Thursday, July 15, 2010

ALL GOOD MUSIC FESTIVAL 2010

Hey guys, my name is Mike Grieco and this is my new blog "If your MIND did go MUSIC". I would love to share my music experiences with all of you and hope you all do the same back with me on this blog. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask my email is mgrieco71@yahoo.com I will be starting with my recent excursion to the West Virginia Mountaintops.
All Good Music Festival was located in West Virginia. This was my first time there, and let me tell you it was beautiful. Entering into this state the sign read welcome to wild and wonderful West Virginia and it was spot on. Marvin's Mountaintop was the perfect place for the good times and good vibes of the 2010 All Good Music Festival.
We arrived there late Thursday night and sat in tremendous traffic waiting to enter the beautiful festival grounds. This had to be my only complaint of the weekend because once we were in everything was ALL GOOD. Due to the traffic I missed the Donna Jean Godchaux Band, and arrived to a nice rendition of Dark Star Orchestras Fire on the Mountain. Now I have seen DSO 9 times now and to me without John Kadlieck they just dont do it for me anymore. Jeff Mattson did a very solid job recreating the Jerry guitar licks but his voice could not send people from the outside world of space nor to tears of blissful happiness like Jerry could. All in all they did make up for that with a fun upbeat show, and a solid way to kick off the weekend.
Friday was a day I had been looking forward to for months. With acts such as Tea Leaf Green, Femi Kuti and the Positive Force, Everyone Orchestra, and Dr. Didg during the day, it was a great day of music in store. Now as the rain poured and Umphrey's Mcgee took the stage, the real festival night started. Umphrey's Mcgee whom I am a very big fan of took us into nightfall. Despite some audio problems to start the set, they picked it up and ended with a bang. The highlights of the set for me were Miss Tinkles Overture and the end of the set Divisions -> I'm on Fire -> Divisions. My only problem with this set is it did not have the energy I usually look for in a UMPH set. Following Umphrey's was a band called Cornmeal and up until this weekend I was never a fan of Bluegrass music, but cornmeal really blew me away. I recommend everyone check this band out if you want a fun energetic show. Following Cornmeal was the main reason I took my trip down from New York to West Virginia, Furthur. They started the set off with a good but slow versions of After Midnight and Estimated Prophet. As the set went on they picked up more pace and Bob Weir really nailed Looks Like Rain, one of the show highlights for me. Now the second set is exactly why I love seeing any type of Grateful Dead act, as they completely rocked it out. Coming out firing with a strong Uncle John's Band they never looked back. Furthur also played a new song called Colors of the Rain and it was perfect with the rain flowing almost perfectly through the lights into the crowd, the colors around the festival just looked incredible. The show highlight for me since I have never seen it done was the Scarlet ->Fire which literally brought people around me to tears. John (fake Jerry) absolutely nailed the vocals and brought tears, goosebumps and hope to everyone in the festival, that is what music can do people and it was beautifully done. After a well done Sunshine Daydream finale followed by a cumberland blues and ripple encore the crowd marveled at the fireworks as Furthur did take everyone to another level that night.
Followed by Furthur was a little bit of classical Mozart from the stage break followed by the WOMP of Bassnectar. Bassnectar came out and brought the party to another more energetic level. I love all type of music and having the transition from Furthur to Bassnectar was fun for me, though I did hear some complaints. I do feel though Bassnectar set the stage for Lotus as the late night who absolutely threw down. Lotus some may argue stole the show of the night their lazer light show took everyone into Lotus land. As they rocked for about 2 hours, and the crowd could not get enough calling them back for encores in the early morning hours, Lotus is a band that should be checked out by all music lovers. Great way to end Friday Night.
Saturday again was a day of great music all day, All Good did it right. The day really took off for me when Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi came up on stage, and for me best the best act of the night if not the entire festival . I know this is a bold statement but Trucks can really make his guitar sing while Susan's Janis Joplin like voice sent the crowd into a blissful happiness. When Jimmy Herring from Widespread Panic came out, the dueling guitars just left me with my mouth wide open. A great showing my two guitar gods. Now one of the most underrated acts of the festival was the New Mastersounds. They had a half hour time slot and they rocked it! An outstanding show that left the crowd wanting so much more even with Widespread Panic immediatly. following them, hopefully they will be back and with a longer slot next year. Widespread Panic then came up and played a very solid show. Not one of my favorite Panic shows, but the highlight for me was the beautiful launching of hundreds of flying lanterns into the sky during set break. This was a sight to see and if you can find pictures anywhere it is well worth the look. After Panic came the Garage A'Trois who put on a very lively show, and was fun to watch as a late night compared to the electronica from the night before. Then boy o boy Yonder Mountain Late Night was so much fun. As I mentioned earlier blue grass was never my thing, but after this festival I am hooked. The energy in the crowd during Yonder Mountain was unmatched all weekend long and to see them carry a late night until close to 430 in the morning was awesome to watch. It also very appropriate to see them play Crazy Train as an encore. All in all I can now say I am a big fan of this band.
Sunday for me was a day to relax and take in the sights. It was a beautiful day marked by relaxing music such as 2 sets of Keller Williams, The Heavy Pets, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and SOJA. Again, All Good did it right as every act played a strong energetic set to keep the whole mountain happy. Grace Potter has an incredible voice and everyone should check her band out, but Keller Williams did a great job closing out the outstanding weekend of All Good. After 4 days of constant music, singing and dancing, Keller left the crowd wanting more and that is how it should be.
Thank you All Good for a wonderfully put together festival and I know I will be back next year!
Thanks guys for reading,
Mike Grieco