Gathering of the Vibes wrapped up another fantastic weekend in Bridgeport, CT’s Seaside Park on Sunday with four days of beautiful weather, great music, and of course, good vibes. The festival that began in ’96 as a memorial for the recently passed Jerry Garcia, and named “Deadhead Heaven – A Gathering of the Tribe” by founder Ken Hays has never strayed from that concept, as could be seen by not only two headlining performances by Phil Lesh & Friends, but with a Thursday headlining spot by Dead tribute band (though they have become much more than that to many of us), Dark Star Orchestra.
Though Vibes catches a bit of flack from certain factions of the Bridgeport community, the work that Ken Hays and company has put into giving back to this area has to be given its due; with a massive food drive, donations to local schools to help with music programs, helping to create work for an area that is hurting for jobs, giving demonstrations on environmental sustainability and social consciousness, and just creating a positive environment for attendees, Vibes has come a long way in the past few years. And this year simply built upon that tradition.
With older and younger Deadheads alike sharing in the groove, Vibes boasted some incredible performances this year. Thursday saw a nice, mellow opening day with sets from Dark Star Orchestra, the Original Strangefolk, the Nigel Hall Band, Ryan Montbleau Band, and a funky late-night set from Kung Fu & the Dojo Allstars. Being that Vibes is roughly 20,000 people over the course of the weekend, with only two stages (Main Stage and Green Vibes Stage), it’s easy to journey back and forth to catch a little bit of each artist, if that is what you are going for. Either way, it’s a short walk, and over the course of four days of being on your feet, that short walk means a lot.
Friday saw more people in attendance, and had great early sets from Assembly of Dust, Railroad Earth, and up and coming New Orleans act The Revivalists. During Galactic’s 4:30 set, they brought out Revivalist David Shaw, who belted out a couple of tunes, including a set-closing rendition of The Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter” that had everyone in the crowd rocking out. Los Angeles indie-folk band Lord Huron played a magnificent set on the Green Vibes stage, which overlooks the Long Island Sound and acted as the perfect backdrop to their inspired, yet chilled out sound. The bluesy, soul rock of the Tedeschi-Trucks Band was a perfect lead-in to the Phil & Friends set. Derek Trucks is simply a master on all things guitar; listening to him play leaves you in awe. And Susan Tedeschi has this soulful, raspy voice that compliments Trucks’ tone. It’s a beautiful thing to watch this couple perform. And seeing Eric Krasno (Lettuce/Soulive) switch over to the bass while joining them on their tour with the Black Crowes is an added treat, as he throws down some mean bass lines.
The particular lineup of Phil & Friends that we had bestowed upon us at Vibes was nothing short of magical. I mean, John Scofield and John Kadlecik on guitar, Joe Russo on drums, and John Medeski on keys surrounding Phil? Really? Count me in! Not only was the crowd relishing the opportunity to check out this musical concoction, but the musician’s looked equally as amped. A “Scarlet Begonias” opener got things started on the right note, as the swaying of bodies commenced on this gorgeous Friday night. A cover of Bob Dylan’s “Just Like Tom Thumb Blues” received a warm welcome. The set continued on more of an upbeat vibe with a well-played segment of “Crazy Fingers>Friend of the Devil” that showcased the jazz side of this lineup, and acted as the intro into what we would be subject to over the four sets. A really good “Uncle John’s Band” set closer brought us to set break on a high note.
The second set featured some really impressive improvisation from the stellar quintet. “The Golden Road>Viola Lee Blues” was slow and spaced out, while the “St. Stephen>Unbroken Chain” brought the energy back up. A “St. Stephen” jam was played to perfection and set the tone for the rest of the set, as a very welcomed and funky “Shakedown Street” began a segue of “Standing on the Moon>Going Down the Road” to end the set. Not surprisingly, this was the highlight of the night, as Lesh & Friends just plain went off on a jam tangent. It was psychedelic, concentrated, and jazz-fueled jamming all in one, as the pocket grooves that Lesh and Russo make together afforded Scofield, Kadlecik and Medeski the opportunity to give their own takes on the Dead’s music. A late-night set from Deep Banana Blackout kept things going on Friday night. Though there were some obvious sound issues, their set was nothing short of a dance party that everyone was ready for.
