drummers, doin’ what they do. Drums. In an ode to the Grateful Dead, it was kind of a stretched out Drums/Space but without the Space.On another note, I met a friend who I went on Dead Tour with 20 years ago. Beautiful syncopation…Original Dead members on stage, me with my buddy, reliving old memories, seeing the newest iteration of Billy and Mickey on stage, complete with firedancers. LOVED it. I will catch them when they play in NYC, without a doubt.
photo by: Jeffrey Dupuis
PRIMUS: Jeez holy louise moly blown away. I can’t even describe it. Les Claypool bassing OUT up there with these humongous astronauts behind the band. Jay Lane is an incredible drummer, I can tell why he left Furthur to go
photo by: Jeffrey Dupuis
back to this band. But, of COURSE! I was not a Primus fan (operative word there “was”), and the only thing I knew of them was that “back in the day” they were associated with lots of skinheads and mosh pits. Well, there were no mosh pits. Just lots of people bouncing around, myself included. I couldn’t stop my legs moving even if I wanted to. They blew me away, I am a hardcore Primus fan now – already bought the tickets for the October show in NYC. That’s how much I loved this set. WOW. Go see these guys….
Up and Getting Ready: I jumped out of the tent at 8:30. Considering I had passed out before midnight, that was a good night’s sleep and I was ready to go. It was already scorching by 8:30 and my ladies had coffee ready for me. (Thank you Theresa) Breakfast consisted of a cheesy omelet, coffee and bacon. I decided to take a shower in the L. I. Sound, please don’t judge me-I know exactly how nasty the Bridgeport Sound is, yet – I still did it. Met more friendly people on the way as I walked towards the beach.
With soap and shampoo in hand, I proceeded to bathe myself in the water. As things normally go for me at festivals, I lost the soap and my sunglasses. (what is with the sunglasses, seriously! Every festival I have lost sunglasses (Wanee, Mountain Jam, Nateva and now Vibes). By this point, I don’t get upset anymore, I just go to a vendor and spend my $10 and get another pair. But, sheesh.
photo by: Gigi
Radiators: We went down to the main stage to check out The Radiators, I got there to catch their last few songs. Walked through the crowd and met up with more local friends before Jackie Greene came on. Boppin’ through the crowd I stopped at The Karma Wash and planted flowers around the red carpet to brighten up the place and make it welcoming for all the people who needed their Karma Washed.
Jackie Greene: I was still wandering through the crowd, sayin hi to those I knew, and hello to those I met. Jackie Greene is a hottie up there and I didn’t really notice much difference until John Molo joined in on drums for Scarlett. Yay, when I heard Scarlett at all, I so tarted to bounce, but I didn’t realize Molo was on drums until after the set. Molo wailed it, Jackie sang in true form and we slid into Ball and Chain. Great last song. Smile wide on my face.
Lunch Break: Back to camp, hotdogs for lunch. Yeah, that’ll do.
Steve Kimock and Crazy Engine: So, we sacrificed Steve’s set for hotdogs but I wanted to get back up there for Robert Randolph so I got the DeadVids crew together and we wandered up to the main stage. As we were walking I heard my favorite P-Funk song Red Hot Mama and before I even got into the venue I knew Bernie Worrell was on stage. I almost left my buddies behind me and I tried to sprint up to the stage to see Bernie. And Red Hot Mama… ummmm, whooo. You can’t go wrong with that song, and I was so glad I made it to hear that song. But, as it goes, by the time I got up to the field, I heard, “Thank you Vibes, good night.” Sigh. Dagnabit. Take a listen to what I missed…. dagnabit.
Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings: I have not seen Sharon Jones before and I knew I was in for a treat. I was blown away by them. Sharon Jones’ voice is incredible. Like, Aretha+Grace Potter+Jen Durkin wailing. The energy of this group was way high. The beats? Think funk with a huge entourage, horns, backup singers, Sharon’s incredible voice. She’s my new favorite. Loved this so much. Can’t wait to see her again. PLEASE PLEASE go see her if you haven’t already. You wont be able to stop yourself from dancing.
