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Good Vibes

{ August 11, 2009 @ 10:03 pm } · { Audio, Deep Banana Blackout, Festivals, Keller Williams }
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Let’s take a look back at some other noteworthy performances from this year’s Gathering Of The Vibes festival (check out coverage of the Levon Helm and Ratdog shows here). Thanks to the hard work of some tapers – special events like the Vibes live on long after the bands packed up and gone. Check out the following bootlegs from Deep Banana Blackout and Keller Williams.

Deep Banana raged the main stage friday night between P-Funk and moe.’s set (which was cut short due to intense lightning). I have to hand it to DBB – they were definitely the highlight of the evening. Vibes is a hometown show for DBB and they never dissapoint, this show is no exception. Highlights include a Jerry Garcia/Merl Saunders tribute performance of ‘Like a Road’ and a smoking rendition of Santana’s ‘Soul Sacrifice’, enjoy!

Deep Banana Blackout @ Vibes

Deep Banana Blackout ~ GOTV 2009

Take The Time
Homo Lingo
Tijuana Mama
Getch’ All
Hear My Song
Family Groove
It’s A New Day
Like A Road
Tug ->
Breakfast At Volo’s
Soul Sacrifice

Stream Link
Download Link

Keller is a festival staple – you won’t find too many lineups out there without the one-man freak show these days. Over the years, Keller has worked up quite a staple of fan favorites and always brings his A-game, especially in prime-time early evening slots like at this year’s Vibes. Highlights from the show included a funky take on Phish’s ‘Birds of a Feather’, a nod to the Dead with a fun ‘Eyes of the World’ w/ Donna on vocals, and runs through some of his greatest hits like ‘Kidney In A Cooler’, ‘Freeker By The Speaker’, ‘Breathe’, and ‘Best Feeling’. All in all, a very solid showing and a fun, upbeat show, give it a whirl!

K-Dub @ GOTV

Keller Williams ~ GOTV 2009

Mullet Cut
Birds Of A Feather
Kidney In A Cooler
Troubled Mind ->
Breathe
Hypnotize
Hunting Charlie
Kiwi And Apricot
Doobie In My Pocket ->
Freeker By The Speaker
Eyes Of The World *
Best Feeling

* – w/ Donna Jean

Stream Link
Download Link

Gathering of the Vibes – Levon and Bobby Go Big

{ July 27, 2009 @ 3:20 pm } · { Festivals, Levon Helm, Ratdog }
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Welcome To Now is back from the Vibes with smiles on our faces, mud caked on our shoes, and sunshine daydreams still firing through our synapses. What a fantastic weekend – it dosen’t getter much better than that. The highlight of the weekend imho was the back-to-back performances of Levon Helm Band and Ratdog on Saturday night on the main stage. The rain had left, clouds had parted, and the stage was set for a magical evening of music.

GOTV 2009 Main Stage

Levon Helm Band started off and played an eclectic and upbeat set with Larry Campbell and wife Teresa leading most of the vocal efforts along with Levon’s daughter Amy. Levon was on medical orders not to sing but the band was smiles all around and really seemed to be throwing down, Levon included. The set started off with The Band classic ‘The Shape I’m In’ – a fitting opener for day 3 of a rain, mud, and heat filled festival. The band then dropped into a few newer selections before giving a nod to Dylan with a nicely re-worked rendition of ‘Simple Twist of Fate’. Teresa then took over a beautiful cover of ‘Long Black Veil’.

Levon Helm Band - 7/25/09

That’s when things really heated up – Larry delivered a smoking ‘Deep Elem Blues’ to set the stage for Levon welcoming out Bobby for a perfect 1-2 punch of ‘Attics of my Life’ and ‘Tennessee Jed’. Bobby really clicked with the band on both tunes delivering a surprisingly well done harmony part on the ‘Attics’ and doing a stand-up job of leading the band through a fun version of ‘Tennessee Jed’. All in all, quite a treat – the kind of moment that reminds you why festivals like GOTV are so special.

Levon w/ Bobby - Tennessee Jed

After saying farewell to Bobby, the Band kept charging through the rest of the set and finished things off with two of my favorite Band songs – the soulful ‘It Makes No Difference’ followed by the rock anthem ‘Chest Fever’. To close things out on an even higher note, Bobby re-emerged for a picture perfect rendition of ‘The Weight’ complete with crowd singalong.

