Jam in the Dam | 03.16 - 03.19

maaaan... looks like it was a great time! I'll be there next year!

dank you

amazing!!! If it wasnt for UM that would have been an all time classick! DSO rules!!

This must be fun. I mean let's be honest, just about any live music in Amsterdam is a good time. Missed it this year, but that won't happen again. DSO in the DAM EFF YEA!

Till then, see ya'll at Mountain Jam!

Great photos. I love Amsterdam. Great museums, beautiful town, diverse cultures...and the hash doesn't suck.

This event, however…meh. Go all the way to Europe to see Umph and a bunch of cover bands? DSO are good, but they are still a cover band. PG, Lotus and Bisco are basically covering Phish jams and people have bought into it being original. Oh well. You'd need all that pot to make that interesting.

Umph is AMAZING live... What the $*&! are you talking about, Savage?? Oh, and yes, DSO puts on a great show but it ain't the real thing...

Wow Kirkbrew. Of course you have your right to your opinion about the music, but "Bisco are basically covering Phish jams"...either you haven't given the biscuits a fair chance...or you know nothing of Phish. They sound nothing alike. Great photos guys!!!

I must say does look good it was a great time. as for the comment of a bunch of cover bands. seems very uneducated to see the only one that could apply to is darkstar. but the way they perform the dead is right on point i have never heard a better cover band(using that term loosely) than them. Bisco hasnt played a phish song since mid 90's or so. But hey I would go to amsterdam any time to see these cover bands rock out a classic venue and classic jams. Enjoy the season approaching and a good show to one and all.

Nice shots Sam - looks like a hell of a good time

Dark star orchestra is so damn good.....Of all the cover bands I have ever heard they are by far the most talented....I don't really undertand everyones problem with them.......I have seen the dead, phil and friends, ratdog, the mickey hart band and I thought dark star put on a much better show than all of those bands..........I know that phil, mickey and bobby were the original writers of the music....but close your eyes at a dso show and tell me it isn't amazing

Nice photos, Sam and Dave!

How can you compare lotus to phish? honestly i love both bands but lotus is straight up mind blowing fusion.. its like a band on acid and steroids at the same time,. amazing energy can't wait to see them friday in northampton

Beautiful pictures!!! Wish I could have taken them.

I too, do not understand why people give dso a hard time. For one, its very special what they are doing keeping the deads music alive. Also, I dont get out much, but out of the 20 or so shows i have seen, DSO at Dunegrass was my favorite, and thats over Bisco, Umphreys, Sts9, and SCI.

Kirkbrew what the hell are you talking about Lotus and P Groove are Phish cover bands. Have you listened to any of their music? Your way off the mark their buddy...and obviously you have in no way actually listened to any of their shows. I can think of no song even mildy Phishesque that Lotus plays...sunrain, its all clear, nematode, flower sermon, hammerstrike,wooly mammoth etc...hmm nope not even close to Phish. DSO is a cover band sure...but they have grown and developed into a musical organism deserving of countless praise for their dedication, craftsmanship, and skill. The others sorry bud, but your way off the mark. Sounds and looks like an amazing time. The music combined with the culture must have been a surreal experience. Thanks for the pics.

damn i love amsterdam

This festival looks like the heady steez! I heard Bisco, Lotus, and PGroove threw down. I wish I could have been there. This was the best Jam in the Dam lineup in years. I'll definitely be there next year if the Biscuits and Lotus are there. WHOMP!

That does look amazing. Great pics. Looks like one hell of a party. And yes, DSO shows are amazing. I'm really looking forward to their late-night set at Mountain Jam.

Oh yea, the bickering on this site is ridiculous. Apparently if you don't like or listen to a certain band, you hate on them every time you post? How many kids are on this site?

damn you guys have the sweetest fucking job in the world!! awesome pics... looks like such a blast. and lotus is way under-rated by the way!

kirk you are a schmuck. how is pgroove like phish? does anyone know if its going on archive

Everytime I look at these comments there is some week negative comments from Liberalsavage guy

Why check out the site so much if there is such a constant gripe about what is or isnt to your liking

i love it when people try to talk shit and then make statements that completely reveal that they know absolutely jack shit about the subject

thanks for the laugh kirkbrew

I wouldn't sweat these buttholes' remarks, people. They're the same people that claim that the scene is being littered up with impostors and people who don't fit. If you ask me, the only people who don't fit in a scene are the ones who think that it is exclusive to their tastes. Those of you who can't see the music scene emerging as something that (finally) is breaking down the boundaries of genre and social class will probably always find a new gripe. Maybe one day you'll be stricken with the weight of most of the pioneer's intentions to diversify the scene. Get out of your box and go see MORE live music!

