GOTV | 07.31 – 08.03 | CT
By Team JamBase Aug 7, 2008 • 9:22 pm PDT
It starts a bit slow but give it two-minutes. Seriously, go listen, we wouldn’t steer you wrong…
Words by: Brian Bavosa & Bill Clifford | Images by: Adam McCullough & Robert Chapman
Gathering of the Vibes :: 07.31 – 08.03 :: Seaside Park :: Bridgeport, CT
Thursday – 07.31.08By: Brian Bavosa
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“Everybody congregated to the music of The Grateful Dead, the philosophy of The Grateful Dead, the community of The Grateful Dead,” said Donna Jean Godchaux-McKay backstage on a plush couch. “And here we have it, a gillion years later and everyone still wants to do the same thing, and that is congregate around good music and a [like-minded] philosophy. It never ceases to amaze me that this prolonged experience that I first experienced back in 1971 is still as vibrant or more – it’s right here.”
Returning to the ideal setting of Seaside Park in Bridgeport, CT for the fourth time (’99, ’00, ’07 and ’08), this year’s festival remained true to its Dead-infused roots by featuring no less than three remaining members – and one defacto clown, Wavy Gravy – of the band that started it all over forty years ago. Boasting the return of Phil Lesh & Friends, Donna Jean & The Tricksters and a band led by Bill Kreutzman, this installment of the Vibes showed that community, family and the ever-present spirit of Jerry Garcia and the GD will continue to flourish long after the music has faded away.
This year’s Vibe Tribe also happened to gather on what would have been Garcia’s 66th birthday (08/01/08). With a picturesque setting along the Long Island Sound, where patrons can even dip their toes into the water should they please, the sun just seems to shine a little brighter when this event comes to town. And, lucky for us, The Vibes and the town of Bridgeport have sealed the deal to consummate this sacred marriage for the next five years, ensuring that the Vibes will flock to beautiful, southern Connecticut for many more fests to come. There’s also a non-profit village that boasts the likes of HeadCount and Rock the Earth, and Radio Vibes, which makes sure those camped along the water never miss a beat of the action. This year’s Vibes also offered many activities for kids, morning yoga sessions and everything in between.
Another awesome aspect of the Vibes is the double main stage set-up. With a natural band shell for one and another stage directly next to it, there are no overlapping sets on these “Sun” and “Moon” stages, and allow for a quick turnaround with a merely a lull in the action. It’s just another unique aspect of the Vibes that makes it easy to be in one spot, soak in the sunshine – or torrential, sideways rain like on Saturday morning – and be able to hear all of the main acts. So, please gather around as we conjure up the spirits of the Dead – past, present and future.
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DARK STAR ORCHESTRA
The following act is not so subtle in what they do and whom they represent. As if this festival was lacking homage to Garcia and company, Dark Star Orchestra played two, monster sets from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. recreating the entire Dead show from 11/06/77 from the Broome Arena in Binghamton, NY; it is hard to not appreciate what this band does – like ’em or not. And who doesn’t like The Grateful Dead? The first set saw the band weave their way through such numbers as “Jack Straw” and “Passenger,” with Tricksters guitarist Jeff Mattson even “tagging in” for John Kadlecik to play Jerry’s part for “Mexicali Blues” > “Me & My Uncle” and “Friend of the Devil.” The first set closed with a spirited “Music Never Stopped,” a nod to this festival and the tradition it continues to carry on.
Set two also featured Donna Jean on vocals for much of the material, both joining and taking over vocals for Lisa Mackey – who “plays” the role of Godchaux in DSO – for “Samson & Delilah,” “Fire on the Mountain,” “Not Fade Away” and others still. The first night of music ended with yet another tribute, as all followed up the “Johnny B. Goode” encore with a stirring rendition of Garcia’s “Don’t Let Go” and capped it off by the spiritually laced “We Bid You Goodnight.” With only the first of four nights under our belts, the music of The Grateful Dead had managed to speak volumes already and point the Vibe Tribe in the right direction on what would have been Garcia’s 66th birthday.
Thursday – 07.31.08 – Take Two
By: Bill Clifford
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I was very pleasantly surprised to find the Solar Stage, a third, smaller stage powered by renewable energy sources centrally located this year, as opposed the 2007’s spot at the furthest end of the peninsula where hardly anyone dared to venture. A further improvement over last year, instead of one main stage and a smaller band shell stage that acted as two main stages, they built two gigantic main stages of equal size, placing them against the setting sun to block the late afternoon rays and offer fans some shade from the heat while in front of the stages.