Levon Helm - 7/25/09

Levon Helm Band
7/25/09
Gathering of the Vibes
Bridgeport, CT

Shape I’m In
Love Played A Game
Crazy ‘Bout My Baby
Simple Twist Of Fate
Long Black Veil
Before I Get Too Old
Did You Love Me
Deep Elem Blues
Attics Of My Life (Amy Helm, Teresa Williams, and Larry Campbell w/ Bob Weir)^
Tennessee Jed (full band, Bob lead vocal)^
All On A Mardi Gras Day
It Makes No Difference
Chest Fever

Encore:
The Weight^

^ – w/Bob Weir

Levon Helm Set – 256 mp3 Download

Levon Helm Set – Torrent Download (Flac Files)

Ratdog - 7/25/09

Bobby and Ratdog were up next and the band came out firing on all cylinders. There were many complaints about Bobby as the choice for the headliner slot (from myself included) but it seems Bobby has gotten the message about the slow playing and flubbed lyrics – at least for the evening. Hands down, this was the best showing from Bobby I’ve seen in years. The band started out with the rarely played ‘Festival’ which set the mood and eventually segued into a smoking ‘Jack Straw’ complete with glow stick war and rocking jam section. After cooling things down with a soothing ‘Lazy River Road’, the band kept things rocking with a surprisingly upbeat ‘Bird Song’ that led into a fun ‘Bertha’. The band was just in the zone nailing seamless segues between numbers like it was their job.

Ratdog w/ Donna - 7/25/09

The band then dove deep into their cover repertoire with a memorizing sequence of Silvio (Bob Dylan)> Tequila(Danny Flores)> Silvio> Tequila> Silvio. This sequence eventually gave way to the pleasant sounds of the ‘Scarlet Begonias’ intro vamp and out from side stage emerged Donna Jean Godchaux for an upbeat deadhead singalong galore. After Scarlet, the band launched into the closing and most intense part of the evening, finishing things off with Ashes and Glass> Iko Iko> Stuff> Days Between> Bird Song. Bobby really did ‘Days Between’ justice and channeled his love for Jerry along with the rest of the crowd – a truly special moment. Sandwiching this bust out between straight fire takes on Iko’ and ‘Bird Song’ (reprise) was just what the doctor ordered.

Ratdog - Iko Iko - 7/25/09

It wouldn’t be a Saturday Night with Bobby if he didn’t hit you with his classic ‘One More Saturday Night’ romp and tonight was no exception. The band welcomed Donna back out for a set closing rendition that just flat out rocked. After a quick break, the band launched into a beautiful though expected ‘Ripple’ encore (see Mountain Jam 2008). All in all, a great way to close out a truly, truly magical evening. To all you Bobby haters out there, remember: Bobby fans are people too!

Ratdog
7/25/09
Gathering Of The Vibes
Bridgeport, CT

Jam >
Festival >
Jack Straw
Lazy River Road,
Bird Song >
Bertha*
Silvio >
Tequila >
Silvio >
Tequila >
Silvio >
Scarlet Begonias*
Ashes and Glass >
Iko Iko >
Stuff >
Days Between >
Bird Song
One More Saturday Night*

E: Ripple*

*-with Donna Jean Godchaux

Previous ”Festival” 8/24/2006 [175 shows]

Ratdog Set – 256 mp3 Download

Ratdog Set – Torrent Download (Flac Files)

Long live the Grateful Dead and long live Vibe Tribe!

Signing Off For Vibes

{ July 23, 2009 @ 11:10 am } · { Festivals }
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Hey y’all.

Welcome To Now will be live on the scene at Gathering Of The Vibes the next few days. That said, no updates this weekend but look for full coverage from Deadhead-heaven early next week. Enjoy the weekend ahead and, as Bobby would say, dig yoursevles.

Phish Fest in Indio,CA Confirmed

{ July 22, 2009 @ 10:28 am } · { Festivals, Phish }
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As was reported yesterday over on Welcome To Now Twitter, a Hampton Inn right outside of Indio, CA mistakingly let the cat out of the bag when they prematurely began offering a ‘Phish Concert Package’ deal for Halloween weekend. While this may come as a suprise to all the custies who were putting their faith in the Phish.com map, it is certainly no surprise to us here at Welcome To Now who have been reporting that the fest will be in Indio for almost a month now. While I’ve also been told by my sources that a new promo video will drop today on Phish.com announcing the festival, what remains to be seen is when fall tour dates will be announced.

