The 17th annual Gathering of the Vibes Music Festival runs July 19-22nd at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, Connecticut. This year’s lineup is topped by four former members of the Grateful Dead: Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, who will be performing alongside Bruce Hornsby and Branford Marsalis, Bill Kreutzman, who is be performing with his band 7 Walkers, and Mickey Hart.

Other notable acts include Primus, STS9, The Avett Brothers, and Yonder Mountain String Band. They’ll be joined by Zappa Plays Zappa, Steel Pulse, George Porter Jr. & Runnin’ Pardners, Keller Williams, Dark Star Orchestra, Mates of State, ALO, The Greyboy Allstars, Deep Banana Blackout, Ryan Montbleau Band, Zach Deputy, Joe Pug, Toubab Krewe, and Dangermuffin, among others.

GA and VIP passes are now available via the festival’s webiste.

Against all odds though, the festival went off almost as perfectly as one could have hoped. No bands derailed the schedule with diva behavior. The ingenious layout – side-by-side main stages alternating sets – rendered delays and sound problems practically nonexistent. Families and druggies mingled cheerfully, the peace-and-love community as close to the Woodstock ideal as you’re likely to find. And perhaps most surprisingly, the porta-potties were so clean artists remarked on it from the stage. Of course, fest finances being what they are, none of this guarantees it will see a second birthday, but after such a surprisingly hassle-free experience, everyone there is rooting for it.

Friday, July 2nd

The Felice Brothers

Photo by Britt Nemeth

“What song do you want to hear?” accordion player James Felice asked the audience before their last tune, as if there was any question. Shouts for “Frankie’s Gun” rang out the entire set; if the band had skipped it there would have ensued whatever riot a bunch of baked Americana fans could muster (it would probably involve dejected mumbling). The meager gathering had reason to wait for that one song. Though the band’s other folksy rockers hit the right notes, they mostly seemed like poor imitations of the one song people knew, the one song they came to hear, and the one song that proved the Felice Brothers may be a band worth watching. They just need to write a second.

Umphrey’s McGee

The jam band for non-jam fans, Umphrey’s McGee proved the Grateful Dead needn’t be a hippie’s only influence. Metallica and King Crimson hovered on the edge of the improvisational blast as hard-hitting drummer Kris Myers put his double kick drum through its paces. If you could make any other jam band louder, faster, and more distorted, they’d probably sound like Umphrey’s McGee. This wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Keller Williams

Okay, now make that same jam band slower, quieter, and more acoustic. Enter Keller Williams. The happy-go-lucky hobbit bounced around the stage barefoot, putting on a one-man show that veered from solo acoustic to using loop pedals to build broader soundscapes. It’s a very in-crowd approach, elating folks who like ten-minute acoustic grooves and leaving the rest of us cold.

Jakob Dylan & Three Legs

Photo by Nick Fitanides

Poor Jakob Dylan. No matter where he goes or what he does, in some sense he’ll always just be Bob’s son. Give him credit for trying to branch out, though (see Zappa Plays Zappa below for the opposite extreme). After his tenure leading the Wallflowers, he has gone straight-up country, writing rural odes to life and love and whatever. With this Dylan, the lyrics aren’t the point. His tight band and backing singers brought generally mediocre tunes to life and infused the occasional oldie (“Three Marlenas”!) with a steel-guitar-and-moonshine sway.

Passion Pit

One of the fest’s token nods to the indie scene, Passion Pit’s set benefited from Friday’s cool temperatures, allowing the daytime crowd to get a little loose. The Boston quintet seemed as happy to be there as the audience was to have them, playing through fan favorites with an enthusiasm that suggests they’re not yet entirely sick of “Sleepyhead” (or they fake it well). In a lineup not big on banter, frontman Michael Angelakos’ cheery rambling lent a personal touch to the packed show.

