July 2009

As the vibe tribe began to assemble, the faithful flocked to Seaside Park Thursday, seeking out good weather but reinforcing against the threat of rain. The 14th annual Gathering of the Vibes began with blue skies but ultimately couldn’t escape the storms that have plagued the summer.

[All Photos by Jeremy Gordon]

Luckily, however, there was enough sunshine to power the wonderful new GreenVibes stage with its partial solar energy requirements. Reckoning, a local band from Long Island lit up the afternoon with its set including hits from The Dead, the Allman Brothers as well as a take on Phish’s Birds of a Feather, putting everyone in the party mindset. Local Artist P.J Pacifico opened the main stage with a folk- tinged roots rock set including a very intimate Beatles cover.

The Donna Jean Godchaux Band (aka the former Zen Tricksters) continued on in the legacy of the Grateful Dead with the former singer giving us a taste of her famous vocals. With Donna’s voice mixing wondrously with Jeff Mattson’s guitar, you are almost transported to a time 30 years ago. Though the rain began to fall, the crowd spun along to new originals and favorite Dead tunes like Sugaree, Scarlet Begonias and Samson & Delilah.

READ ON for more from the 2009 edition of Gathering of the Vibes…

Now to many of you when you hear the words Sloppy Joe you have visions of ground meat in a tomato-ish sauce served on a plain hamburger bun.

Good food for sure but not the Sloppy Joe I am talking about. In Millburn, NJ on Millburn Avenue is a sandwich shop called The Millburn Deli. Their version of the Sloppy Joe is made on fresh, sliced to order rye (yes I said the bread was sliced to order) and your choice/combination of deli meats. There is also a “Friday Joe” created for Lent which is Tuna and Egg Salad. The sandwiches come in two sizes, the regular Sloppy Joe and the Monster Joe. Above is my favorite Monster Joe, Corned Beef Pastrami, Swiss, Cole Slaw and Russian dressing (and butter on the bread).

The Millburn Deli has been open since 1946 and owned by the current owners since 1991. It is one of those places where there is someone who owns the business, but the place is really the community’s. Anyone who grew up in the West Orange, South Orange, Short Hills and Millburn area can recall memories of going to events, etc growing up and seeing Millburn deli Sloppy Joes being served. Just this past weekend my cousin and I rented a zip car and drove from NYC to Millburn just to have Sloppy Joes. This is a very special sandwich and so worth the trip to New Jersey if you have never been.

328 Millburn Ave
Millburn NJ 07041
973.379.5800
Open Monday-Sunday 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Every Day

READ ON for other stuff from the foodie-verse this week…

For the name of the eighth festival Phish will throw, the band has come up with about as uncreative name as it gets… Festival 8. Festival 8, the group’s first

This weekend, Fuse debuts a Kanye West concert filmed last month at the Chicago Theatre in the rapper’s hometown. The one-hour special debuts on Saturday night at 8PM and will

We’ve only got a few days to go before picking a winner of our Naukabout Festival giveaway, so be sure to get your entry in before 11:59PM on Tuesday night for a free pair of tickets to see Rusted Root, Pete Francis featuring Barefoot Truth, the Old Silver Band, the Ryan Montbleau Band and all of the other bands that are on the lineup for this year’s fest.

We recently spoke with Jeff Conley, one of the founding members of Naukabout and Executive Festival Coordinator about how the festival came to be, what we can expect at the Fairgrounds on August 8 and more…

Hidden Track: Last year was the first year of the festival, what lessons did you learn that will make this year’s festival even better?

Jeff Conley: Logistics, logistics, logistics. Having a plan in place for every possible scenario and an answer for every question. That is not to say we didn’t have a plan for last year’s festival, but one year older is one year wiser. When the planning began for this year’s festival, the first thing we did was look back at 2008 and figure out what needed to change and/or improve to make 2009 even better, and I think we have done that. With a solid framework to build upon from last year, we focused more on the details this year, which will help maximize the experience for both the attendees and the artists.

HT: There are all sorts of ways to market your brand, why a music festival?

JC: Naukabout is an Afterwear company; those casual, comfortable clothes you wear after work or sport, which derived from when my father used to come home from work, change into his “knock-abouts” and go outside and play ball with my brothers and me. As a whole, we also strive to provide opportunities for everyone to build amazing memories with friends and family and that is where the music festival comes in.

READ ON for more of Scotty’s interview with Jeff Conley…