Saturday started off with an early set from The Funky Meters, which honestly was just a bit too early for the New Orleans legends. A mid-afternoon set would have been more welcomed, after being up all night on Friday, but what are you going to do? Tough problems, right? The Roots threw down a set that had everyone gushing about it the rest of the day, and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals just seem to get better and better as time goes on. They straight rocked, and even threw in a nice tribute at the end of their set to JJ Cale (who passed away the night before from a heart attack), with a rendition of “Cocaine” as well as bringing out long-time friend Warren Haynes. Gov’t Mule played a rather mellow set, with a couple of exceptions, as they brought out George Porter Jr. for The Band’s “The Shape I’m In” and saxophonist Bill Evans (who was all over the place this weekend) for “Devil Likes It Slow,” and again with John Scofield and Porter Jr. on JJ Cale’s “After Midnight.”
Phil & Friends first set had a few nice selections with “China Cat Sunflower>Cold Rain and Snow” and “All Along The Watchtower>I Know Your Rider” to close the set. However, it was during the second set, with Bill Evans joining in the entire time that things just went to another level entirely. “Alligator” opened up the set and the band never let up; the “Cryptical Envelopment>Dark Star>The Other One>Dark Star>Stella Blue” could very easily go down as one of the best Phil & Friends segments ever. The makeup of this lineup has some serious chops, and bringing in yet another jazz man in Evans was a brilliant move, as it did nothing but elevate the music to the next level; it truly was a magnificent thing to not only listen to, but to watch as well. Seeing such accomplished musicians on stage, reinterpreting the Dead catalogue alongside Phil Lesh (who had nothing but a smile on his face both nights) was an absolute treat, and will not soon be forgotten. The music got a push in a direction that it doesn’t always take, and it was great to witness it first hand. As the band ended with “Not Fade Away” with the crowd chanting “Our love is real, not fade away” through the encore break, Phil came back out to give his touching Donor Rap, and the band joined him in a spirited “Box of Rain”, which had a really nice jam to begin the song. Overall, both nights of Phil & Friends was excellent, but the second set on Saturday night is something that people will be talking about for awhile. Definitely give it a listen if you get a chance.
Saturday late-night was where it was at, as Rob Garza of Thievery Corporation and James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem played some uptempo sets that had all the creatures of the night moving and shaking, as they both incorporated some dance, deep house, and NuDisco. All the rock and jam had been nice, but this was the perfect compliment to the night, as sometimes you just feel that need to let loose. On a side note, the sound was much better on Saturday night than it had been during Deep Banana Blackout’s set the previous night. Papadosio played a fitting sunrise set, that was highly anticipated throughout the weekend by many fans. Their set ended as the sun began to rise and saturate the sky with different hues of blue, purple, and orange. It was a fitting way to end an epic Saturday Vibes.
As it’s never easy to wake up after a couple of days of going to bed at 6am or after, it goes without saying that hitting up any early music on Sunday was near impossible. However, after finally making it over to the Main Stage in time for a powerful set from the John Butler Trio, getting back to “normal” was almost achieved in time for the Black Crowes closing set at Vibes. It’s always nice to see Chris and Rich Robinson on stage together, especially when they both are actually looking at each other and smiling. The addition of Jackie Greene to this lineup was definitely the right move, as his style fits in very well with the Crowes. As you don’t get to see them that often, what could be looked at as a “greatest hits” set was received rather warmly from the crowd. The Rolling Stones’ “Jumping Jack Flash” got everyone singing along, and the band didn’t let up from there, as they played a pretty version of “She Talks to Angels” with Greene on mandolin, rockin’ renditions of “Soul Singing,” “Jealous Again,” “Remedy” and encored with “Hard to Handle>Hush.” Closing the festival out with the Crowes was definitely a good call, as they are one of the few remaining true rock acts out there. Not many front men have the stage presence of Chris Robinson, as he just looks so natural doing his thing on stage.
If there is anything that can be said about Gathering of the Vibes this year, it is that one could look around and see great energy coming from every single body in attendance. People were having fun with friends (both old and new), family, enjoying the beautiful weather that was bestowed upon us, and getting down to some ridiculously good music. What more could you possibly ask for?
-Chris Meyer
Check out a full gallery of photos from Vibes, courtesy of L4LM photographer Matt Enbar and Menbar-Photos.