Photo by: Rachel Zahumensky
In a time when most
festivals have either begun to lean heavily toward indie rock or a specific
genre, be that electronica or the music of the Grateful Dead, Walther
Production’s All Good in West
Virginia is the jam-friendliest fest
around. Tucked in a mountain top with a natural amphitheater and gorgeous
surrounding views, this year’s celebration featured headlining performances by
moe., RatDog, a rare outing from Leftover Salmon and, on Thursday night, a
pre-fest reading of the Grateful Dead’s 10/29/77 by The Dark Star Orchestra.
Friday’s fare included a heavy funk set by PBS, and a sweet, tour-starting set
by Yonder Mountain String Band, which was hit by rain, but followed by a
rainbow. While the fest boasts no overlapping performances in the main area,
the Ropeadope stage in the campgrounds hosted music from many artists in novel
configurations including the RatDog Experiment, featuring that band as led by
drummer Jay Lane
along with Brian Stoltz and rappers Mighty FlipSide Esq and Jawnzap 7. Late
night was dominated by Sound Tribe Sector Nine’s grand performance, steeped in
classics like “STS9” and “Mischief of a Sleepwalker” and newer tracks like
“Tooth” and “The Rabble,” made all the more stunning by Chris Kuroda’s
transcendent light show, which painted across a foggy pre-dawn sky.
Saturday’s docket included
Michael Franti, Grace Potter and The Nocturnals, and a crowd-pleasing set from
Les Claypool and The Fancy Band that packed the concert grounds with pirates
a-chanting. moe. opened with “Rebubula” and continued to find its way back to the
number again and again, with the blazing suite of “Spine of a Dog” >
“Rebubula” > “Plane Crash” nestled in the center. The quintet then hosted a
late-night all-star jam featuring members of Tea Leaf Green, Assembly of Dust,
Grace Potter and others for covers including “Up on Cripple Creek,” “Cortez the
Killer” and a final, fist-pumping “Godzilla.” There is a special
time-out-of-time quality to All Good; they know how to do it in West Virginia, and they
named their festival just right
|