Robert Randolph: Fun fun stuff. Love Robert. Love the steel pedal guitar he masterfully wails. Love the band. He raged it hard for the first couple of songs, then the middle of the set was some of his new stuff. I wasn’t immediately hooked by it, but I wanted to try to assess the music. I figured, it may not be my style of music, but it is now Robert’s new stuff, stuff he’s psyched about, and I wanted to give it a fair shot. I’m still 50/50 on the new stuff, was very happy he bookended the set with his older style, but I want to hear more. I want to listen again to the new stuff so I can be sure I can make a true assessment. So, assessment on Robert’s new stuff: unknown. One last note – he had this schmata on his head, and I couldn’t figure out what the heck it was. Scarf? Bandana? Shirt with a knot in it? Again: unknown.
The YouTubes are lacking, so for a giggle:
photo by: Doug Buckley
Furthur: Yep, we were all rollin in for the first major headliner of the weekend. The boys. My girls and I set up our chairs on the left of the soundboard and we had our space to dance. The rumor mill had been spreading all day, and I had gotten a series of texts from friends telling me that Bobby had gotten dosed at Nokia a few days earlier, confirmed by PhilZone. I had also heard that the whole backstage area at Vibes was in lockdown when Furthur came into the venue. Lockdown as in even those with all access passes were having issues getting back there. Serious stuff. I looked up and was able to see stars (coming from NYC, this is a rare occurrence). I looked around and I saw my tribe. I felt the CT vibe, knowing I was in my local home territory. It felt right. I was shining.
Furthur Highlights:Jack Straw (we can share the women we can share the wiiiine). Friend of the Devil was rockin – someone said to me, this is a rare one, and indeed it was, because I have not heard a FOTD in a long time. FOTD was smokin’, Kadlecik shredded his guitar and it was truly a great song. The star, besides Phil is really John K. and Jeff Chimenti on keys. I can’t say it enough, Jeff plays those keys and it makes the songs shine on a different level. They sparkle. Twinkle. It is like Jeff puts another layer on top of the already incredible music being played by the band. I do believe Jeff could be my favorite member of Furthur.
Then there was Help. Yep. Help on the Way into an incredible Slipknot with an amazing funky fun little jam in the Slipknot. Into Franklin’s Tower. Uh huh. Donor Rap into Terrapin. TERRAPIN. Oh yeah, I danced, I sang with the crowd. I partied and I swayed with the Vibe Tribe. That was the highlight for me. Help>Slip into Terrapin. Thank you Furthur, Thank you. For a real good time.
Late Night Show: Mix Master Mike: I went and checked this out – Beastie Boys lover inside of me pulling me towards the Green Vibes stage. I must be too old, but it wasn’t my thing. Or maybe I couldn’t move anymore. I wandered back to camp, walking near the water all the way home. The camp family were already sleeping when I got there, so I chilled out and put myself to bed. All for Day 3 tomorrow.
Get in. Get settled. Pitch the tent. Eat. Drink. Find the music.
Getting there: After a crazy morning getting 9 cars of hippies to meet outside the venue from all points everywhere; caravan to the site, get our tickets and searched by security, we finally got into our “chill camp”, Soldiers and Sailors field. Close to the water, close to the trees, we had 3 canopies, at least 10 tents, enough food for an army. We were set for 4 days of Festival Fun.
Gathering of the Vibes: A festival to honor Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead. Needless to say, there were lots of variations on the band, and their “others”. (DSO, Donna Jean Godchaux, Furthur, Rhythm Devils, Max Creek)
Leroy Justice, photo by: Cory Schwartz
Leroy Justice: My friend told me to check them out, and we met while they were playing. The crowd was minimal, the tunes were loud and fast and these guys jammed out like it was the last time they were gonna jam. They were psyched. I was psyched to find a tree to sit under. After they played, I wandered back to the camp for dinner.
The Karma Wash Crew, photo by: Dolla Jill
I stopped by the Karma Wash, got my scrub on, met new and old friends (shout out to Jimbo and Frank from Nateva), wandered through the crowd, found more friends and danced my boogie on. I was here, the sun was setting, it was warm, I was with friendlies, it was good. It was Seaside Park. Freaks and Friendlies = Gathering of the Vibes.
