March 12, 2007

As Widespread Panic referenced New York City during last night’s Bust It Big, I got a little sad that Langerado had come and gone. For the second year in a row it was a flawless weekend at the little festival that could.

And I was so impressed with Widespread’s headlining set, I flashed them as they left the venue behind a Sunrise Police cruiser. I’m sure Schools appreciated that.

There were only two complaints I heard all weekend, one of which is a fair criticism, and the other is just another case of jamband fan idiocy. A few days before the festival an e-mail update went out that mentioned a second exit out of the park that would relieve traffic congestion. Let me know if anyone found that supplementary egress, because I spent all weekend searching for it.

But the other criticism is ludicrous: the people complaining about the lack of an encore from Widespread. Panic walked off stage at 10 pm after playing a 150-minute, greatest hits blockbuster set that maybe contained two minutes of downtime. A large group in the crowd audibly booed when Annabel Lukins came out to announce the show was indeed over when the crowd didn’t leave. She must have been psyched to get that plum assignment.

Langerado has a strict 10 pm curfew. My hotel was three miles from the main stage and you could hear the music clearly from the festival, so I can understand how the organizers weren’t looking to blow through the curfew on a Sunday night. Panic consciously decided that instead of wasting five minutes leaving the stage and coming back for an encore they would just play until the curfew. People should be applauding that decision. We actually got extra music, dumbasses.

Anyway, with the brief lecture over, let’s take a look at some more of my favorite things seen and overheard around the Langerado festival this year…

We’re planning to bring you as much coverage of the kickoff to festival season as possible, just because we can. And if you think we’re gonna play it straight, you’ve got the wrong guys (or you’ve fucked with the wrong Marine).

Some photos are posted below and individual set reviews and downloads are forthcoming, but here are some general news and notes from Langerado…

–I want to resist the massive, ongoing My Morning Jacket bukkake film the music blogs are creating together, but they really are that damn good: They just fuck your face more than any band I’ve ever seen. MMJ’s especially talented at hitting that high peak and wailing on it for a while instead of letting it back down, and every time that happens I picture Kelly Preston in Jerry Maguire screaming “Don’t ever stop fucking me!” Every single time. Um, am I alone in that?

–The Swamp Tent wasn’t all that crowded for Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, and I’m thinking this was probably the biggest mistake many people made during the festival. I’m all for moe., but Malkmus’ band is incredible and the Langerado faithful have fewer opportunities to see his shows. Throw in the fact that he’s an equal opportunity employer –- the chicks in the band are fucking amazing — and this was a must-watch performance. SuperDee turned to me at one point and said, “He really makes me want to do heroin.” I think she was kidding, but I agree.

—Michael Franti really fits in well in South Florida. He asks “How you feeeeelin’?” more than most Jewish mothers and grandmothers I know. If this whole musician thing doesn’t work out for him, I suggest Franti move down there and open up a delicatessen specializing in chicken soup. Franti’s set was enjoyable, the highlight being the cover of What I Got > Sesame Street > What I Got.

Read on for more thoughts and briefs from the weekend that was…

A handful of news stories broke while your friendly HT staff concentrated our efforts on the kickoff to festival season down at Langerado. It kinda reminds me of Die Hard