Ghostland Observatory

Photo by Britt Nemeth

After Passion Pit loosened up the joints, Ghostland Observatory got them flailing with their dance-or-go-home electro. Famous for their laser-heavy live set, this Austin duo didn’t disappoint, doing things with thin beams of lights you didn’t think possible. Producer Thomas Ross Turner kicked out synth jams sporting a massive cape while frontman/sometimes guitarist Aaron Behrens twisted around the stage as he unleashed his serpentine seductions. The audience seemed torn between raving and taking in the spectacle, but with such a high energy show, no one resented the indecision.

moe.

This upstate New York quintet carries jam to the core, meandering along with frequent solos, digressions, and plenty of love-it-or-hate-it noodling. The Grateful Dead hover so obviously over these fests that covering them seems almost cliché, but cover the Dead they did, Keller Williams in tow, with “Deal”. The band curates their own festival in upstate New York and talk during the set indicated that more than a few fans will make the journey west in September.

Saturday, July 3rd

The McLovins

Connecticut trio the McLovins (a Superbad nod that probably seemed cool at the time) packed the small Port City Music Hall stage, putting some hard rock crunch into their jam granola. Drummer Jake Hoffman led the band through tricky rhythm shifts as copious melt-your-face solos attacked from all sides. A definite contender for best jam band of the weekend. Oh, and try to forgive the silly name. After all, they’re only 15.

Crash Kings

What started as a depressingly tiny crowd swelled throughout this L.A. trio’s set, listeners likely curious about who this amazing guitarist was. Trick question: There is no guitarist. Instead, singer Tony Beliveau hooks up one of his keyboards with some pedals and a massive whammy bar, blazing through psychedelic guitar riffs without ever leaving the ivories. The band closed with what has to be the hardest-rocking cover of “War Pigs” to ever go without six strings.

Photo by Nick Fitanides

Drive-By Truckers

In the midst their cross-country trek opening up for Tom Petty, the Truckers brought their most good-old-boy rock side to Nateva. The band’s three-guitar assault gives their southern-fried rock some real cajones, though they could use a little more stage presence. Luckily Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne provided more than enough visual entertainment as he took in the set sidestage wearing a giant grizzly bear head.

She & Him

Photo by Britt Nemeth

When half your appeal is based on pristine sonics, sound problems can be a real bummer. It’s hard to achieve a breezy Beach Boys vibe through blasts of bass distortion. Still, Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward led their three-piece backing band through a pleasant pop set that featured much of their latest album, Volume 2. M. Ward clearly runs the show, doing the heavy lifting while ceding singing duties to the better-looking (no offense, dude) Deschanel. Her pitch proved a bit shakier than on the record and her onstage charisma is zero, but for lying back in the grass under the afternoon sky, good vibes are enough, despite distortion.

Grizzly Bear

One thing’s for sure: Grizzly Bear wins the award for prettiest soundcheck. No “one, two” garbage for these guys; they each tested their mics by singing their parts in various intricate harmonies. One of these guys needs to record some a cappella Sigur Rós covers, stat. After such a heavenly lead-in, the music itself seemed almost a letdown.

STS9

The sun set as STS9 hit the stage, and not a moment too soon. After a couple hours basking in the rays of indie-folk, some heavy dance grooves seemed just what the place needed to bring the evening in with style. An elaborate light show complemented the music, but most people seemed too busy dancing to pay much attention.

The Flaming Lips

What’s left to say about the Flaming Lips? If you’ve ever seen them live, you know the story (and if you haven’t, you need to stop reading now and start planning a road trip). Unlike Bonnaroo’s Dark Side of the Moon performance, their set at Nateva was by-the-books Lips. The band entered the stage birthed from a giant glowing vagina, and things only got stranger. Frontman Wayne Coyne surfed the audience in a giant hamster ball. Ten-foot tall balloons bounced over the audience. Dancers dressed as traffic cones leapt around the stage. Coyne wore giant foam gloves that shot lasers. You know, the usual.