GROOVESECT
The main stage music began Thursday with Groovesect, one of several unfamiliar acts for me on the lineup. A small crowd had assembled as the band took the stage at 5:30 p.m., with others milling around the vendors located on the back tree line of the concert field. Once the band began to lay down its soulful, instrumental jazz grooves, the crowd did indeed grow. This young New Orleans-based ensemble impressed with their infectious funk, led by the rich layers of sax and trombone laid down by Tim Sullivan. This band is certainly an act to keep an eye and ear upon in the future.
Continue reading for Friday coverage of GOTV…
By: Brian Bavosa
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During a delay (I heard traffic) that caused PBS to run a bit behind, Assembly of Dust frontman Reid Genauer played a solo, acoustic version of “Speculator,” a song I remember seeing him play on this very stage almost a decade ago with his former band, Strangefolk (whose new incarnation played the following day). If PBS was late, they sure made up for it upon hitting the stage, even if their set seemed abbreviated. Bringing their dose of New Orleans’ flavored funk, the concert field seemed jarred loose from the melodic, sticky goodness. This set was an all out ass-shaker that showcased some of the most prolific musicians of our time in George Porter Jr., Russell Batiste and Brian Stoltz.
ASSEMBLY OF DUST
In many ways, I enjoy the GOTV more than any other festival. Besides the location and lineup, the organizers of this fest – more so than many others – are fans themselves. In short: they get it. One thing that has always represented this fact is where they place the acts and the time slots they give them. AOD was a picture perfect example. Genauer’s acoustic sound, soaring, heartfelt vocals, along with Nate Wilson‘s keys paint a perfect mood for the late afternoon hours when the sun begins to fade, the sweat subsides from your brow and your buzz begins to brighten up your smile. In particular, “Westerly,” another song I vividly remember hearing at the ’00 Vibes, transported me back in time to my younger days when responsibilities were fewer and reminded me to “settle down.” Donna Jean joined AOD for her first reading in almost 35 years of “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man),” a Loretta Lynn number that she sang often with The Dead, most notably in 1973.
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DEEP BANANA BLACKOUT
Another tradition of most Vibes, especially in Bridgeport, has been to reserve a semi-headlining slot for hometown heroes, Deep Banana Blackout. Last year, DBB teamed up with George Clinton & P-Funk for an all-star funk tribute to James Brown. This year, the band focused on mostly their own material, with original frontwoman Jen Durkin. “This is the best gig of the year,” she said. When I asked her about the hometown connection, she replied that the Vibes are unique because “the people around here are so sophisticated because of NYC and the whole world music scene that comes out of there. Bridgeport is like ‘Come to my ‘hood and see how cool it is here!’ The people make it.”
Spanning their catalogue with old chestnuts like “Breakfast at Volo’s,” “Tug” and “Bump & Sway,” DBB looked comfortable as only locals can and funked long into the night, led by the horn section of Rob Somerville and Rob Volo, and were even joined by Karl Perazzo (Santana) on percussion. Also worth noting, before the start of their set DBB served as the backing band for eight-year old guitar whiz Yuto Miyazawa for Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” and “Mr. Crowley,” securing his lore as the youngest professional guitarist, an honor he received from The Guinness Book of World Records several days later.
Friday – 08.01.08 – Take Two
By: Bill Clifford
 GOTV ’08 by McCullough |
AMERICAN BABIES
Led by former Brothers Past frontman Tom Hamilton and his bassist brother Joe, and bolstered by guitarist Scott Metzger (RANA, Particle) and Duo drummer Joe Russo, this supergroup of sorts gave a pleasant performance of songs from its debut recording. The up-beat, melodic rocker “Brooklyn Bridge” with three-part vocal harmonies had many moving and singing along, and the slower, quieter “Broken English” kept the small crowd listening intently to Hamilton. When he brought the music to a rest on the lovely countrified waltz “One For The Road” you could have heard a field mouse squeak. Sadly, just a few braved the beautiful, warm afternoon sun to hear the Babies’ set.
RYAN MONTBLEAU BAND
Four summers ago, the festival invited a young New England singer-songwriter into the fold, and the Ryan Montbleau Band has been invited back each year since. As the festival has grown in size and stature, so too has this band. A sea of peeps assembled in anticipation of this six-piece’s set, and the band didn’t disappoint. Opener “Draw The Line” and “The Boat Song” took on a ska feel courtesy of the rhythmic keys of Jason Cohen. With the blazing hot sun finally falling behind the stage, the way too funky love song “Inspired By No One” inspired a spirited Montbleau to mark the occasion, “It was Jerry’s birthday, and we were dancing, dancing on stages/ I don’t remember much but I know it was amazing/ All of these friends of mine, gettin’ down/ gettin’ down at the Vibes/ We was feelin’ all right.”