These photos are seriously amazing - wow! Definitely very inspirational for me.

Thanks for posting this article.

Gary

http://www.festivalfriendly.com/

http://www.festivalfriendly.com/forum/

Dave - nice shots from our apartment! Good stuff!! We should do it again soon...

YO - anyone that has plans to go to Amsterdam - check out www.homeandaway.nl and talk with Niels - he will hook you up in one of the most righteous places in the city...Trust me.

ALSO: I am constantly wondering why music fans see a comment box and take it as an opportunity to bash others? For crying out loud ya'll -- just put your two cents down and leave the person bashing to the politicians.

jambase - please add an ignore user function, so i never have to see Savage's comments again. seriously

ao1- I TOTALLY AGREE.

Great pics here. I def. need to get my ass to jam in the dam one of these years...

Thanks for all the love regarding THE PHOTOS AT HAND

How did this turn into a smorgasbord of negativity??

Umphrey's always puts on the most insane shows. I looked at their setlists though and I kinda think it's gotten so big, it's a bit watered down. I wish UM got 2 full sets one night. Maybe they need to invite fewer bands... I would rather watch 2 awesome bands play a lot, then 6 (UM not included) meh bands play.

That's what is so great about a festival, the lineup changes every year.

I bet everybody had a blast. Yay, Amsterdam!

these images are nothing short of gorgeous.. thanks guys!

i just want to know what kirbrew has been huffing to think disco, pgroove, and lotus are covering phish jams. Now i gotta be honest I'm not a fan of the disco biscuits, I've seen them live once and I didn't like them. I am very huge fan of umph and allthough i've never seen pgroove or lotus live i've heard many of their shows and thought they were both talented bands, but if you knew anything about these bands, or phish you'd know that the sound was completly different. People go to these shows because of the different new sound and style that makes the bands unique. Phish had their own unique sound and style, and other bands in the scene recognized that and tried to incorporated their own style and their own jams. If you wanna hear a band sound like phish, go to a phix show or another phish coverband.

It's that reason that people go to these shows, so they can see a band that sounds diff from the dead, or phish or sci so they can get a diff, maybe better, experience out of the band and experience a maybe better newer, different sounding sound.

And I don't get a lot of you DSO haters. I have much respect for mickey, bobby, phil and bill and what they are and have been doin in the past, but to go to a show and have the band, not just cover the songs, but recreate an antire set, or even show, is mindblowing to me, ontop of that the band almost recreates the experience flawlessly, there aren't many cover bands who can do that.

I'll def be seein you all at jam in the dam next year!

Sorry – you guys are somewhat correct and I am somewhat off the mark. Lotus, P-Groove, Bisco really don’t write songs like a band like Panic, Phish or even George Michael. They just kind of jam. And when they sing (at least Bisco), I just pray that the skies will open and drown out those off key wails. At the very least, write better lyrics.

My point is that those songs/jams that are essentially no different from any extended Phish jam. Cool groove, solid funky bass coloured by guitar or keys. First with a simple theme that is added to (double the time and add as you go or a number of Trey’esque tricks) leading to a crescendo of some sort. Bring it back down, throw in a new riff, reformulate your elaboration, return elements of the original theme and crescendo again.

And you are probably right that I am off here too. Phish were relatively succinct with their jams. And when they went off, they did so with purpose. They told a story. The modern jamband, in contrast, stretches these rhythms and noodling to a point of exhaustion (or boredom).