Sunday, July 4th

Zappa Plays Zappa

Holding the title of best tribute band in existence is kind of like being the world’s number-one Elvis impersonator. Doesn’t Dweezil Zappa ever want to play a song his dad didn’t write? The man’s an incredible guitarist (like his dad) and capable band leader (like his dad), but apparently the whole songwriting thing skipped a generation. Though no one sported fake Zappa mustaches, the singer who imitated Frank’s singing was about as irritating as when your friend demonstrates his “awesome” Bob Dylan impression. There’s honoring and there’s rehashing, and this band leaned a little too far to the latter.

George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic

I had one question while watching George Clinton: Which one is George Clinton? Apparently I was not the only one confused. Call us uninformed, but the man is famous for his multicolored hair, bushy grey beard, and propensity for wearing beads everywhere, all the time. None of the dozen-plus people onstage exhibited these trends. Sure, there was the guy with the enormous nose mask (known as “Mr. Noze”), the girl dressed like the Mad Hatter, or the dude who wandered the stage writing audience instructions on paper (i.e. “Make some noizzze”). Turns out Clinton was the guy with the short, dyed-black beard dressed like a Fubu clothing model. Oh.

The Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band

Former child prodigy, current honorary Allman Brother, and all around hot-shit guitarist Derek Trucks closed out with Stage Two with his wife as the Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi Band (not to be confused with the Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi Soul Stew Revival). Needless to say, Trucks’ slide was on fire, but only rendered everything else more forgettable. Pretty tunes for a summer afternoon, but nothing that sticks. They wash over you, but when they ended, they left nothing behind.

Furthur

Photo by Britt Nemeth

Furthur, the latest incarnation of the Grateful Dead, closed the event with a bang (literally). After spending the last year touring with the Dead proper, stripping the original members back to guitarist Bob Weir and bassist Phil Lesh could be seen as a step down, but the new band has one ace-in-the-hole to keep them from being Dead Lite: backing singers Sunshine Becker and Jeff Phearson. There are surely more glamorous positions for a singer – standing around idly for long stretches is part of a jam band singer’s job description – but when they did join in they turned the tunes into true songs, not just excuses to continue the jam. “Casey Jones” roared with fervor well beyond a concession to the casual fans and a cappella set closer “And I Bid You Good Night” draped the holy spirit over a dead-quiet field. Deadheads following the tour got a bonus treat with the Furthur debut of Phil Lesh & Friends original “Celebration,” which opened the show. Inevitable encore “U.S. Blues” got flags waving high through the final chord, which cued a fireworks display that must have cost half the fest’s budget. Worth it.

Feature image by Nick Fitanides.

The previously announced Flaming Lips, who will serve as the Saturday headliners, make up one part of that equation. The rest of the 2010 bill is just as stacked, as we can reveal that moe. will kick things off as the Friday headliner, while Furthur, the new project of the Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, will cap off the festivities on Sunday.

What’s more, for those attendees who wish to come a bit early, Lotus will headline the Thursday night festivities. And we can also report that Keller Williams, Zappa Plays Zappa, and Moonalice will join The Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band as some of the festival’s sub-headliners. Dozens of additional performers will be announced in the coming weeks.

Weekend passes with and without camping are $249/$229 but are on sale now for a very limited time for $199/$179 at NatevaFestival.com. A limited number of VIP packages ($425) featuring special viewing platforms, preferred parking, camping, dining, a full-service bar, and more are also available.

Who? Andy Keil and Timothy Berger. What? Rothbury Music Festival. Where? Rothbury, Michigan, of course! When? This past Fourth of July weekend. Duh! Why? Because you readers weren’t fortunate enough to attend and therefore need/desire/demand this type of coverage from yours truly, Consequence of Sound. Just be thankful we’re ecstatic to bring it to you.

Thursday, July 2nd:

Lotus:
10:45pm – Ranch Arena

Despite being the beginning to a long, long weekend, things started cooking fast, especially over at the Ranch Arena. After some meandering through the beautiful Sherwood Forest, which featured hanging glow art, gong treatments, and hundreds of hammocks for the patrons, the bustling Arena showed its true face. Little did many know that the Arena would end up being a nonstop dance fest for the entire duration of the  weekend. Nobody ever sent word to call it quits. Intense is a word that comes to mind, and it took some wild electricity to keep things buzzing.

