All Good | 07.11 – 07.13 | West Virginia
By Team JamBase Jul 17, 2008 • 2:20 pm PDT

All Good Festival :: 07.11.08 – 07.13.08 :: Marvin’s Mountaintop :: Masontown, WV
Thursday
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We sat back at our campsite, watching car after car roll into All Good. The trip into the venue made the wait worthwhile as we raced a solar circle rainbow that blazed overhead. The day departed into a deep, lavishly purple sunset. The anticipation that prodded our minds had fallen into oblivion and the process of shedding the world’s cares kicked our feet up into a groovy saunter. Unlike hotels, walls don’t block your neighbor’s face here. The festival atmosphere makes for instant bonds from something as simple as a smile or sharing a laugh after sticking one’s neighbor with a floppy tent pole. The place you camp is a human crapshoot with the wildest odds. This year we were surrounded by a crew of old Widespread Panic fans from Nashville who happened to know two close friends from our extended family. Festivals are the smallest of worlds. En route up the hill to see Perpetual Groove you could feel the heavy wetness in the air. The fog had fallen upon us before Masontown’s infamous Hot Spots had received their first ten patrons.
Perpetual Groove’s set sold the weekend in the first hour. You know it’s on when Brock Butler tilts his head to the side and starts growling into the microphone. Two to three thousand early escape artists bounced to PGroove’s new edition, John Hruby, whose fluid keyboard style and furious bouncing fingers stoked the embers of “Sundog” into “Teakwood Betz.” The light show for Perpetual Groove would go down as the best that the Ropeadope Stage had seen yet, as spirals of color wrapped around each member. Outside of the Ropeadope arena, fireworks were landing their own explosive punches from all sides of the campground.
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Way up on the hill overlooking the main stage sat the new Skybar Lounge. Next to it, the All Good sign flashed its “All Good” message for everyone to see. Below it lay the latest incarnation of the main gate, a triple pagoda style entrance lit with colored lights. The first of several sound problems plagued The Join. After a half-hour of issues, dual drumming machines Darren Shearer and Joe Russo split the hill in two with their kung-fu punches of power. Throughout the performance, Shearer busted out on beatbox, linking up with Marco Benevento and Jamie Shields (The New Deal) for a run of golden sonic funk. Benevento worked the bounce as Shields banged out the chords. Around them drifted tubes of white, yellow and blue spiraling lights. From back in the crowd the first emergence of the green lasers blasted beams of light up to the stage. They would become commonplace for the rest of the weekend, finding their way onto the strangest of places and highlighting the best and worst antics. In typical West Virginia Mountainside form, heavy fog rolled in across the valleys to tuck the whole mountain in for several hours of dreamy sleep before the first full day’s festivities. And the fireworks blasted on all around us well into the Friday’s dawn.
Friday
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Following the Wood Brothers, we trekked up to the Ropeadope Stage for a big spoonful of “Jersedelphia” funk compliments of The Blue Method. This five-piece powerhouse showed us their chops with an enthusiastic set. We were excited to see this band make their first, and hopefully not last, appearance at All Good. Lead singer Brian Williams led the band through a heart-racing set. Saxophone prodigy Tom Long was showcased throughout the set as the whole band played ambitiously with great reverence. Pink Floyd’s “Have A Cigar” was their first cover, much to the delight of the few hundred attendees. The Blue Method closed with Van Morrison’s “Caravan,” highlighting a strong gig that left many winded and satisfied.
Back at the All Good Stage, The Avett Brothers were already into their set. Dazzling the crowd, this acoustic group played fast and hard, resurrecting the sounds of days gone by with a contemporary twist. There were moments where we felt as if we were sippin’ whiskey at Al Swearengen’s bar in Deadwood. We wondered what era we had slipped into when we spotted an Allen Ginsburg look-alike wearing an Obama t-shirt standing indiscreetly in the shadows of the soundboard tent. He sang along with the audience as they lifted their arms and raised their voices, culminating in one giant group mantra following the performance. Amidst rousing applause, the Avetts welcomed their friends Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band to the Magic Hat Stage. The Reverend and his washboard compatriot roughed us up and beat down our legs as they continued the raucous old-time sounds.
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On the main stage legendary jazz guitarist John Scofield made final preparations to join Medeski Martin & Wood for their 7:45 set. Scofield entered the set as if it were a high wire act, rocking in every direction as he searched for balance between the notes. Bassist Chris Wood secured the wire with every pounding bass thump. Quickly extending the long pole, Billy Martin laid down a balancing beat. John Medeski acted as a butterfly fluttering around Scofield’s head as he meticulously crept the keys forward. Highlighted by expert musicianship and noteworthy improvisation, Medeski Scofield Martin and Wood played a banner set, summoning the sun to rest.
