I invited Tom Davis to join me at the Gathering of the Vibes in Bridgeport CT this weekend. He was particularly interested in seeing Donna Jean Godchaux, who he met in the ’70s and hadn’t seen in a couple of decades. Davis and I arrived at the hotel Thursday afternoon, and Donna Jean and her group arrived shortly after. She stared at Davis in amazement and then said, "I was just talking about you yesterday!"
This photo was taken a couple of hours later, in the hospitality tent at GOTV.
Davis and I were both blown away by the Donna Jean Godchaux Band‘s performance. Jeff Mattson was on fire! I’ve been a great admirer of Jeff’s guitar playing since the first of these events in 1996, and last night’s performance was the greatest I have ever heard from him. And the rest of the band was right there with him, energy-wise. It was thrilling.
Appropriately for this context, the band’s set was heavy on GD covers. But the great surprise was a new addition to their book: "Darkness, Darkness," from the great album Elephant Mountain by The Youngbloods.