Thanks Jerry!

I must immediately say THANK YOU GATHERING OF THE VIBES!!!  WHAT A GREAT, WONDERFUL, CLEAN, HAPPY MUSIC FESTIVAL!!!!  I don’t even know where to begin this weekend.  So much happened!

My lil VibeTribe

It was a weekend of firsts for sure!  I would be camping for the first time this year and we were taking the train with all our gear from Manhattan.  HAHA!! I was stoked to see how we would make that happen.  I was co-chaperoning a 15 year old rager this weekend so now I was responsible for another life other then my own for the first time.  This was my first time with a VIP ticket and being able to utilize VIP amenities at a festival.  First time seeing numerous bands like Primus and The Rhythm Devils…and so much more.

This was, however, my SECOND Gathering of the Vibes. My first one was a little bit of a train wreck.  This go-round, it was heaven on earth and down as one of my top five festival experiences.

The people who we spend these magical weekends with are called our Tribe and effect our experiences considerably.  I got off work around 5pm Thursday afternoon and immediately met up with my mini-Vibe Tribe at the 125th street Metro Station to catch the train to Seaside Park, Bridgeport, Ct..

The Lead Heads w/ Issac on the right!

Let me tell you a little something about our teenage charge for the weekend.  Issac Slone.  One of the most smart, well-mannered, self-aware, gorgeous young human beings you will ever meet.  From a musical standpoint, he is the bass player for The Lead Heads, the Nation’s only teen-age Grateful  Dead cover band.  And they are no joke.  Issac also writes his own blog and I will be sure to post his GOTV  entries once they are posted……

(Check out The Lead Heads show this weekend @ B.B. Kings on Sunday, August 8, 2010 ~ JERRY GARCIA MEMORIAL TRIBUTE SHOW Featuring: REFLECTIONS – Celebrating and Jamming the music of the Grateful Dead  and  Jerry Garcia)

Ready for Full rage!

I would be chaperoning our little rager with my favorite person on  earth, Jay.  The dear man had carted all the gear to the station by  himself.  God Bless him.  I smiled as I saw Issac’s mother had come to see him off .  I immediately felt an immense warmth and sense of maternal instinct kick in.  I was not one to babysit when I was a kid, never one to seek children out.  I was always the person who said they would adopt or just not have children.

Wook stop!

Recently, in the past year that has all changed.  This was going to create an entirely different festival going experience for me.  I was looking forward to finding that balance between raging and responsibility.  I knew I would take the best care of her precious treasure.  I would kill for that kid. And at the end of the day, Issac is possibly more mature and grown up at 15 then some of my friends in their 40’s.  He’s simply a pure ray of wholesome sunshine.

Shuttle to Vibes

With two tents, bedding, bags and chairs, we did remarkable lugging the gear around.  It’s also nice Jay is 6’2 and strong.  Upon arriving in Bridgeport, we joined some wooks who were waiting for the shuttle bus and as we boarded it, we all got giddy.  Everyone was fully charged.  Issac’s excitement only fueled my own.   I spent the 10 minute shuttle ride thinking back on my first music festival and how excited I was.

The Festival Grounds @ Seaside Park, Bridgeport, Ct. (Similar Set up this year)

Welcome To VIBES!

The festival was held on the University of Bridgeport‘s campus grounds.  It was lovely but terribly run down with dilapidated buildings and trash that the earth had eaten over time of neglect.  From the drop off point, we took a fun little ride on a golf cart through the camp grounds and past the stage to the VIP check-in.  You can hear New Rider’s of the Purple Sage playing in the background as we pass the stage in the video below.

Pretty Lamanant!