Hampton Inn Indio Screenshot - 7/21/09

The originally rumored fall tour dates have been called into question by recent news that Pearl Jam’s October 28th and 30th shows at the Spectrum will be the last shows before the venue is torn down. My sources tell me that the original dates hold true but that the Philly show may be moved over to the Wachovia Complex. Additionally, a 4 day NYE run in Miami seems all but certain with multiple sources confirming.

Gathering of the Vibes Festival Preview

{ July 20, 2009 @ 7:23 pm } · { Festivals, Upcoming Shows }
{ Comments (1) }

This weekend, the annual deadhead-getaway Gathering of the Vibes is taking place in Bridgeport, CT. For those of you that haven’t been, you don’t know what you’re missing. Vibes combines a consistently top-notch lineup with one of the most beautiful (there’s a beach!) festival venues out there. GOTV started out as a Grateful Dead tribute & celebration in 1996 – originally titled ‘Deadhead Heaven – A Gathering of the Tribe’ (a throwback to the historic Human Be-In festival). While the festival has grown, changed, and moved over the years, it still maintains the Grateful Dead spirit throughout like no other festival out there.

vibes

This year’s lineup features a great mix of Dead-related acts, jamband-favorites, and timeless classic rock artists, including: Bob Weir & Ratdog, Dark Star Orchestra, George Clinton’s P-Funk, Crosby, Still & Nash, Levon Helm, Buddy Guy, Deep Banana Blackout, moe., Keller Williams and many, many more. This year also marks the return of the late night stage with performances from The Machine, Lettuce, and Perpetual Groove raging until 3:30 in the morning! Check out all the artists here, or take a look at the main stage schedule below:

GOTV 2009 Schedule

Friday Music News Round-Up

{ July 17, 2009 @ 7:08 pm } · { Allman Brothers, Animal Collective, Audio, Dead Tour 09', Festivals, Gov't Mule, Grateful Dead, Mike Gordon, Phish, Rumors, Upcoming Shows, Video, Warren Haynes }
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Ahhh, Friday afternoon – a time to relax, turn off, and let your mind surf the interwebs for endless entertainment or lack thereof. If you’re too lazy to see what’s out there, let me help you. Here’s a few noteworthy stories and goings on from the world of Jam today:

1. Warren Haynes: “I am a Jamband whore; and I couldn’t be happier.”

Warren

Well, he didn’t exactly use those words, but Warren said about as much in a Billboard article out today. The man is having his busiest year to date with big tours going on with The Dead (Spring Tour 2009), The Allman Brothers (Beacon Run and Summer/Fall tour w/ WSP), and his own Gov’t Mule project (touring on and off throughout the year). Warren also talks about the new Gov’t Mule album out soon and the solo disc he recorded this year with George Porter, Jr., Ivan Neville, Ian McLagan, Ron Holloway. Always a rumor monger, let me also point out that Warren says that “he’s confident the Dead is going to do some more”, especially with the group’s 45th anniversary in 2010. You may be a whore Warren, but we love you.

2. Animal Collective sample the Dead’s ‘Unbroken Chain’ in new track

Phil

News broke today via a Tweet that self-proclaimed Deadheads Animal Collective have been granted the rights to legally sample the Grateful Dead’s classic PhilZone Epic ‘Unbroken Chain’ in a new track the band is working on. You can listen to an unreleased version of the song here (Phil vocal loop comes in near the end).

3. Mike Gordon announces September tour; gets bad haircut

Mike

Mike announced today via a creepy video that he’ll be taking to the road in September with his solo band featuring shred-tastic Scott Murawski on guitar, Brooklyn drummer Todd Isler, keyboardist Tom Cleary, and percussionist Craig Myers. Let’s just hope he leaves that Joker costume from the video (see right) at home – that thing is down right scary.

4. Phish continue Halloween festival map mystery

The Map - 7/17/09

Phish blacked-out more states on their Halloween festival map today (see right). Only 13 states now remain including Texas, Florida, and Nevada. That said, all the real phans know that the festival is still doing down in Indio, CA. Expect the announcment to drop before the band’s upcoming Red Rocks dates and Summer Tour Leg 2, likely this Monday coming up.