Dark Star Orchestra, photo by: Deadheadland.com
Dark Star Orchestra: Oh, DSO, how I love you so. DSO is known for dusting off the books and finding the best Grateful Dead shows, playing them from start to finish perfectly. The game is for the crowd to figure out what show they’re playing, and if you know Deadheads, most of them are really REALLY good at this game. GOTV’s set was from 10/17/82, Downs of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
Set One: Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo > Franklin’s Tower > New Minglewood Blues ; Candyman ; Me And My Uncle > Mexicali Blues ; Althea ; Man Smart (Woman Smarter) ; Ramble On Rose ; Let It Grow > Deal Set Two: Shakedown Street > Samson And Delilah ; Never Trust A Woman ; Estimated Prophet > He’s Gone > Drums > Space > Throwing Stones > Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad > The Wheel > The Other One > Wharf Rat > Good Lovin’ Encore: Don’t Ease Me In
Oopsie: I was up for 38 hours. I started to get sleepy around second set, I had 2 hours before Big Sam was going on late night. Wanted to see Sam so bad, but was afraid I wasn’t going to make the 2 hours. I put myself to sleep. Sorry I missed ya Sam, really really wanted to catch your set. Thought I’d do a 2 hour nap, but, when I finally went down, I was OUT. I rationalized in the morning that I put in my sleeping time that first night, and I would be golden for the rest of the Vibes. I was golden. I needed my rest. We had 3 more days to go.
Day 1, Vibes Audio Links: (I will update as they become available)
First thoughts… Beginning to come down a bit off my mindblowing music high. Thank you Gathering of the Vibes!
Zero tolerance of nitrous dealers. There were no balloons. There were no tanks. There was no sketchiness of any sort. Yes, there were wookies and hippies and children playing alike, but there was no Nitrous. Nicely done Vibes.
Camp Scene: Chill people to camp with (about 20 people in the group), Chill people to hang with, Chill people surrounding us. We were close to family/boardie/VIP camping and it was great. Best camping experience, goes up with my Wanee camping.
General Scene:The main difference I saw was there was only 1 stage on the main field instead of the usual 2. Somehow they moved gear swiftly, until the last day, when Jimmy Cliff was 30 minutes late, and NAS was about an hour late. Hell, not so bad at all – nice job crew. Beers courtesy of Sierra Nevada (yum).
Crowd: Still waiting on the official numbers of attendees, but from last year to this year, it was a bigger crowd. I bet somewhere in the 5,000-8,000 people showed up. I figure not all camped but the day passes brought in lots of people. Friday’s Furthur show was packed as was Saturday’s Primus show. Packed as in can’t really move through the field because of all the people and chairs, and serious lines for the port-a-potties.
Water:Water situation at Vibes were a let down after my experience at Nateva. There are no spigots at Vibes. There is a few sporadic placed water fountains. Seriously, water fountains, not spigots. After 15 years, you’d think they could get a water truck or something for the people.
MUSIC: Personal highlights (in order of preference:)
It was like the circus… Filled with gypsies… And they all liked to dance… Alot.
photo by: Andrew Bruss, Jambase
It was overcast. I thought to myself, wow, I’m glad the sun is not out. It was a hot, sunny, sweltering few days and I was pleased for the clouds. We needed a break from the sun.
photo by: Andrew Bruss, Jambase
After dealing with “The Incident”, I took my last spigot shower of the festival, ate delicious blueberry pancakes from our new camp family and we all rolled in to hear the Nate Wilson Group from the Port City Music Hall. Um, wow. He shredded his guitar. There were five guys up there, and they just crushed it. It was great energy, great music, tight jams and it just went DOWN in that barn. I will see them again to relive the experience, because, truth be told, I think I needed another cup of coffee. It was Day 3, after all, and I was feeling very fuzzy by this point.
photo by: Phrazz
photo by: Phrazz
Moonalice was next, and had to leave Nate Wilson early to catch their set. (Music Schizophrenia Mode in full force.) By the time I got there, Barry Sless and Pete Sears were SHREDDING the heck out of Cold Rain & Snow. Oh wow, it was on. The main field wasn’t packed so I got myself up to the rail and had a great time. I watched the crowd around me, and everyone had such wide smiles, dancing along, havin’ just as much fun as I was. John Molo on drums was just sick, Barry Sless goes nuts on the pedal steel, and then Roger “Chubby Wombat Moonalice” McNamee tells us that they finished their encore early and we’re treated to more. Oh yeah, that was fun. Always a fun time with Moonalice. Afterwards, I got my free posters, Chubby and I chatted for a bit and he signed them for me. I love this band for their incredible music, the talent on stage and their friendliness.