VIP.  Another first for me and absolutely worth every  penny.  One barely needs to spend a penny outside the ticket price.   I  will go into the amenities as they arise along our path but in the mean  time The Vibes 2010 VIP Pass  Includes:

•VIP Entrance
• VIP Camping Area conveniently located near the concert field
• Admittance to the park on Thursday, July 29th at no extra charge
• Hospitality Tent with plenty of room to spread out, relax and chill
• Your choice of water, soda, juices and snacks throughout the weekend
• Catered lunch on Friday and Saturday, with brunch served on Sunday
• VIP bathroom facilities and showers
• Commemorative 15th Annual Gathering of the Vibes Laminate
• Gathering of the Vibes 2010 Event Poster
• Gathering of the Vibes 2010 Event T-Shirt

VIP Check-in

Settin' up camp...

First thing we did was establish our camp.  I am a Virginian tomboy who spent her summer youth in the mountains camping, spelunking, climbing, and hiking among other things.  Then I moved to The Blue Ridge Mountains for college for 6 years.   I may be a spoiled city girl now but I know how to get dirty, boi!!  So, here I was with two New Yorkers from the Upper West/East who live in door man buildings and have relied on a superintendent when things needed fixing.  Needless to say, it was amusing to say the least.  Inside my head, I was dying hysterical.  It was at this point we made friends with all our neighbors as many got involved when our “Hit-a-button-and-it’s-magically-a-tent” tent didn’t work.  Whole damn thing was smack-you-in-the-head fantastic.  I will just hope that Issac writes about his experience putting up the  tents in his blog and you can read it there! It was hilarious and fun and in the end  we all helped to get the two tents up in time for Dark Star Orchestra (DSO)  to begin.

Dark Star Orchestra @ GOTV 2010

DARK STAR ORCHESTRA

Rob Barraco- keyboards, vocals
Rob Eaton – rhythm guitar, vocals
Dino  English – drums, percussion
Rob Koritz – drums, percussion
Lisa  Mackey – vocals
Jeff Mattson – lead guitar, vocals
Kevin Rosen –  bass, vocals

Oh man, Oh man!!  Right off the bat the music started with a fury.  I have skipped over seeing DSO at every festival this year and I got smacked dead in the face by them tonight.  They were on fire.

Celebrating Jerry Garcia’s Birthday week, I actually didn’t want to see anything but Dark Star at that moment.  This week was all about Jerry and his music, his legacy.  The thing I love about Dark Star, aside from my personal favorite Fake Jerry: Jeff Mattson, is how they present their shows.  Picking a Grateful Dead show from their many decades of touring, DSO recreates the show song for song.  They bring their own vibe, interpretation and sound to the sets and it’s truly the greatest cover band of all time IMO.

Dark Star Orchestra @ GOTV 2010

We made it to the field while Candyman was playing.  Issac was hungry so we grubbed down some fries and pancakes.  Dinner of festival champions.  And the fries were miracled, haha.  After the food, we made our way over to the Karma Wash to establish our base-camp for the rest of the weekend.  The Karma Wash crew were our close friends and this was always our spot to meet between sets with whoever wanted to find us.  Having Issac this weekend made this an even more crucial location then normal.

Full Moon 4 DSO!

A really special thing happened during this set, during this time of setting up at the Karma Wash.  First, a little back story….

During Mountain Jam, a lost soul had made his way to the Karma Wash and had been touched in a positive way through the entire vibe of the set up.  He thought I was the one who “washed him” and finding me through facebook, we became friends.  Over time I noticed that his status’s were dark, deeply sad and made me straight up nervous for his safety.  Not really knowing him or what he was going through, I reached out to him anyway.

Dark Star Orchestra @ GOTV 2010

We began communication and over time I learned that he was suicidal, hurt, lonely, broken…all for the same reasons I had been in 2009.  I knew all too well how he felt and I just hoped he would see light.  Through our communications, I shared things with him I wouldn’t share with anyone and he thanked me for helping him see hope when even those closest to him were not able to reach him.  We casually spoke about meeting up at Gathering of the Vibes but I didn’t know if I would really see him.  And, so now, here we were.