Indiana instrumentalists Lotus kicked things off with its quirky-yet-beautiful jam pieces — all traditionally savvy, thanks to the tender improvisation from each of the band’s members. In support of their recent album, Hammerstrike, the Midwest favorites managed to squeeze in new hits like “Behind Midwest Storefront”, which entertained the awestruck crowd with Mike Rempel’s ripping, beautiful guitar solos. Lotus proved to be a great groove session to start off the festival.

The crowd was well prepared for the weekend, complete with glow sticks in hand, and fireworks were being lit as shirtless men encouraged their female compadres to do the same. While not beginner’s luck per se, Lotus was only a precursor to the late-night jam that followed. -TB

The Cool Kids:
12:00pm – Sherwood Court

Because I didn’t have an iPhone with the Rothbury app or Twitter access, I was expecting the 12:00 PM time slot to feature Kid Cudi, because, after all, that’s who was listed on the official schedule. However, as I got closer, the vocals weren’t soothing to my ears quite the way that Cudi’s usually are. When I finally saw Chuck Inglish and Mikey Rocks bouncing around the stage, I was kind of let down — Dammit.

After reality fully set in, I tried to let myself get into the set, but with so much hype and a few too many “hell yeahs,” getting even remotely close to the action was pretty much impossible.  But, after it was all said and done there were a few entertaining songs, and the small crowd seemed to be diggin’ it. For me, this was just something to do while I waited for Cold War Kids to hit the stage. -AK

Disco Biscuits:
12:45am – Ranch Arena

Not to be outdone by any means, the Mark Brownstein and Jon Gutwillig-led Disco Biscuits took the stage following their label mates Lotus. The duo worked off good vibes, and the crowd screamed for more non-lyrical magic — which they delivered ten-fold. Browstein and Gutwillig battled through a three-hour set, without a breath to spare. Gutwillig pumped his fist between riffs, while Brownstein showed off his not so contemporary dance moves. There were some surprises, too. The Biscuits mixed in lyrical pieces such as “Mirrors” along with instrumental pieces like “Basis for a Day”, which added variety to what could have been viewed as an excessive set. Things became either interesting or disturbing when the duo participated in a glow stick battle with the crowd, who pummeled them with stick after neon stick. It was all in good fun, though, and the two played along like children at recess. -TB

Cold War Kids:
1:00am – Sherwood Court

As one of the few indie acts of the festival, the Cold War Kids were the odd band out on Thursday night. Battling for fans with The Disco Biscuits on the Ranch Arena and Break Science with Adam Deitch on the out of this world Tripolee stage, Cold War Kids managed to draw a decent-sized crowd, even though they didn’t have a trippy lightshow or hard-driving bass lines. Even so, the Kids offered up one of the best shows that I’ve seen them play. They mixed the new, “Every Man I Fall For”, with the old, “Hang Me Up To Dry”, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear them toss out “Hospital Beds”, which turned into a sing-a-long (apparently not only my favorite song). -AK

Friday, July 3rd:

Man Man:
2:15pm – Sherwood Court

The first time I saw Man Man they opened for Modest Mouse, completely blowing them out of the water and leaving fans wondering, “Who are those guys?” When I saw lead singer Honus Honus’s tweet–“Heading to Rothbury fest to freak out some jam heads. We WILL be giving some poor fucker a terrible trip. Hehe…”–I was more than excited to see what stops they’d pull out for this show.