So Lotus use samples, some late 80’s/early 90’s e-rhythms and elements of dance music. P-Groove get prog-rock with a bit of ELP. Bisco throw in analogue synths sweeps for the trippers (when they should sell that mini-Moog and buy voice lessons or retake High School lit). That’s window dressing. It’s far from being significantly different from the 10 to 15 minutes in the middle of any Ghost, Tweezer, Antelope etc…

At least that is what I’m picking up. I am more familiarly with Phish than the above. But when I listen to them, I say “That sounds like that cool Weekapaugh from the ’96 Deer Creek show. Screw this, I’ll listen to the Deer Creek show.”

Hence – my comment that these are all cover bands. I will not argue that I am ignorant or uneducated. That’s just what this ignorant, uneducated ear is picking up on.

And DSO is a GREAT cover band. But still a cover band and (to me) not really worth the scratch.

I went in '06 and its still the best fest ive been to. All these bands rule!

I would go if they got some better bands...With these bands, you're better off just going over there for the Cup. Even though 9 out of 10 strains we have in this area would still be far superior to the Cup winner.

Damn Vince get a HAIRCUT!!!!!

"I would go if they got some better bands...With these bands, you're better off just going over there for the Cup. Even though 9 out of 10 strains we have in this area would still be far superior to the Cup winner."

I must agree. This fest has the most potential of any festival anywhere if they'd just mix it up beyond bisco and Umphreys. Throw in a little MMW, Ween, Claypool, and someone else, and i'm there.

gotta agree with a lot of you guys here. Kirk, I fully feel ya with the lack of originality. That's just music though. and if you think about it a lot of these guys haven't ever seen the dead, phish, or houser panic so this is all new to them. On the other hand I do like what TLG has to offer.

The pics are absolutely gorgeous though! a great mix of music and culture.

well done. :)

^^^ Those bands are great but they play short sets. I know MMW can go all night, but Claypool hasn't played a set over 90 minutes for 3 or 4 years now.

Primus has the catalog to play three shows but that's just wishful thinking.

Kirkbrew, To say that phish's jams go places and these other bands don't is ignorant. Tons of Phish's jams went nowhere. We'll noodle for awhile, do some ambience and then peak for the final two minutes of song while trying to go into another song. Take Piper from SPAC '04. One of the most talked about phish jams post hiatus. After the 3 minute piper there is 29 minutes of jam that has nothing to do with piper. I love phish and that piper jam, but you are way off base when saying that they tell a story with their jams. Oh and i forgot that trey had such a good voice, maybe HE can teach tDB how to sing and write songs about animals and the blue sky.

"Bisco throw in analogue synths sweeps for the trippers (when they should sell that mini-Moog and buy voice lessons or retake High School lit)"

- hey kirkbrew, hate to break it to you but the members of the Disco Biscuits are Ivy League educated. They graduated from Penn. I'm pretty sure they are up on their high school lit (just for arguements sake).

DANK U

What a fun time!!

Kirkbrew not to say that you are ignorant and I can maybe maybe just a little agree with you about pgroove and lotus but TDB are much more than just their jams... listen to the compositional stuff Overture, House dog Party Favor, Devil's Waltz, they have 2 fully realized rock operas, one of which (the hot air balloon) contains more interesting compositions than many jambands will produce in their entire careers. Also the way they jam in and out of songs is different and occurs in basically all of their songs, unlike any of the past major jambands. Not trying to be an ass just trying to give credit where credit is due. This is an original band whose contribution to the scene may not be fully recognized for a few more years, in many ways due to the shabby vocals and apparently "unpleasant" fanbase.

Did I say something negative or did somebody just give me the thumbs down because I said that i had a better time at a DSO show than a Bisco show?

pottad – Post hiatus Phish is nothing to write home about. Round Room and Undermine are about 2 of the worst albums I have ever listened to. It was a good call to break up. People may not dig that, but they were smart enough to know when done was done. And they were done.

jesposito –You left out that only one Biscuit graduated. But does it matter? A friend of mine is a PhD in Physics and the dude can’t swing a hammer.

Rainking04 – Thanks for the tip. I will check it out. And feel free to say I’m ignorant. I’m not saying that I am experts on these bands. I have given all of them a solid chance and just remain wondering what the buzz is about. Largely, I think that it comes down to the party, a good groove and a good time and not so much the quality of the art. I’ll keep listening and checking out.

stuckinabeat – I’ll give you some ups, bro!