Phish Festival Not in Cali?

{ July 14, 2009 @ 9:18 pm } · { Festivals, Phish, Rumors }
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Based on the most recent flash animation updates to the Phish.com map (see below), it would appear that the festival will not be taking place at the Coachella home of Empire Polo Fields in Indio, CA as was widely rumored including here on Welcome To Now.

Phish.com - 7/14/09

27 states have been ‘blacked-out’ so far, leaving mostly southwestern states in the mix. Alternate rumors points to Las Vegas, the home of the now extinct ‘Vegoose’ music festival or to Texas where the fest was originally rumored to be taking place. All that said, I’m sticking to my story, the fest will be in Indio – expect an announcment this upcoming Tuesday or, at the latest, before the 2nd leg of their summer tour kicks off. Either way, save the date!

The Dead @ Rothbury mp3 download

{ July 9, 2009 @ 12:59 pm } · { Audio, Dead Tour 09', Festivals }
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After a few requests, I took the time to put together an mp3 download of the Dead show from Rothbury last weekend. You can download the show in mp3 format here. Enjoy! For you Torrent heads, you can still pick up the Torrent here.

Rothbury Aerial View

For more Rothbury coverage, check out Jambase’s review here, along with tons of great pics from Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4.

Also, check out tons of great vids from Rothbury 2009 here.

Gov’t Mule in Finland

{ July 5, 2009 @ 8:42 pm } · { Audio, Festivals, Gov't Mule, Video }
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Gov’t Mule
6/27/2009
Puisto Blues Festival Jarvenpaa
Jarvenpaa, Finland

Mule - 6/27/09

(one set show)
Bad Little Doggie
Brand New Angel
Blind Man In The Dark
Streamline Woman
Mother Earth
Banks Of The Deep End
Come On Into My Kitchen Tease Intro->
32/20 Blues I’m A Loser Tease
Beautifully Broken
Thorazine Shuffle
Since I’ve Been Loving You
I’m A Ram
Mule

Encore:
Long Distance Call
Look On Yonder Wall

Encore 2:
Soulshine

Download Link – Torrent (flac files)

Check out this great, crispy sounding AUD recording of Mule’s recent appearance at the Puisto Blues Festival in Finland. This show rocks, lots of Mule anthems (Thorazine Shuffle, Mule, Banks of the Deep End, Blind Man In The Dark) along with a nice helping of Blues classics (32/30 Blues, Look On Yonder Wall, Come On Into My Kitchen, and Zepelin’s Since I’ve Been Loving You). Warren’s on point but, then again, when is the man not? He’s may be a jamband whore, but he’s a true work horse – the hardest working man in the scene. Gotta love Warren, gotta love the Mule. Speaking of Mule, don’t miss their new album, ‘By a Thread’, and upcoming cross country 2009 tour!

Note: For Mac Users, If you need an easy, FREE reliable FLAC converter, try MacFlac. If you need an easy to use and also FREE Torrent Client, try Transmission. For the PC users out there, there are tons of free tools, just ask Google.

Warren Feelin' It In Finland

Some vids from the show:

Since I’ve Been Loving You:
Banks of the Deep End:
Come On In My Kitchen (Intro) -> 32/30 Blues:
Soulshine:

The Dead @ Rothbury

{ July 4, 2009 @ 9:40 pm } · { Audio, Dead Tour 09', Festivals }
{ Comments (7) }

The Dead ~ 7/04/09 ~ Rothbury Music Festival ~ Rothbury, MI

***MP3 AND TORRENT DOWNLOADS ADDED BELOW***

The Dead @ Rothbury 2009

Set 1:
Sugar Magnolia
Eyes Of The World ->
Estimated Prophet
Loose Lucy
Friend of The Devil
Into The Mystic
Help On The Way ->
Slipknot! ->
Franklin’s Tower ->

Set II
One More Saturday Night
Shakedown Street
China Cat Sunflower
I Know You Rider
Drums
Space
Viola Lee Blues
Morning Dew
Throwing Stones
Sunshine Daydream

Encore:
US Blues (with Fireworks)
Not Fade Away

DOWNLOAD LINK – MP3

Download Link – Torrent