Unfortunately, it was nothing over the top–same white clothes (except for Honus Honus), same white face paint, same banging on random shit. That’s not to say the show wasn’t great, because it was; I was just expecting something more. I think it’s very safe to say that they ruined a trip for at least one festie kid Friday morning. -AK

Broken Social Scene:
5:45 pm – Ranch Arena

Those at Rothbury were fortunate for a variety of reasons (e.g. Dylan, The Hold Steady, not to mention being at a friggin’ music festival for the Fourth of July weekend!), but Canada’s very own indie supergroup, Broken Social Scene, made Rothbury one of its few stops this summer, as they are currently recording an upcoming album. Kevin Drew noted his surroundings immediately by saying, “Please be careful when you do drugs, some drugs are not good drugs, some drugs are cleaning products”. Serious notes aside, they tore through their hour and fifteen minute set with room to spare, prompting additional tunes at set’s end. They included songs off their two major releases, with such hits as “7/4 (Shoreline)” and “Fire-Eyed Boy”. However, they brought out some new tunes as well, such as “Forced to Love”. The set featured additions from some brass guests on the Canning piece “Love is New”. BSS ended the set with classics “Almost Crimes”, “Major Label Debut”, and “KC Accidental”. After viewing most of their set backstage, Kevin Drew walked by me asking quickly, “How did we sound?” After noting my approval, the band scooted off stage with smiles. They give you the impression that they love performing and that they do care what their fans think. -TB

Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley & Nas:
6:30pm – The Odeum

Strolling on stage more than a few minutes late, Nas came out with his tongue and finger blazin’, letting the whole crowd know just how he feels about broadcast censorship, shouting “fuck the radio” throughout. Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley remained elusive, only hitting the stage after the photographers were purged from the pit. So, the closest I could get to Bob Marley was a generation’s difference plus about 20 rows of hippies. The two shared the stage for a few songs, and after Nas handed it over to Marley, I headed back to the press tent and open bar to prep my mind for being blown by String Cheese Incident. -AK

Soulive:
7:00 pm – Sherwood Court

Jazz group Soulive graced Sherwood Court for an early evening show. They brought their funky grooves and melodious sax solos to the sun-bathed masses and encouraged the crowd to participate in the fun. As per usual, they included cover material, such as an energetic version of Curtis Mayfield’s “Move On Up”. The trio of Neal Evans, Alan Evans, and Eric Krasno were joined by vocalist Nigel Hall and Shady Horns.

The String Cheese Incident:
8:45 pm – the Odeum

To try to describe String Cheese Incident live is not an easy task. Describing who stole the show at Rothbury 2009, however, is. If it wasn’t known already, Rothbury 2009 was Cheese’s fest. After touring last in 2007, with mixed reviews, Cheese came to Rothbury for its only 2009 performance. The band shined brighter than imaginable, displaying mastery of its craft without even a smidgen of rust.

Cheese’s eclectic setlist provided a little of everything, playing bluegrass tunes like “Black Clouds” and “Restless Wind”. They also included tasteful covers of Talking Heads’ “Naive Melody (This Must Be the Place)” and Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground”.

However, the true fun to be had was in the crowd, where what seemed like millions of glow sticks littered the ground. A large assortment of blow up toys were tossed around, as well as large beach balls. One epic, red beach ball–over 40 feet in diameter–made its way through the middle of the crowd. The tunes that accompanied this wild action were favorites “Texas”, “Way Back Home”, and “Blackberry Blossom.”.

Chromeo:
12:30 am – Sherwood Court

After Cheese, many wandered over to hear the funky Michael Jackson-esque beats of Montreal-based Chromeo. The group stood on stage with its keyboards (female leg stands of course), with Dave-1 on guitar and P-Thugg with his trusty talk box. The duo served up songs like “Momma’s Boy”, “Fancy Footwork”, “Bonified Lovin’”, and “100%” to the dancing crowd, who clearly hadn’t tired despite the previous mega-set that just ended at the Odeum.

Dave-1, at one point, teased the audience by asking, ”How many out there are not wearing flip flops?” P-Thugg dubbed the clear minority of shoe wearers as ‘gangsta-gangsta’, which led to a crowd favorite, “You’re so Gangsta”.Though not a jam band act, Chromeo definitely convinced the crowd they were ready to party at Sherwood.

