Cymbals Eat Guitars 8/19/14 Bar

New York based hipster indie quartet had guitar/vocals, bass, keys, and drums. More Pavement with a touch of the Ramones, these guys had a lot of energy. Greeted by a large crew of returning students, CEG slashed through a set of original music, much from their soon-to-be released record. Lead singer had a good grasp on the Vedder/Morrison psycho front man vibe. I wish the vocals were more discernible.

GOTV 7/31-8/3/14 Seaside Park Bridgeport

Another year, another Vibes rolling through Seaside Park. Always a treat and a blur so its difficult to reblogcreate. Pulled in Thursday to the strains of White Denim, their recent record Corsicana Lemonade is a nice rocker. Wide-eyed Rusted Root on the small stage had some chops after some hiatus time. Soulful Ryan Montbleau is a regional mainstay of the Vibes, he reminds me of a hippie Jose Feliciano. Thursday night is the domain of Dark Star Orchestra. A freeform show gave the youth a good view of what they missed when Jerry was alive. Friday started nice with Keller William's Grateful Grass featuring Jeff Austin (of YMSB) and Reed Mathis on bass. Next up was Troy Andrew aka Trombone Shorty. Shorty had cameo appearances in HBO's Katrina Show Treme, his soulful singing and exuberant stage presence were straight-up Nawlins. Caught a little of the frenetic Nahko and Medicine for the People. Joe Russo's Almost Dead showcased drummer Russo and Duo pal Marco Benevento who has been hailed in this blog. Back to the main stage to see an unbelievable John Fogerty. The hits that have rolled from Creedence are amazing: Fortunate Son, Proud Mary, Grapevine, and a beautiful Long as I Can See the Light. Weekend highlight was Lotus doing "Talking Heads Deconstructed". Lotus has always struck me as trippy elevator music, but this Lotus brought the goods. Memories Can't Wait, Stay Hungry, Warning Sign, I Zimbra, and my personal fave Born Under Punches were all excellent, who knew that guy could sing?!Late night raging Dopapod hit the small stage. Saturday, caught a little of Tim Palmieri's Kung Fu with some guitar jamminess. Leftover Salmon with Bill Payne (of Little Feat) had some great jamgrass and a lengthy Dixie Chicken. Orgone's Cali latin funk was a sight with a fantastic female singer. Rodrigo y Gabriela brought some acoustic flamenco (Stairway to Heaven!) Dumstaphunk, with Ivan Neville were great, had a nod to Santana. Chicago jam veterans Umphrey's Mcgee have really gelled in recent years. I have never seen Widespread Panic, these veteran jamrockers usually stay to the south, but their catalog staple Tallboy was great. The Disco Biscuits with Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzman were the direct lineage offering of the weekend. Late night with Deep Banana Blackout, Eoto, then Karl Denson's Tiny Universe (as the sun was coming up) were all solid. Sunday started with Maceo Parker, then Donna the Buffalo, then Moe., and ended with a lackluster set from Ziggy Marley. Another great festival with some staples and surprises, good community and good vibes. Peace to all Pleasure Dome inhabitants, you rock.