Later, the band was joined by DBB’s horn section. With a throbbing electric bass anchoring the low end, the soulful, infectious cover of Paul McCartney’s “Let ‘Em In” had the crowd shuffling their feet and shaking their asses from side to side. In the bridge where Sir Paul lists names of friends to be let in, Montbleau improvised, running down a list of festival entertainers, keeping in tune with the song: “Deep Banana, Donna Jean, Dweezil Zappa and AOD. Brothers Neville, Phil & Friends, open the doorway, let ’em in.” With the next band stuck in traffic on I-95, the RMB was granted a three-song encore, finally closing with their apropos original “Dancing In The Sunshine.”
 GOTV ’08 by McCullough |
THE BLACK CROWES
Friday’s closer, The Black Crowes let their freak flag fly. As if the Crowes needed to add more Southern fried blues to its soul and gospel, the addition of Luther Dickinson of North Mississippi Allstars brings just that – more rolling, bluesy swagger. Given a two-hour set time, the Crowes played the part of headliner well, including a smattering of past hits and flavoring the set with songs from their new CD, Warpaint.
They got off to a mellow but groovy start with “Thorn In My Pride,” while fans both young and old filed into the concert field. The song built to a peak with a searing solo from Dickinson and thick swells of keyboards with harmonica from a rail thin Chris Robinson adding the final detail. While not normally shy, Robinson said very little between songs. The band did nod to Garcia and The Dead with an elegant cover of the traditional folk song “Cold Rain and Snow,” followed by the jazzy New Orleans vibe of “Locust Street” from Warpaint.
“Wiser Time” absolutely burned the stage down with long improvised jams and Chris Robinson sauntering from one side of the stage to the other, flaunting his style, tossing his black hair behind him as he moved. The tempo slowed for another Warpaint ballad, the beautiful “Oh Josephine,” and then rose again with “Remedy” and “Hard To Handle,” both of which enticed the crowd to sing-along in unison, before they closed with “Wounded Bird.” The Crowes addition to the lineup may have struck a negative note with some Vibes regulars but they once again proved why they’re one of the great Southern rock bands of all time.
Continue reading for Saturday coverage of GOTV…
By: Bill Clifford
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NEW RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE
Jerry must have been smiling on some old friends, because at 4:20 p.m., the storm had passed and the power had come back on, and we welcomed the New Riders of the Purple Sage to the stage. Strangefolk, a Vermont band that plays infrequently but gets back together every summer to play the Gathering (the second band that’s played every GOTV), was the only band bumped from the main stage, but played later at the Solar Stage.
SAMANTHA STOLLENWERCK
Over at the Solar Stage, Samantha Stollenwerck impressed with a short, acoustic trio set. She’s a newcomer singer-songwriter based in San Francisco whose salty dog vocals and soulful pop songs remind one of Sheryl Crow or Liz Phair. While this set was entertaining, I’d welcome an opportunity to hear her songs with a full backing band.
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MIKE GORDON
Murawski took the short walk from one stage to the other, where former Phish bassist Mike Gordon was warming up his band and getting tuned as soon as the trio finished. Murawski and Gordon have been working together on one musical project or another since just about the time that Phish split, and this band is showing the rest of the country what we New Englanders have known about Murawski all along. He’s certainly been one of the most under-appreciated guitarists of his time, especially considering that Max Creek has been making music for over 30 years.
They played music from Gordon’s new album, The Green Sparrow. A loose warm-up improvisation found its way into “Dig Further Down,” with a spry, playful smile between Murawski and Gordon and shared vocals on the chorus. The concert field had filled in quite a bit by now, and up front, younger Phish phans were glad to have the chance to catch a glimpse of the bassist up close. “Traveled Too Far” was delivered with high energy and a fast tempo, as well as Gordon’s thick, rolling basslines. Murawski, plays a Languedoc guitar, like Gordon’s Phish mate Trey Anastasio, which he played fluidly and gracefully, stepping up for solos when asked and always holding the rhythm tight. To the large crowd’s delight, they closed their all-too-short set with Gordon’s raw Phish nugget, “Meat.”
Saturday – 08.02.08 – Take Two
By: Brian Bavosa
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“Of course I’m really excited about the chemistry in this band with Phil,” said Molo. “We really like playing with each other. From the first time I saw The Grateful Dead in 1973 at American University, they always sparked an interest in me. I liked the crowd almost as much as I liked the band, and I liked their open-mindedness about what the band was doing.”