Saturday, July 4th:

Zappa Plays Zappa:
4:30 pm – Sherwood Court

Dweezil and crew offered a tantalizing set of old Zappa tunes at Sherwood Court Friday afternoon. The younger Zappa showed his mastery of his father’s work without an ounce of sweat. Really, the guy made it look look like it was a walk in the park. Not to say he was disinterested, because the whole band enjoyed the set, but Dweezil certainly knows what he’s doing onstage. Set highlights included “Apostrophe” and the spoken word piece “Montana”.

John Butler:
6:15 pm – Ranch Arena

Acoustic genius John Butler brought his solo act to Ranch Arena on Saturday. He noted warmly halfway through his set, “It’s nice to arrive at a place I’ve never been, halfway around the world from my home and still have a heap of family waiting for me.” He treated fans to songs like “Treat Your Momma”, “Daniela”, “Better Than”, and “Johnny’s Gone”, a song about former Prime Minister John Howard of Australia.

The peak of the set came with the 10-minute acoustic epic “Ocean”, which featured an incredible display of finger-picking and two-hand tapping on his 11-string guitar. His brother-in-law, Nicky Bomba (of John Butler Trio), came out to play drums for the second half of his set.

Les Claypool:
6:30pm – Sherwood Court

The Black Crowes:
5:30pm – The Odeum

The Atlanta-based Black Crowes landed a solid slot on the main stage, just before Bob Weir and The Dead. With many fans staking claim to prime Dead-viewing real estate as early as 10 AM, The Black Crowes played to a nice, big crowd. -AK

The Dead:
8:00pm – The Odeum

There’s not a whole lot that needs to be said about The Dead playing two sets on Saturday night other than maybe they should have swapped set times with Bob Dylan. Phil Lesh had a touching moment when he told the crowd he was saved by an organ donor. “Please turn to the person you love and tell them ‘I want to be an organ donor.’ It’s the easiest thing in the world,” he said. Of course that was after melting the faces of nearly 30,000 fans and a killer fireworks show celebrating our nation’s independence. -AK

With classics like “Voila Lee Blues”, “China Cat Sunflower”, and a terrific “Drum/Space”, the crowd felt the power of all the legends on stage. Everyone will say that The Dead greatly miss guitarist legend Jerry Garcia, but with Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Warren Haynes, and Bill Kreutzman on stage, there was no lack of star power present for this Saturday jam fest. As the band started its encore with the stellar U.S. Blues, fireworks appropriately were set off and lasted for almost ten minutes, which made for one of the more memorable scenes of the weekend. -TB

MSTRKRFT:
12:15am – Sherwood Court

I headed over to the Sherwood around 12:20 expecting MSTRKRFT to hit the stage a little late due to The Dead’s extended set. After waiting about five minutes, I headed back to watch The Dead finish up. So, by the time I got back, I missed the first three songs and wasn’t able to photograph them. That is until we managed to land a spot backstage where we continued our own personal dance party. The highlight of the night was “Bounce”, a track featuring N.O.R.E. and Isis that fit the night perfectly with the chorus “All I do is party, All I do is party.” Unfortunately, the fun came to an end when the guys announced that they were MSTRKRFT, grabbed their gear and quickly exited the stage, leaving thousands of fans screaming for more. -AK

STS9 (PA Set):
2:00am – Sherwood Court

Sunday, July 5th:

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals:
3:45pm – Sherwood Court

With her stunning good looks and revealing dress, Grace Potter hardly needs to play good music to capture a crowd’s attention. Fortunately for the fans at Rothbury, Miss Potter not only knows how to carry a tune, play piano, and shred a guitar, she knows how to do them all well. Thankfully, she picked a great backing band that compliments her vocals with its southern rock tinge. -AK