I think we can all agree – fucking nice photos.

this was my 3rd JitD. As always i had a great time. Um rocked my face off (as they usually do) Lotus was awesome, tlg and p-groove were good, bisco sucked!! i really gave them a chance this time, but they still don't do it for me. As for DSO they were ok, but I'm not a fan of cover bands. Sam, nice pics man! Dave, yours are ok.

WTF! Hippie with the horns, I've met that guy, I think his name is Hallie or something. Anyways nice photos as always.

The guy with horns and the fish is Hal the Brokendown Clown. I think that weekend was his 300th PGroove show! Congrats Hal! He's a legend in PGroove world. I've been to my fair share of PG shows and I've seen him at 90% of them.

Ill bet Conspirator with Jake was pretty nasty!! Whole thing looks sick!! Brain Damaged Eggman is another cover band, FYI.

Another year, another JITD. Besides what I hear about JamCruise, this is FOR SURE one of the greatest private parties ever thrown. they only sell like 1200 tix for 6 bands over 4 days!! Talk about intimate. Every night members of each band were hanging out in the crowd watching these bands play some great music. The OLD HALL (smaller room) was probably my favorite as the crowds were not as big as THE MAX (big room) and you got to see the 3 hottest 2nd tier "Jambands" make their claims on the title of next band to bust it big. DSO is ADORED by the Euroheads, UM always brings it heavy, and Bisco always brings the Strobe lights??? Seriously, I think that we get it already. Enough with the gimmicks.

The ONLY downer on the trip is the weakness of the US dollar to the Euro. Someone joked during the show. "What's up with the dollar nowadays? It's like the new Peso!" Let us all praise Allah that GW Bush has less than 1 year to go. Now if he can only get us to pay $4 per gallon for gas before he leaves office then he'll really be a happy camper and his legacy will be complete...WORST PRESIDENT EVER!!!

kirkbrew if you love Phish so much that you can't appreciate what these other bands are doing, than I'm sorry bro, you're the one missing out.

That's Hal the Broken Clown, and that giant fish is named Humungus Amongus or something...both very chill P-groove heads

I was there for this. One of the coolest cities in Europe even without the coffee shops. The type of city you will never be bored in. Umph wrecked house every set. When they played shine, it was one of the best experiences of my life. Also pgroove, lotus, and tlg rocked, i mean fucken tore up that little venue. I have never heard Tea Leaf sound that good.

Everyone should check this out, you really get see the bands in a whole different way. It is the ultimate VIP experience, I was front row for everyshow with my bong and my beer sitting on the stage.

wait so did the barber sit through the every set in JITD? too much hashish perhaps...

This was so incredible. So much fun, huge party!

My favorite sets were Dark star Sunday night. Umphrey's on Tuesday. And Tea Leaf through down some rocking sets.

Nice pictures!

I have seen that dude with the horns and the fish before, I think he is a SoFL guy. Always makes you check with your friends to make sure you saw what you saw.

Awesome pics, been wanting to go to the JitD for a few years, but have not made it - yet. I tend to agree that the lineup is kinda one dimensional, at least not enough for me to skip other fests here is the states.

I am sure that will get me some thumbs downs, stuckinabeat, we will see. Maybe that thumb is really just for the Bisco fan patrol that tells us what we are supposed to like on this site?

George Dubya is ivy-league educated too...

Why has Barber been sitting down lately? Is he sick or something?

I really want to rock out the Jam in the Dam 2009! This looks amazing. I think the bands are great--wonderful mix!! There seems to be something for everyone.

For me, the one thing about travelling for travelling-sake is that I always feel like I am missing something. When I go and see music (and I'm talking just music in general), I feel like I am enhanced. That is what I love about these trips that different bands are doing now. I feel very catered to in this industry!

John G. from Bisco Sprained/broke his ankle right before they came over to Europe. That's why he is sitting in a chair in every pic. It's kinda hard to play the guitar while balancing yourself on crutches ya know.

Hal The Broken Clown is quite the jam festival traveler. I've seen him on Jamcruise the last 2 years and now here he is at Jam In The Dam. I heard that he's been "broken" since Jerry died. Don't know the significance of the fish though.

Pretty much every band on here is sick. Like. Seriously. I've seen every band that was here live before, I've yet to see a Bisco show that really grabbed me but I've only seen them at fests so there's probably an atmospheric element to their live shows I'm missing, I'll be sure to catch em' next time they're around, I've put it off long enough. Brock Butler from P Groove is an amazing guitarist. Lotus has talent falling out of every orifice I don't know how many of ya'll making the negative comments about the lineup have seen them before, and perhaps you have and they just weren't your thing, but I saw em about a year ago and was pretty impressed by them musically. Very talented. Check out "Suitcases and Sandwiches" on Archive or their album Tip of the Tongue I think it's called. They're pretty talented. Maybe a little derivative but if artists didn't learn from each other and share sounds than there'd be like 8 bands ever and none of the interesting cross-breeds of sound that generate permutations like Lotus would be possible. Anyway, I first envy, then see past my negative selfish emotion, than congratulate anybody who was there on catching what look's like an awesome weekend of music.

I would first like to point out in the case of DSO (i have never seen them yet, but mountain jam should be a first) but if you look at the often praised setlist from without a net for example, so many of these songs were written at least like 10years or more before that time period; this is going to be unpopular (even the notion to myself, because i love the dead) i think that the dead were just lying on the success of the past and a hit video that catapaulted them to area rockers, and mainstream act that a bunch of little kids went to (i'm 19 so i guess they are even older then me). essentially the dead were covering themselves towards the end of their career. Not to say that essentially that they didn't produce some great shows, but they were no longer producing great volumes of good new work (their hit video or song touch of grey was written quite a bit before). So to hate on DSO is just rude, it's not like they write down the jams note for note and memorize them, they do add their own twist that is distinctly theirs. Sorry for the length of the comment, but i also think that kirkbrew has a point, it's just not anything that is very interesting or new, he just put it in different terms; a jam is almost always based on certain rthmic and tonal structure that is introduced in the song usually, and a jam is a way to extend and experiement with the limits of what that certain fixture of music can produce, so that you kirkbrew for putting what we already know in a very unusual way.

o btw i think that everyone should stop hating on barber for sitting down, in fact all of you take that back because your are insensitive assholes, if you look instead of just decide he's so fucked up he can't stand up or something, that he has a cast on his fucking leg; but that's not interesting, not like "Barber too fucked up to stand up."

selo i feel dumber for reading your comments. first of all giving away your age completly shreds any hint of credibility you may have had. You weren't even alive when that shit came out, and to say that after the fact, the dead became some teeny bopper ARENA rocker band is just ridiculous, you clearly dont understand how big the fan base was before 87, they'd been selling out MSG since the 70's. One fucking (ill reiterate that for you ONE)hit does not make a band like the grateful dead part of popularized American mainstream culture. get educated before you start making comments like "...Covering themselves towards the end of their careers". HOw would one go about covering a song that he/she has already written?

And Kirkwatever - Houser's dead, Jerry's dead, and phish is dead (in a sense that we may never see them again), it hurts man we all know, but lets let it go. alot of the jam culture is moving towards dance beats because yes people like to party as well as appreciate something new going on in music. If you cant get down with that kinda sound have jimmy herring melt your fuckin face for an evening.

okay steve (haha steeve) i think that what you have to realize is that after touch of grey they were no longer just selling out msg (which is impressive but not incredible) but they were also selling out huge arenas like the meadowlands, if you recall (just because i'm young does not mean i am ignorant of all the facts) there were big problems during this time with many of the regular fan base that didn't usually presale their tickets were not getting in and causing a lot of problems (i am from albany which has the knickerbocker arena which the dead only started playing in 1990 bc they got that big, and at the knick the streets were too crowded for anything to go on) i think for you to say that touch of grey didn't mainstream them is studpid, they got regular mtv airtime for that. i know plenty of people that you would never think to see at a dead show that told me that they went, or that their friend brought them along. also in regards to the cover issue, i think that once material is written its written, and then whoever plays it best should play it, i think that dso at times puts on a better show then the dead did; that's just how it plays out

this was the best ! i miss JITD and all the new friends i made. . next year can not come soon enough!

holy shit its hal

best shit ever