The Pimps of Joytime 6 Aug 2010 @ Fairfield Theater Company in Fairfield, CT

After seeing The Pimps of Joytime at the Gathering of the Vibes last year and getting some serious groove on, I immediately wanted to buy tickets to their show at my favorite venue in CT, the Fairfield Theater Company.

And man, I'm glad I did.  During the first set of the night, I was beginning to wonder if they were really as good as I remembered them to be or if something was in the air at the Vibes last year.  But come second set, my doubts were put aside for good. 

Out came the big guns.  The big, groovy guns.  The second set laid down such a heavier beat than the first set in general.  No one could stay in a seat - their stuff is danceable!

What's interesting to note is that their band is basically three percussionists (drummer, a guy on what looked like two large bongos (don't ask me the technical term), and a girl doing loops on a computer as well as playing other assorted smaller percussion instruments), a guitarist and a bassist.  Sort of a curious distribution of sections for a 5-person band, but hey!  Why not?

The crowd was totally into it during the second set of the night (including myself!).  They played a bunch of songs I couldn't tell you the name of, but don't write me off just yet!  I caught the encore on tape just for you, dear reader:



I am definitely going to catch these guys next time they're in town.

Sun salutations all around,
Elizabeth

Gathering of the Vibes 2009- Part 2 of 3

Saturday. I walked into Seaside Park that morning with some high expectations for certain performers and performances. My all-time favorite, Ryan Montbleau, was scheduled to play that afternoon, so of course I bounced into the concert grounds rearing to go.

In fact, the Ryan Montbleau Band is the first band of the day that is worth commenting on. First off, he's my favorite. Plain and simple. What's great about the RMB is that there are so many facets of the band and its sound to admire. Ryan is a poet, a storyteller. The songs that he writes are always heartfelt. Raw emotion comes through his music.
The band's sound in general is hard to coin - I would describe it as some sort of a mixture between folk, bluegrass, funk, gypsy and reggae. Yeah. You've gotta check these guys out. I'm posting a link at the end of this. Click it!

Anyways, Saturday was a great day to see Ryan. There was sunshine, dancing, and great music. Is there any better way to just be? He opened up his set with a real eye-opener, his song Chariot - solo acoustic. It was beautiful, and really caught people off guard. What's this guy doing alone on a stage with just a guitar and a mic? Where's the band? Where's the funk? What a beautiful way to open it all up, and show the audience a different side of Ryan than is normally portrayed at the Vibes (which would be, as I mentioned, the funky, sunshine-loving folk/reggae).



Another noteworthy song he did (full band) was Grain of Sand. The guy put a whole poem into the song as an interlude. It was like a vocal jam session. So cool.

I had tried to describe the greatness that is the Ryan Montbleau Band to one of my friends, and I finally managed to get her to see them live this weekend! At the end of the set, she turned to me and simply said: I'm in love. Welcome to the family.

Here's the set he did at the Vibes this year, check out Chariot, Inspired By No One, and Stretch for starters.
http://www.archive.org/details/montbleau2009-07-25.sb.km184.matrix.flac16

Here's a few pictures of Ryan's set:


That's an electric viola, kids:




The other band I wanted to bring into attention is The Pimps of Joytime. Yes, The Pimps. I happened upon them while noshing on probably my fifth bag of those handy little pistachio sample packages at the Green Vibes Stage, a separate stage run completely on solar power that features lesser-known bands that are on the rise.




This was my immediate reaction upon hearing them: CAROLINE, PUT DOWN YOUR PISTACHIOS. WE'RE GROOVING. BIG TIME.

And we did.






We even bought their CD at the end of their set, we loved them so much. I would describe their sound as some sort of dance-funk (my own term!) because it's funk that just makes you want to dance your face off. So good. Here's their link: http://www.myspace.com/pimpsofjoytime

Favorites off "High Steppin" (the album I bought) include My Gold, Bonita, and Workin' all the Time. Check them out!!!

Those were definitely the highlights of the day for this vibetriber. I ended the night with a nice cuddle sesh somewhere amidst the smelly hippies. It's not too often you get to chill in Bridgeport on a Saturday night at 1 in the morning and not get killed, so take it for what it's worth.

Cheers!

oh ps. favorite hippie of the day: