Get in. Get settled. Pitch the tent. Eat. Drink. Find the music.
Getting there: After a crazy morning getting 9 cars of hippies to meet outside the venue from all points everywhere; caravan to the site, get our tickets and searched by security, we finally got into our “chill camp”, Soldiers and Sailors field. Close to the water, close to the trees, we had 3 canopies, at least 10 tents, enough food for an army. We were set for 4 days of Festival Fun.
Gathering of the Vibes: A festival to honor Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead. Needless to say, there were lots of variations on the band, and their “others”. (DSO, Donna Jean Godchaux, Furthur, Rhythm Devils, Max Creek)
Leroy Justice, photo by: Cory Schwartz
Leroy Justice: My friend told me to check them out, and we met while they were playing. The crowd was minimal, the tunes were loud and fast and these guys jammed out like it was the last time they were gonna jam. They were psyched. I was psyched to find a tree to sit under. After they played, I wandered back to the camp for dinner.
The Karma Wash Crew, photo by: Dolla Jill
I stopped by the Karma Wash, got my scrub on, met new and old friends (shout out to Jimbo and Frank from Nateva), wandered through the crowd, found more friends and danced my boogie on. I was here, the sun was setting, it was warm, I was with friendlies, it was good. It was Seaside Park. Freaks and Friendlies = Gathering of the Vibes.
Dark Star Orchestra, photo by: Deadheadland.com
Dark Star Orchestra: Oh, DSO, how I love you so. DSO is known for dusting off the books and finding the best Grateful Dead shows, playing them from start to finish perfectly. The game is for the crowd to figure out what show they’re playing, and if you know Deadheads, most of them are really REALLY good at this game. GOTV’s set was from 10/17/82, Downs of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
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
Oopsie: I was up for 38 hours. I started to get sleepy around second set, I had 2 hours before Big Sam was going on late night. Wanted to see Sam so bad, but was afraid I wasn’t going to make the 2 hours. I put myself to sleep. Sorry I missed ya Sam, really really wanted to catch your set. Thought I’d do a 2 hour nap, but, when I finally went down, I was OUT. I rationalized in the morning that I put in my sleeping time that first night, and I would be golden for the rest of the Vibes. I was golden. I needed my rest. We had 3 more days to go.
Day 1, Vibes Audio Links: (I will update as they become available)
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