Then Max Creek comes on the other stage. I haven’t seen these guys in about 100 years, I grew up with them playing all around Connecticut in the 80s. Fabulous time, fabulous music, love them.
photo by: Phrazz
But, as my music schizophrenia continues, I ran out and caught The Alchemystics.
And, holy hell. I have no words. I walked into the Port City Music Hall and it was going wild in there. The place was packed, jamming reggae jam crazy dance party was going on. I caught the last two songs and the encore. It was out of control, great beats, high high energy…. they literally blew my head off. I was dumbfounded. My friend asked me what I thought of them, and I had no words. I could not speak. I was processing the crazy hip-hop reggae rage that just went down and I couldn’t speak. Wow. The Alchemystics. Yeah, these guys are on my radar up near The New Mastersounds, who I saw at Mountain Jam. Phewwwwwww.
photo by: Andrew Bruss, Jambase
Finally, a chance to breathe. Zappa Plays Zappa comes on the stage and by this point I’m in need of a sit-down. I sit on my chair and think, “Ah, I can relax now, and listen to this band play finally.” I’ve never seen Zappa Plays Zappa, but I do know who Dweezil is and had a girl-crush on him years ago. Now here he is, shirtless, on stage, playing great great music. Unfortunately for me, I was pulled away from the music for the rest of the set by my buddy. So, I still haven’t truly heard them play. I will catch them when they come to NYC for sure.
photo by: Andrew Bruss, Jambase
photo by: Phrazz
Crowd: What I forgot to mention was how cool the vibe and the crowd were. We had Aliens, and crazy monsters dancing, fire twirler beauties, and fire lanterns launched into the evening sky. We had lobster rolls (which I never had but heard was amazing), and local beloved vendors like Wormtown Trading. There was a ferris wheel. There were children playing. There were smiling strangers. Click below for more with DTST and Furthur.
Day 2 started with a HOT summer morning, and me jumping out of the tent around 10am. My new camp family hooked me up with the ice coffee, and the morning shower consisted of me, a cold spigot and a bar of soap. I heard the Roots of Creation from the Port City Music Hall and they reminded me of 80′s music – very John Water’s movie score-esque.
Photo by: Krista Labbe
I walked down to the main stage area to hear a bit of Ryan Montbleau Band. I heard him for the first time the night before, the buzz about this guy is pretty loud, and I was pretty much blown away. Scorchin’ keys and guitar. I recommend you check this guy out if you get a chance.
photo by: Michael Rossman
Next up was John Brown’s Body. Again, I had never seen these guys and I was in for a ride. HEAVY bass, reggae beat with hip-hop lyrics and brass. Sax, trombone, trumpet. Whooo. Those horns rocked the place into a killer funky reggae jam, and I ended up win a fist pumping bounce. High energy, great tunes, tight band. Yeah. That was fun.
photo by: Geoff Stairs
Surprise of the day? Crash Kings. I went back to the camp for some shade, food and liquid and I could hear them perfectly. They crushed it. Great vocals, tight, fast guitars (my favorite), tight beats. They kind of reminded me a bit of Jethro Tull – these guys were one of my favorite new bands of the weekend, I can’t wait to see them again. Check ‘em out here.
Click for more with The Flaming Lips, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, Toubab Krewe and EOTO. Continue reading →
Getting my bearings and figuring out the scene: Woke up and started wandering for coffee on Shakedown Street. I began to get my senses and bearings, but still needed another cuppa. Over breakfast I began to get the breadth of the scope for Nateva. The first day was packed straight with music from 11:30am to 2:45am. I didn’t really realize how full on the music would be and I was beginning to get the first sense of how my music schizophrenia would be. I got out my pen and marked out my whole schedule for the weekend. My “wish list” per se.
While my friend was taking her time getting ready, and I had no intentions on rushing anyone, I decided to scope the place out. We were camped by the Port City Music Stage, so I was happy to have live music so close. I had water in my waterbottle, filled with ice and passed the horse stables, the RV set ups, the port-o-potties and real toilets to the left and the road to the stage to the right. I followed the sounds of Greensky Bluegrass and was told “no liquids.” I had to throw my deliciously cold ice water on the ground, darn.