As night fell, Lettuce took the Magic Hat stage. Led by guitarist Eric Krasno, this seven-piece unit of acclaimed musicians catered to the dancing crowd as they offered their own slice of funk. So proficient and powerful, Lettuce are true champions of the stage and should be considered for future late night sets.
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Up the road a piece sat a tasty little joint that sold perhaps the best food going at All Good. This year’s Anthony Bourdain award goes to (drum roll please) the pesto mozzadilla! I more affectionately refer to them as “The Clogger” for reasons best left unspoken. Thank you to all the fine vendors who braved the heat to cook so many fine things to eat!
After a brief delay to work out some technical difficulties, Warren Haynes was in a crooner’s mood for Gov’t Mule‘s late night set. After a rockin’ “Thorazine Shuffle” and “No Quarter,” Haynes wound us through a triple treat of U2‘s “One”, The Rolling Stones‘ “Wild Horses” and Radiohead‘s “Creep.” For the encore, Mr. Haynes threw us for a loop and gave us what we affectionately will refer to as a comfortable shine. He started the encore with “Comfortably Numb,” which sneakily segued into a heart-warming version of “Soulshine.”
Saturday
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Eric Lindell may have traveled from Northern California, but his music came from New Orleans. The roots rocker hit us fairly hard as he punished his morning wood out in the sun for all to see. His soul puffed version of Elliot Ingbar’s “Don’t Bogart that Joint” helped the crowd twist and shake as his combination of sweet, blue-eyed soul laced with foot-stomping swamp won over the groggy crowd.
It’s rare that we’re pulled to drinking before the sun is far overhead, but mid-way into Outformation set it was all we could do. We sat back and drank while reminiscing about ’97 era Widespread Panic with longtime Panic lover, JamBase scribe and Honest Tune founder Tom Speed. Cheers to Sam Holt who put on a clinic of lingering lead guitar play. One could only hope that this special style is passed on to many more generations. Their set finished with the massive segue of “Faded Memory” > “Titles Of Movies Will Not Appear On Bill” > “Into My Arms.” Fast on Holt’s heals was CR Gruver whose keyboard work kept everything as hot as the sun. Each keystroke was beaten into the ivories and more than one Panic fan lamented about the John “JoJo” Herman of years past. Holding together the fold was Jeff “Birddog” Lane, whose percussion abilities dotted all the “i’s” and crossed all the “t’s.” He beat out whatever cobwebs were left in our heads. The set ended with a cover of Charley Daniels’ “Sweet Louisiana.”
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Next door, the Magic Hat was abuzz with All Good’s best sons, The Bridge, who were ready to jam it out for a great cause, the Rex Foundation. After a short speech about the Foundation and all the great work they do, The Bridge dove through two songs finishing with a Cris Jacob‘s led “Brotha Don’t” that pulled the crowd from their shaded seats to the front of the stage.
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Thankfully the Magic Hat folks were cool and we found refuge under their tent as the sun scorched us with no relief in sight. Enter Mike Gordon with one of many fitting intros from the unofficial mayor of the mountain, Vince Herman: “Do you know what time it is All Good? That’s right, it’s 4:20. Smoke ’em if you got ’em!” Gordon’s new five-piece includes longtime collaborator Scott Murawski on guitar, Vermont’s own Craig Myers on percussion, Tom Cleary on keyboards and Brooklyn drummer Todd Isler. The band was tight from the get- go with Murawski just destroying his guitar. Gordon debuted a new song called “Radar Blip” from his upcoming album, Green Sparrow, by trying a bit of an experiment. As he put it, he had a dream that he wanted to test out, so every time he signaled the crowd they would raise an arm, left for one instrument, right for another. The song started with potential and built to an interesting drum/bass jam, but many lost interest in doing anything under the hot sun. The set ended with a decent version of “Meat” that let Mike wander through the low end in an oddball romp before a wonderful, up-beat rendition of The Beatles’ “She Said, She Said.”
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Back down on the Magic Hat Stage, Bassnectar warmed up the crowd with a soft start to the evening. The glowing crowd pulled some energy from him by creating a short-lived, but monstrous in volume, glow stick war. The hillside would glow for the rest of the evening as the masses descended from their outposts around the hills to see the six- headed Georgia-made monster known as Widespread Panic.