The Parlor Mob:
4:15pm – Tripolee

It still amazes me that The Parlor Mob hasn’t become a household name at this point in its career. Maybe it’s because bands are afraid to be shown up by an opening act, or maybe it’s just too much rock for most people to handle. All I know is that the hundred or so people watching this mid-afternoon show were hardly enough. I don’t know how anyone could walk past Mark Melicia, who resembles (dare I say it) a young Robert Plant. Not to mention the shredding of both David Rosen and Paul Ritchie paired with Sam Bey’s propulsive drumming and Nick Villapiano’s ever-present bass lines. As the guys channeled Zeppelin, the crowd grew, but with only a 45-minute set, I couldn’t help but feel shorted. -AK

The Hold Steady:
5:00 pm – Ranch Arena

If there’s one thing to know about The Hold Steady, it’s that the band always comes out with tremendous energy. Although lead singer Craig Finn may have a bit too much flair for the dramatic, the crowd clearly fed off him. “Party Pit” and “Stuck Between Stations” were fan favorites. And with lyrics like “I’m gonna walk around and drink some more,” The Hold Steady were clearly not out of place at Rothbury.

Matisyahu:
5:30 pm – Sherwood Court

The reggae-based set was amplified by the appearance of Warren Haynes. He appeared as a guest guitarist for “Kodesh” before quickly heading on to Ranch Arena for Gov’t Mule’s set. Matisyahu made it a family affair, bringing up his son and his brother to dance with the crowd. He clearly planned for more music than his time slot allowed. He left the stage wanting to play one more song but was denied by the backstage production crew.

Ani DiFranco:
7:15 pm – Sherwood Court

Folk-acoustic artist Ani DiFranco did not bring out the Limbaughs for her Sunday evening set. She introduced a special Obama tribute song by saying, “If it isn’t completely obvious, I love Barack Obama.” She went on to state that she was glad to show her passport proudly for the first time in 8 years. To add to her political speak, the labor song “Whose Side Are You On” was included in her set. Politics aside, she went through a set of beautifully composed acoustic music, which left fans everywhere nodding to her lyrics and bubbly energy.

Bob Dylan:
8:30pm – The Odeum

Is it just me, or is Bob Dylan getting old? I do my fair share of reading up, so I wasn’t expecting a mind-blowing set from one of the folk rock pioneers, but I was expecting a little singing. That expectation was replaced by a gruff Dylan that lumbered around the stage as though he wasn’t in tip-top shape. That little rant aside, this man is a freaking legend! When I could understand the words dribbling out of his mouth, I felt as though I was living the ’60s or ’70s all over again. Classics “Like A Rolling Stone”, “Blowing in the Wind”, and “All Along the Watchtower” helped make that a reality, and while the set may have been lacking in lyrical articulation, it made up for it with the crowd’s energy. I respect Mr. Dylan very much, and while he wouldn’t have been my pick to close out one of the greatest festivals of this decade, it was an honor to be standing in his audience. -AK, TB

According to Roadrunner.com, Dream Theater is currently wrapping up its tenth full-length studio album, and while there is not yet a confirmed title, the band announced has set a tentative June 2009 release date. Speaking of the album in a posting on his website, drummer Mike Portnoy said the following: “Imagine a DT album with “A Change of Seasons”, “Octavarium”, “Learning to Live”, “Pull Me Under” and “The Glass Prison”….all on one album…”

The band also recently revealed that the release will be supported by the second edition of the Progressive Nation tour, this year featuring Swedish bands Beardfish and Pains Of Salvation, along with Zappa Plays Zappa. While this year’s trek certainly appears to offer much less metal than last year’s version, which included Opeth, Between the Buried and Me, and Three, Portnoy, who handpicked the acts, appears quite excited over the whole thing.

“This year’s lineup is so exciting for me. Every band is bringing something very unique to the package to create an incredibly well rounded musical experience. I am just as excited to be watching all the bands from the side of the stage as I am to be performing with mine in the center of it!”

The tour is scheduled between July and August of 2009 in North America; exact dates are still forthcoming.

Of course, if this tour can match labelmate Slipknot’s promotional All Hope Is Gone tour, Mistress Juliya’s Slave To The Metal tour and the late-summer competitor Mayhem Festival (headlined by Marilyn Manson and Slayer), we are all in for some kick ass rock up the wazoo.