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Jerry Jam 2017

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Jerry Jam Music Festival XXII

Bath, NH

July 20 – 23, 2017

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I got to Jerry Jam in the evening on THU July 20th, before the official opening of the event on Friday morning, when it was still just vendors, crew, dignitaries, bands, and guerillas.  The place was already in full bustle but seemed to be approaching readiness.

I had the good luck to be playing that night, a position that my band rice – an American Band has assumed once before.  While I also did love playing the main part of the festival, this warm-up position is a very good one in my book- there aren’t as many people but those that are there are enthusiastic, tend to be taste-makers in the jam festival scene, and have yet to be burned out on having seen a zillion bands already.

A bit of a house band took the stage for the first time, which featured members of the community- folks from the adjacent farms and people who have populated and worked Jerry Jam since it was a barn party at the founder’s house.  The band was quite large, at times nine or ten people, and they poured out some classic covers from the Dead and the blues catalog and some tasty Neil Young to close it out.  Guitars, harmonica, keys, pedal steel, drums, bass all combined for a down home good time.

We were up next and hit the stage with our own large ensemble- drums, bass, two lead guitars, keys, 2 vocalists and I climbed into my spot on rhythm guitar and vocals.  We worked through some kinks in the sound and fired into our set which stretched to almost ninety minutes.  As usual, when it’s dark, you can’t see much past twenty feet in front of the stage but I could tell the audience was growing and very very ready for some music.  We had a blast.

We definitely weren’t ready to be totally done, so after we loaded our equipment out, and the production crew closed the stage down for the night, we went to the Old 78 Clothing booth and fired up an acoustic jam.  I thought it lasted for a few hours, but to my surprise it was 4 AM before I knew it and the air mattress was calling out to me.  I slept hard for a few hours and work up on Friday morning with the gate already open and Jerry Jammers streaming into the show.

I know that I missed something that must have opened the stage early, but I did get my act together enough to catch the last half of the Barnyard Pimps.  This was a real surprise to me, a super solid rock and soul band with an amazing strong presence.  The band hails from Franconia and has a great sound, with vocalist Lindsay Adams laying down some great singing.  Their version of “Ramble On” was great and they really held the stage, which can be tough to do for a morning set.  There is a relaxed vibe that is truly engaging about the Pimps.

Up next came some Jerry Jam favorites, Otis Grove-  this horn-laden funkin jam outfit from New England has been on many Jerry Jam events over the years.  They came with a full compliment of sound blaring from brass to strings.  It was funky and soulful and a great transition from the Pimps toward the more Jerry-related material that would dominate the weekend’s schedule.

Up next were Bearly Dead.  This is a spirited outfit out of the Boston area whose ever changing cast brings the music of the Grateful Dead alive with upbeat versions of songs.  On this day they chose to do a Dylan and the Dead set which helped to differentiate them from others who played throughout the weekend.  The theme was welcome and their set was not only well received but just overall…  enthusiastic.  The band was in a bright mood, the sun was shining, the fans were blissing, and all was good at Jerry Jam.

 

Next up was the first stop on the summer tour of the John Kadlecik Band.  The quartet consisted of John Kadlecik (Dark Star Orchestra, Furthur, Golden Gate Wingmen) on guitar and vocals, Joe Gallant (Illuminati) on bass, Benjy Porecki (Keller’s Grateful Gospel) on keys and Jay Lane on the drums (Primus, Ratdog, Furthur, Golden Gate Wingmen).  This lineup is in its relative infancy but you could not tell that by listening to the fluid and practiced outpouring of songs over the next ninety minutes.  The selections ranged from Kadlecik’s takes on classics from this songbook- a version of Ripple in French for instance, to songs that are clearly favorites like John Lennon’s Nobody Told Me.  Kadlecik as always is well received by a crowd like this who appreciate his experience and his particular voicing of this material and his original ideas that fit so well into the genre.

As afternoon was growing later and hinting at the evening to come, Roots of Creation took the stage.  The band was nearly double its normal size as they were giving Jerry Jam a preview of their Grateful Dub show.  The band is getting set to release a new album of Grateful Dead material all set to their upbeat Cali reggae style.  On this occasion they were joined by Scott Gubermen on keys, Zach Nugent on guitar, Melvin Seals on organ and a full horn section.  They unfolded a set of Grateful Dead standards that have been put through the washing machine of reggae and sunshine that is Roots of Creation.  Cuts were taken from the most popular Grateful Dead songs including Fire on the Mountain, Sugaree, Deal, Shakedown Street and Ripple- it was interesting of course to see in such close proximity the different interpretations of that song by the two bands who had adjacent sets.

The combination of the well known material and a fresh take had the crowd very enthusiastically responding to the Grateful Dub set.  The particular selections were for me not the ones I would have chosen, but it was fun and interesting to peer into the band’s mindset and like with Kadlecik, to see and hear their take on this classic material.

Up next was the Giving Tree Band.  I’d been hearing about them for a little while now, I feel like out of the midwestern festival scene.  They were different than the rest of the lineup in that they weren’t classic jam banders or any sort of Dead referential band.  They were definitely bohemian, but much more neatly dressed and coiffed, a hip take on the normal festival band.  They were tight with well delivered vocal harmonies.  They cofered the Rolling Stones’ Happy and the Dead’s Brown Eyed Women and the rest of the set was original material it seemed.

It was completely struck by the way the band was able to stop on a dime and within a millisecond be into their next song.  When editing the recording I had to look carefully to see if I had it right, and even likely have cut things up not totally right, without being familiar with their songs.  They had very rehearsed transitions and you could tell that they were keen on trying to put out a very specific show.  They were impressive and I think it will take me a few more times of seeing them before I get what they’re delivering, their own personal signature, but from the looks of it they are worth that gander:

As evening descended Dead Set featuring Melvin Seals took to the stage.  I was mostly eating dinner and socializing at that point so I don’t have much to say about the set, other than that it was well received.  My trusty recorder provides you the ability for you to make your own judgment:

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