Walking right up to the Karma Wash, I sw a few familiar faces and hugged it out and right off the bat, this person turns around and there was his face.  Smiling SO bright.  I wanted to cry but I kept it together.  I was so happy to see him standing there…SMILING!!!  There were no words, we just walked directly into each other’s arms and hugged for a long time.  It was awkward and wonderful at the same time.  How does one react in these moments?  This entire fantasy world was surrounding me and here was this super intense, real moment…at least for me.  There are no words for these kinds of moments.  Later, he would tell me that “Your hug released my soul.”  What a way to start off a weekend fueled by the power of music and kindness.  You can’t make this stuff up…nor can you do it justice in words…not when emotion is such a huge player in the equation.

Dark Star Orchestra @ GOTV 2010

DSO really got the festival started off right.  The dance party was bouncing and I knew it would seamlessly roll right into Big Sam’s arms, ready to RAGE late night…

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

Big Sam's Funky Nation @ GOTV 2010

Big Sam’s Funky Nation

Danny Abel – Guitar
Eric Vogel – Bass
Drummer Boy Milk  Williams – Drums
Da Phessah Drew Baham – Vocal/Trumpet

BSFN @ GOTV 2010

Big Sam…The King of the Party!  This performance was our underlying reason to coming to Vibes Thursday night instead of Friday.  I had told Jay about BSFN a while ago and prepared him for total late night domination by way of some contemporary, funky-ass, bass-filled, horn rage. Having seen Big Sam earlier in the year, I expected the same assortment of choices in set list and was eagerly awaiting to break my legs dancing.

Big Sam's Funky Nation @ GOTV 2010

Milk Williams @ GOTV 2010

Formerly the trombonist for the  Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Big Sam Williams, put on an indisputably raging dance party and I dare anyone to tell me they didn’t move during this performance.   This New Orleans-based group is modern funk at it’s best combining today’s popular pop songs with an MC attitude and some nasty NOLA swagger.  If you need more reason to go see them, in 2009, BSFN was awarded Best Funk Group  at the Big Easy Music Awards.  Look! An award…ohhh…ahhhh.  Just go see them.

Danny Abel is one HELL of a guitar player, bringing a sense of rock to the group, shredding his guitar in between Big Sam and Baham‘s horn heavy funk plays.  And Eric Vogel on bass is sharp and bumpy, standing out on his own throughout many of the songs during his solos.  A few songs in particular had me transfixed on him completely.  At times, the horns would leave the stage and allow the other three to jam out.  Drummer Boy Milk  Williams raging a vibrant drum solo, flanked by the guitars.

Big Sam's Funky Nation @ GOTV 2010

During the encore, Big Sam reiterated the importance of “family” and then he open the flood gates:

“Normally, we just want the ladies up here.  But tonight…it’s family, right?  We are family!  So, let’s have the guys up here too.  Bring it up here.”

Bum rushin' the stage...

I was probably the first girl on stage as I was directly up front on the railing for the show anyway.  But by the time I even turned around it was full of dudes.  Now, where some women are still crazy scrambling fanatics to get to the stage, knocking people over, they are still dainty right?  Most times? Try telling a group of male ragers they should join the stage? When I turned around, after being helped on stage by security…it was as if a heard of spider monkeys were coming at me.  By the time they cut off the surge, it was almost all men.

We raged the stage for the entire song.  After the song I got off the stage and most people stayed on.  I was now alone in the pit and danced around in circles until the end of the performance in front of the stage in my own little world.

Peace out Vibes...

(Check  out Big Sam’s Funky Nation show this weekend on the Rocks Off Cruise Series this Wednesday, August 11,  2010)

We concluded the evening/early morning by hitting up the Casbah, a dope set up our friends had in Family camping.  I immediately collapsed down on the mats in the middle of a group of my friends.   The cuddle puddle had commenced and I was utterly raged.  You wanna know how hard tonight raged???   I passed out before almost all my friends.  That NEVER EVER happens.

Move on to Day II: Gathering of the Vibes: Friday (07.30.10)

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