It was time for Panic fans to dust off their boots, bust out their old beat-up cowboy hats and party like there was no tomorrow. The mountainous setting was an ideal location for Widespread Panic and it was a wonder why they hadn’t played here sooner. For waiting patiently over the years, we were paid back in full with smiles on Dave Schools‘ face, classic quotes rolling off John Bell‘s tongue and a three hour set with no breaks. Early highlights were purely guest related as Trucks, Tedeschi and Yonrico Scott joined the table for an extremely loose, flowing “Angels On High” that sent shudders through the crowd. Trucks stayed for a second helping as he branded “Ribs and Whiskey” with his signature slide licks. His electric blues would wail in our brains long after the marathon set had ended. John Bell added his “JBism” as he thanked Trucks, saying, “On the notes between the notes, Mr. Derek Trucks!” The jamming continued as JB did a little boot scoot towards Jimmy Herring before Herring bore down on his axe. His face was all business as his gray brows bit into the corners of his eyes.
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Saturday night was fast becoming a wet dream in the making as late night heroes The Bridge took the Magic Hat Stage for their fourth time in five years. This year they had brought their families along for the ride. What perfect timing that was because on the fifth song Mike Gordon stepped out and snagged Dave Markowitz‘s Fender bass to sit in on the last two-thirds of “Bad Locomotive.” His guest spot was amazing not just because he’s “Mike” but because the band was clicking and Gordon was feeling it. Behind him was an orange jumpsuit clad painter deep into a dark political piece that said “v$te r$publican.” Gordo whacked away at the bass, carrying on musical conversations with both Kenny Liner and Cris Jacobs. He stepped off as Jacobs sat down for a funky “Death Letter Blues” featuring Liner’s bust-out beatbox style. Before it was over the Baltimore crew raged through the darkness and shined some light on a cover of “Guilded Splinters.” The band had played for a straight 45 minutes, the longest set of the weekend on the Magic Hat Stage. Mike Gordon even took the time to tell Liner that The Bridge’s set was his favorite of the weekend.
After a long day, we opted to duck out of the Dark Star Orchestra right after they played “Good Lovin’.” “The Music Never Stopped” opener was a great choice and the original set sounded amazing from our camp. We sat back, enjoying the “Truckin'” thru “Fire On The Mountain,” and by the time they blasted All Good with the sonic transducer of bass in “One More Saturday” night we felt like we were transported back to the 1970s. It was a wonderful feeling to go sleep with. Fan or not, Dark Star Orchestra’s Saturday night All Good show was a hit.
Sunday
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Bonerama answered our prayers, summoning spirits to come down off of the hill to take part in the worship. Mark Mullins (trombone) pumped out the Hendrix version of the “Star Spangled Banner” to open their set before being joined by the rest of the band. Stepping it up a notch, the band proceeded with a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Moby Dick.”
JJ Grey and MOFRO kept the good vibes flowing, opening their set with “Dirtfloorcracker” and Grey rapping “Jimmy crack corn and I don’t care” between the verses. Smiling all the while, Grey paused to say how great it was for he and the band to be back at this natural amphitheater. Following the announcement of their upcoming new album, Orange Blossom, due out later this year, the band played a cut from this album, “Everything Good Is Bad.” It featured the two-piece horn section, which was a welcome addition, accenting the band’s laid-back temperament. Even Michael Franti entered the pit to take in the remainder of MOFRO’s set. As Grey put down his guitar and seated himself at the piano, a light rain began to fall as the band performed a heart-wrenching “Lochloosa.” All were impressed with JJ Grey’s musical talent and distinctively homespun songwriting.
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We continued on down the track with Railroad Earth, who converged harmoniously on the All Good Stage. Todd Sheaffer led the bluegrass choir in “Good Life” followed by a track off of their latest release, Amen Corner. With the audience brimming and at full attention, John Skehan picked up the Bouzouki and led the band through a prancing instrumental. Tim Carbone followed, plucking his fiddle while Andy Goessling played flute. The sound from the stage fell like a waterfall over the crowd as Sheaffer sang “Smiling Like A Buddha,” gloriously nailing every high note.
These notes carried us away from the stage and all of its conviviality. As quickly as All Good had arrived, we joked about how quickly it also passed; a familiar dialogue as we headed for the already packed car. Over 40 bands played for us during the course of 72 hours. Thank you! Props to everyone at Walther Productions, who did another tremendous job assuring the festival ran as smoothly as possible. A huge shout out to the Clean Vibes staff, all of the festival sponsors and Head Count volunteers, too. With the mountain smiling a wide, toothy grin, we swore we could hear young Marvin’s whistle as we drove back down the dusty road. See you next year, All Good!
All Good 2008 by Jake Krolick
Continue reading for images from All Good…
Images by: Robert Massie
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