Photo by LimboJim
To set the scene, there was two stages on this field, and another two stages outside the field. Vending galore and food awaited us. Rainbow colored pinwheels graced the skyways, and a ferris wheel closed the deal. Surrounding this was the word NATEVA on a hill, with huge beautiful trees, a big blue sky and clean air. This is Maine, and it is so beautiful.
I finished out the Greensky Bluegrass set, and have to say – it was nice to start the day with a little bluegrass. Went to get more liquid, it was scorching on the field and there was no shelter, so back to the camp I went. My friend was chilling with the new camp family we met when we pulled in and all was happy and smiles there. I chilled, had a little lunch and went back to the field for Umphree’s McGee. My friend stayed back and took a nap.
Photo by LimboJim
I have to admit, by 2:30 it was more than scorching out and I couldn’t deal with the heat. I decided to go back to camp, go to the vendors, do anything other than standing on a field in the squelching sun. I went to wander. I walked the perimeter, walked the other vending areas, and found a small little gazebo to watch people and be sheltered bythe sun. I then see my buddy Jimbo. Yep, just walking down the path. I truly love things like this, when you are supposed to see people…they just show up.
Finally getting back to my camp I can hear Keller Williams on the Main Stage area. He’s always fun to listen to, he’s got a great voice and he strums those guitars fast and furiously. I love him and was so pleased to hear him from camp. Soon after I heard some amazing beats coming from the Port City Music Stage, and I decided to check out Jimbo’s friends band, The Problemaddicts. I’d say these guys are like a hip-hop, reggae, in your face fun. Great beats. Great energy. I danced hard in that barn and I came out sweaty gross. We all were sweaty gross. There is comfort in that thought.
Photos by Britt Nemeth
Enough of the sweaty gross factor, I was off to find a true shower. There was only one I knew of and I wasn’t telling anyone about it. Unfortunately, when I got to the bath house, there was a slight line. Fine by me, a slight line is better than the line for the “official” $5 showers. As I waited on line, hanging outside the bath house, I saw another friend of mine walking across the way. Sometimes, it’s just that easy. “Jello shots at dark,” is what I was told. Yes ma’am, love ya. Oh, yeah – I lingered in that shower a bit.
Highlights of the day: moe. Ghostland Observatory. Ryan Montbleau Band. Silent Disco.
photo by Jeremy Hageman
Ghostland Observatory: light show extraordinaire. On par with Chris Kuroda from Phish. Seriously. That’s all I remember. No, I remember loving the music, but entranced by the lights.
Photos by Britt Nemeth
moe. Who doesn’t love moe.? If you haven’t heard of them, you should. They are a solid jam band, all I could think of was Widespread Panic + Phish = moe. Wicked guitar riffs. Amazing beat by the two drummers. Killer drums. We were treated to a 2 song encore, and the show ends at 12:30. Woo hoo, here we go, Day 1.
Photos by Britt Nemeth
Ryan Montbleau Band: The Barn Stage (the smallest of all the stages), was packed. Seriously packed. Ryan has great energy, funky beats and it was a lot of fun. I had begun my music schizophrenia mode and ran down to see Big Gigantic which wasn’t really my style as they are a Rave/Techno type band. But they had a sax. I’ve never heard a techno/rave band with sax. I was intrigued and I loved it.
Photos by Britt Nemeth
Silent Disco: OK. This was amazing. AMAZING. You would walk by this field and all these people would be standing around looking like zombies. Kinda scary. But once you went through with the headphones that was given to you upon entry, it all changed. You heard the DJ and the music that everyone else was listening to on the headphones. Immediately you were in another world, a shared experience with only the people with the phones on. The music was amazing, the DJ was amazing and I danced for a long time. I think I called it a night around 4am, leaving my friends behind. I was out. I needed sleep. We had two more days to party through.
9. Jorma Kaukonen, Iridium, May 2010
7. Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble – birthday evening, August 2010
6. Gov’t Mule, PC Richards Theater, August 2010
4. The Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi Band, Wanee April 2010
3. Jimmy Herring, Lenny White, Richie Goods Iridium, August 2010
2. Pat Metheny Orchestrion, May 2010
Day 2 started with a HOT summer morning, and me jumping out of the tent around 10am. My new camp family hooked me up with the ice coffee, and the morning shower consisted of me, a cold spigot and a bar of soap. I heard the Roots of Creation from the Port City Music Hall and they reminded me of 80′s music – very John Water’s movie score-esque.
