Vibes: Photo Highlights from Day 1

By Leah Corbett

Did you forget to shed your responsibilities, don your tie-dye outfits and head down to Bridgeport, CT to shake it at Gathering of the Vibes this past weekend? Whether you were able to witness the good vibes or not, check out these photos highlighting the best bands of the fest. It’s a pretty good way to relive the psychedelic haze that hovered above Seaside Park.

 

A little Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue to start off my day. It was a great replacement to coffee; all you need are two ears and two feet to enjoy this one.

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Bronze Radio Return jammed out more than expected on stage with Craig Struble grabbing the spotlight on harmonica and banjo. Not to mention the skies finally cleared just like lead singer Chris Henderson promised.

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I headed to the media tent to take a break from the sun and catch some interviews. Here’s Twiddle, a vermont-based jam bandexpressing the importance of having soul in your music. “You could be a musician at Juliard, but it you don’t have good vibes, you have nothing” – Twiddle

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This is Keller Williams from Keller Williams’ GRATEFUL GRASS (bluegrass dead cover band) doing a PSA on toothbrushes. I’m sold.

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Here’s Slightly Stoopid bandmates RyMo (drums) and OG (percussion) catching up before their show.

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Slightly Stoopid took control of the crowd with their stoner-rock reggae beats. Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald (guitar and bass and childhood friends) even threw in a little punk rock, which is the style the band originated as. Vibes received it very well.

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John Fogerty appealed to the older generation of vibers with music from Creedence Clearwater Revival, but everyone in the crowd looked pretty smiley to me.

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Lotus: Talking Heads Deconstructed was by far the wildest set of Friday’s vibes. Guest vocalist Gabriel Otto from Pan Astral perfected the David Byrne persona, wearing an all white suit and indulging in some very strange dance moves. Lotus did a great job re-inventing covers from a band that has inspired them in so many ways . Some may say it wasn’t Talking Heads-enough. I say they hit a good middle ground where they could still stick to the heart of the Lotus’ original sound.

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And before Day 1 in photos ends, here’s a little Wavy Gravy to satisfy your Woodstock needs.

In case you don’t know, Wavy Gravy was the official Grateful Dead clown – yes, they had an official clown. He was a war protester, a Woodstock announcer and a clown for peace. He even had a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor named after him. Having been at Vibes since the inception, he entertains the crowd in between sets with his long, jumbled, and always hilarious stories from the golden age.

“I am an activist clown and former frozen dessert” – Wavy Gravy

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Be sure to keep your eyes out for more vibes photos from day 2 and 3 this week.

And just because Vibes is over doesn’t mean it’s over. Enjoy the rest of this precious summer with some of these good tunes and keep vibin’ on!