Mar 12, 2008 6:13 PM

The 6th annual Langerado music festival began Thursday evening in the swampy everglades of South Florida. This multi-genre event has become the unofficial kick-off to the festival season with a diverse line-up this year, drawing hipsters and hippies alike from Florida and beyond. For the first time this year, the festival was held near Ft. Lauderdale at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation that until now had previously only hosted Phish for the famous Big Cypress NYE 2000 show that drew record crowds of over 80,000 people.

Between the music and the weather, the common denominator of the event seemed to be the diversity of both. In the four days of the festival, the weather seemed to change as much as the style of music echoing from one of the five stages.

The fans that showed up for the opening on Thursday evening were initiated to the swamplands with a torrential downpour, leaving the unprepared soaked, and posing a challenge to the bands and sound engineers trying to set-up their equipment and keep it dry. They weathered the storm though and the festival began with singer and bassist, Les Claypool and his collection of freaks helping to take the chill off and get us into the festival vibe. Late night was muddy and wet but the dedicated braved the mud with two electronica inspired jam-bands, The New Deal and Perpetual Groove.

On Friday morning, the Sun was shining and the muddy ground began to dry. The days schedule was packed with bands that were perfectly suited to the relief of the sunny day, including: troubadour Brett Dennen who was joined by ALO’s Dan Lebowitz on slide guitar and Steve Adams on bass. Following Brett’s feel good set, Ozomatli took the stage and got the crowd moving with their blend of Latin hip-hop and funk. Reggae artist Matisayahu joined Ozomatli and then hopped stages to join The Wailers as well to sing “No Woman, No Cry”. In the late afternoon, G. Love and Special Sauce kept up the good vibe going while , while The Sierra Leone’s Refuge Allstars had the crowd whipped into a dancing frenzy as the sun set.

Darkness was ushered in with the raging, dirty funk of New York based band, !!! (pronounced, chk, chk, chk) who absolutely set the night on fire with their sexy driving punk-funk. They were followed by Philadelphia hip-hop band, The Roots; and a powerful and moving set by Indie favorites, Built to Spill. The Beastie Boys were the evening’s headliners, drawing massive crowds. They played the essential classics as well as some jammy new stuff that seemed to please the groove-loving crowd. While the Boys did not disappoint, the sound coming from the main stage was too quiet for the space and the size of the crowd.

Following the Beastie Boys, Bay Area producer/DJ, Bassnectar prepared us for the late night as he rocked the crowd with his signature heavy bass-lines and funky breaks, getting the crowd loose and calling in the wind. Jamband favorites Umphrey’s McGee, STS9, and Phish cover band, Phix all played late into the night as the wind got more fierce and rumors of a massive storm circulated amongst the crowd. As STS9 finished their last song, as if on cue, the sky opened and unleashed itself onto the crowd.

On Saturday morning, the wind still raged after the early morning storm. The crews all had to fight to keep their canopies and tents from flying away. However, the challenges of the weather did not bring down the spirit of the fest. Saturday and Sunday were both packed with great line-ups and the challenge became making it from show to show, crossing the large expanse of the venue on foot without sinking in the mud, or stepping on fire ants.

The Bad Plus was one Saturday’s highlights, pleasing the crowd with covers of both Rush and Rod Stewart songs in their progressive and eclectic jazz style. Later in the day, piano front-man Ben Folds also pulled out a crowd pleasing cover with his ironic rendition of “Bitches Aint Shit”, by Dr. Dre. The evening vibe was brought in with the down-tempo dance beats from Thievery Corporation. The two producers and DJs from Washington D.C. where joined by a full band and rotating vocalists.

REM closed out the main stage to a very large and excited crowd that seemed as stoked on the new stuff as they were on the old hits. Michael Stipe still has the intensity and charisma that he did 10 years ago when I saw him last. Political as ever, he came up wearing an Obama shirt and threw it out in the crowd to a fan. For the very cold, late night, fans had their choice of the hugely popular electronic rock group, The Disco Biscuits, or the lesser known, Lee Boys who made me feel right at home in the swamp with their deep southern blues and family vibe.

Sunday was the last day of the festival and the crowd began to thin out. The schedule was still packed with many options and lots of variety. Singer-songwriters, Josh Ritter and Martin Sexton were head to head in the morning on two different stages, staring the day off mellow and easy. It was not long though before the slowness of the morning was picked up with the legendary New Orleans funk of The Funky Meters. The crowd got down as the sun shined and an easy breeze kept it from being too hot. Grace Potter, one of my new favorites rocked the afternoon with her sexy, blues inspired rock n’ roll.

The sun set on Sunday as one of my old favorites, Ani DiFranco hit the stage with her signature voice and distinctive guitar licks. The excited crowd was dancing, singing and sometimes crying as she sang songs from all over her repertoire. After Ani, I caught band, of Montreal who put on an impressive show complete with a dramatic stage show to go with their danceable, indie-pop.

My surprise favorite of the weekend though came last with Brooklyn based, The National. This five-piece indie-rock band worked the crowd into a frenzy with their bass-driven, yet highly emotional rock songs sung in the deep baritone voice of the charismatic front-man, Matt Berringer.

As The National ended their rockin set, the sounds of Phil Lesh and Friends, featuring young guitarist, Jackie Green could be heard across the festival grounds. The smaller Sunday night crowd enjoyed the milder weather of the final night as they danced under the sliver of the moon with friends new and old to their favorite Grateful Dead songs.
—Amanda L. Morrison

Back to the Langerado Photo Gallery

Mix Books

Modern Recording and Mixing

This 2-DVD set will show you how the best in the music industry set up a studio to make world-class records. Regardless of what gear you are using, the information you'll find here will allow you to take advantage of decades of expert knowledge. Order now $39.95

Mastering Cubase 4

Electronic Musician magazine and Thomson Course Technology PTR have joined forces again to create the second volume in their Personal Studio Series, Mastering Steinberg's Cubase(tm). Edited and produced by the staff of Electronic Musician, this special issue is not only a must-read for users of Cubase(tm) software, but it also delivers essential information for anyone recording/producing music in a personal-studio. Order now $12.95

Newsletters

MixLine

Delivered straight to your inbox every other week, MixLine takes you straight into the studio, with new product announcements, industry news, upcoming events, recent recording/post projects and much more. Click here to read the latest edition; sign up here.

MixLine Live

Delivered straight to your inbox every other week, MixLine Live takes you on the road with today's hottest tours, new sound reinforcement professional products, recent installs, industry news and much more. Click here to read the latest edition; sign up here.