Thursday, July 25
th had finally arrived. Anticipation
and excitement filled the Rock Camp crew as we all were packing away the final
supplies needed for our extended weekend trip to the
18th Annual Gathering of the Vibes. Not only did the weekend mark Jess and Seth's anniversary, but it also marked the 9th year that
Rock Camp Productions would attend the festival! We were on the road by 10 a.m. headed to Seaside Park
in Bridgeport, Connecticut - a solid 11 hours of traveling. Though a long
journey, the sunny drive was accompanied with tunes from the Grateful Dead, Jim
Croce, and the Allman Brothers traced with light conversations. This
combination generated nothing less than happy spirits!
We arrived around 9 p.m. just as the rain was ceasing. We
checked in and were in search of a spot to set up camp. We found a prime
location directly beside of the 1876 Solders’ and Sailors’ Monument that was
the perfect distance from the stages.
Dark Star Orchestra, a Grateful Dead
tribute band, could be heard in the distance so we knew it was time to get set
up and grace the crowd with
Puff T. Magic-Dragon. Thursday night would mark
Puff’s first appearance in his brand spankin’ new dragon skin. We had spent the
entire day before cutting, sewing, and sizing Puff T.’s newest skin
with a Stealie patch along his spine. Puff finally came out for
Dark Star’s second set and was lovingly welcomed to yet another GOTV by the mass of people! After a good run
through, we came back to camp and rested up a bit for Friday.
Around lunch Friday, a few dancing bears came out to get
down to
Assembly of Dust at the Main Stage.
Assembly of Dust plays a variety of
music and was formed by Reid Genauer in 2002. They put on quite the show! The
bears were also spotted hanging around the Green Vibes Stage listening to
David Gans and later around the festival grounds giving hugs and bringing smiles to
everyone!
David Gans will be playing at the
5th Annual Pink Moon Festival in Rock Camp this September!
Railroad Earth played earlier afternoon, one of my personal
favorites, and they did not disappoint! The sextet opened with their well-known
“Elko,” which is from their fourth album that was released in 2006.
Puff was so impressed with everything he was hearing that he danced
around for both sets of
Phil and even came out for a beautiful encore of “Ripple.” The night was quite over for
Puff either; he stopped in for Connecticut's own,
Deep Banana Blackout, at the Green Vibes Stage for late night as well!
Saturday was yet another gorgeous day by the Long Island
Sound! Dancing bears were making their way around the grounds once again and
happened to run into a few puppet friends from
Ash Street Puppetworks that were
parading around! The Main Stage had phenomenal musicians all throughout the
day.
The Roots, a Philadelphia group, performed around midday with a
spectacular show with
Grace Potter & the Nocturnals playing shortly
afterward and blowing the crowd away with Grace’s killer vocals.
Gov’t Mule,
formed by
Warren Haynes and Allen Woody in 1994 as an Allman Brothers Band side
project, played later in the evening and was absolutely incredible!
Phil Lesh & Friends played again with another impressive performance with yet another guest appearance from
John Scofield in addition to
Bill Evans on saxophone for which
Puff made
dragon appearances during the first and second sets as well as making his way
to catch
Papadosio’s electronic and progressive rock vibes emanating from the
Green Vibes Stage for late night.
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| Phot Credit B.K. Angeletti |
The Sunday sunrise over the sound was one that will be
forever ingrained in my memory. It was a lovely morning spent with new and old
friends all embracing the magic that was Vibes. The Children’s Parade took
place around 11 a.m. where
Puff T., our bears, and fellow puppeteers from
Ash Street Puppetworks in addition to others trekked on to see
Andy the Music Man
until it was time for the
World Peace Ceremony. The ceremony featured
Wavy Gravy, an entertainer and activist for peace and was a member of
an entertainment and activist commune at Woodstock called the Hog Farm (a true inspiration to
Rock Camp Productions). During
this time, the parade continued throughout the crowd of flag-holders,
representing different countries. A prayer of peace was spoken for each country
with a “may peace prevail” before every mention of the country. After the
World Peace Ceremony, our bears danced away throughout the day hitting the
crowds for
Max Creek and
Kind Buds! The day held great performances by
Blues Traveler,
John Butler Trio, and the
Black Crowes, which drew quite the
audience! I had met a few festival goers that had purchased a Sunday pass
solely to see the
Black Crowes and after seeing them live I can understand why
they have such a dedicated following!
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| Photo Credit Jeremy Pantovic |
The weekend slowly came to a close with another beautiful
sunset by the water. Vibes was an incredible time for me during which I formed
bonds with people I would not have met otherwise and a deeper relationship with
my fellow Rock Camp crew members. It was the most perfect weekend. The energy
that comes from the community of musicians, artists, festival goers, and staff
can only be defined as good, positive vibes. If I was not already in happy enough
spirits when I arrived, it certainly generated an even more elated feeling as
we pulled out of Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Connecticut headed south back to
mountains of West Virginia.
A huge thanks to all of the musicians, artists, staff,
volunteers, and festival goers for such an amazing weekend! Be sure to check
out
Rock Camp Productions and
Puff T. Magic-Dragon on Facebook! We love you!
Aarodynamics is the solo project of Aaron Malander and is
yet another Pink Moon first-timer! A 22-year-old
native from Herndon, Virginia who has been working on this project for the past
year and half but started loop pedal stuff and production about five years ago.
Aaron has been playing music for about 12 years and guitar for about 10 years. 