Bubbling up with a patient “Scarlet Begonias” that saw the appearance of Donna Jean, Phil then led his mates into an absolutely ripping “All Along the Watchtower;” something unexpected, but certainly welcome as Campbell used to shred this number when he played in Bob Dylan‘s band, and it rocked – hard. Easily the most poignant moment of the weekend was “He’s Gone,” which brought tears to many eyes. However, the set really got cooking with a Molitz led space/funk jam that led into “Elevator,” a tune Molitz played with Particle, before absolutely exploding into Phil’s pile-driver monster, “The Eleven” and finally “I Know You Rider,” which made me realize that something bigger than ourselves was driving the northbound train with those who have gone before us acting as the headlight. Lesh must have gotten Superman’s liver, because this set flat out soared. Hands down, the best music I heard all weekend.
Continue reading for Sunday coverage of GOTV…
By: Brian Bavosa
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SAM BUSH
Another living legend, often referred to as the “King of Newgrass,” Sam Bush treated fans to a sprinkling of his bluegrass-meets-rock brand of mandolin. Saxophonist Bill Evans accompanied Bush for most of the set, which was a nice change of pace for a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Sunday – 08.03.08 – Take Two
By: Bill Clifford
DEREK TRUCKS & SUSAN TEDESCHI SOUL STEW REVIVAL
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UMPHREY’S McGEE
There was a dichotomy evident between the older fans (at least those that had stayed this long) of the Soul Stew Revival and the younger audience for Umphrey’s McGee, who drew the largest crowd of the day. They seemed in fine spirits considering the previous night’s cancellation of an outdoor arena performance in Atlanta due to the weather.
They warmed up with “Walletsworth” and ran through eight songs, each finding more room for their trademark improvisation and tight musical collaboration. Mid-set included a slow, funky instrumental, “Jimmy Stewart,” which segued into a high-energy rendition of “Plunger” with several changes in tempo. “Words” followed seamlessly, and by this point the Umphreaks were going nuts, which certainly had an effect on the band’s playing.
“Gathering of the Vibes, we’ve heard about it, but we’ve never been. This is badass. Thank you for having us. It’s about time we came,” noted guitarist Jake Cinninger.
They closed their set with a butt-shaking take on “JaJunk.” From just under the shade of the giant oak in the center of the field, it was an inspiring sight to watch a sea of fans move and sway together to the music.
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A celebration of the life and music of the late Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead that began in 1995 in San Francisco, when Garcia passed, has found a home and a family on the East Coast. Bridgeport, Connecticut and Seaside Park gladly welcomes the Vibe Tribe with open arms. It does seem as if the sun shines a little brighter when we gather, though it also seems as if yearly somebody dumps a brief “Box of Rain” on the celebration. Regardless, the Vibe Tribe will continue to return to Seaside Park, on the land donated by circus impresario P.T. Barnum, to rejoice together and ensure that Garcia’s memory and the spirit and music of the Grateful Dead will live on for years to come.
Continue reading for more images from GOTV…
Images by: Adam McCullough
 Groovesect | |
 Buzz Universe | |
 Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay | |
 Rob Barraco – Dark Star Orchestra | |
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Continue reading for Friday pics…
Images by: Adam McCullough
 Scott Metzger – American Babies | |
 Joe Russo – American Babies | |
 The Bridge | |
 Assembly of Dust | |
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 Ryan Montbleau | |
 King For A Day | |
 Russell Batiste Jr. – PBS | |
 Yuto Miyazawa | |
 Jen Durkin – Deep Banana Blackout | |
 Wavy Gravy introducing The Black Crowes | |
 Chris Robinson – The Black Crowes | |
 Luther Dickinson – The Black Crowes | |
 The Black Crowes |
Continue reading for Saturday pics…
Images by: Adam McCullough
 Alternate Routes | |
 The Heavy Pets | |
 Samantha Stollenwerck | |
 Taj Mahal | |
 Bill Kreutzmann | |
 Mike Gordon | |
 Phil Lesh | |
 Jackie Greene – Phil Lesh & Friends | |
 Phil Lesh & Friends |
Continue reading for Sunday pics…
Images by: Adam McCullough
 Jackie Greene | |
 Sam Bush | |
 Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi Soul Stew Revival | |
 Umphrey’s McGee | |
 Umphrey’s McGee | |
 The Neville Brothers | |
 The Neville Brothers | |
 Aaron Neville – The Neville Brothers |
JamBase | Festival Express
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