Review | Langerado 2008

Year after year the Langerado Music Festival marks the beginning of spring, and festival season. With a new location at Big Cypress Indian Reservation in southern FL., an extra day of music, and plenty of camping space, the Langerado monster has yet again grown. For those who popped a tent for the weekend, the camp grounds were a mine field of cow patties and vicious ant hills.
There was a diverse line-up that included Beastie Boys, R.E.M., Phil Lesh & Friends, 311, Matisyahu, Theivery Corporation, and The Roots, just to name a few. Throughout the weekend mother nature threw a few curve balls of her own.
The rain on Thursday evening let up just long enough for Les Claypool to take the stage to a chanting and anxious crowd, most of whom waited up to for hours in line once gates opened.
By mid-day Friday temperatures were up and so were spirits, even though a shortage of programs left some festival goers frustrated. Sam Bush made the trip from Charleston the night before and gave the crowd a wonderful show. The stage proximity made it easy to stroll over and catch the always crowd pleasing Wailers. Friday's headliners, the Beastie Boys, tore through a slew of tunes that included Intergalactic, Remote Control, and Sabotage. They also picked up their instruments for a few off their latest album The Mix Up.
Saturday's strong winds tossed some campers' tents like tumble weed. Some disappointing news circulated that the Avett Brothers show was cancelled due to transportation problems. On lighter note, the next time slot was Ben Folds, whom I was reluctant to see. To my shagrine he put on a solid show including a sing-along version of Dr. Dre's Bitches Ain't Shit. A skip and a jump brought me to the pulsating rhythms of Thievery Corporation, who drew a huge crowd. Schedule conflicts forced most festival attenders to choose their music wisely. This particular time I went with Medeski, Scofield, Martin, & Wood over Matisyahu. This proved to be a good choice as the quintet was tight and on time. They drew quite a crowd, considering that they were playing one of the smaller stages. I scurried to the main stage to get a good view of R.E.M. The rock veterans that these guys are show through, coming right out the gate with a good version of What's the Frequency Kenneth? and closing with Man on the Moon. Micheal Stipe wasn't shy about his political agenda, sporting a bright green t-shirt that read "OBAMA". Stipe dedicated the show to Martin Luther King Jr. Near the end of the set some dashed for their tents, while others braved the cold front/storms that had blown in to see the late night shows.
Sunday started with a chilly morning, but soon gave way to comfortable temperatures and a solid day of music. The funky Meters kicked of the day with some classics like Fire on the Bayou, and Just Kissed My Baby. That would lead to a Gov't Mule set that was highlighted by a great rendition of James Brown's It's a Man's World (alluding to the fact that a woman might be president). The festival concluded with a four hour + set from Phil Lesh & Friends. They closed the first set with smokey Help on the Way, Slipknot, Franklin's Tower. Phil is definately still on his game and was having just as good of a time as the fans. The wrapped it up the the notorious Casey Jones.
By Monday morning, exiting the grounds was quite easy, (we were gone by 8AM) but getting out any time before that could've been confusing. There was little to no exit signs (not to if you left at night), and if you were camping, you were probably blocked in. A few snags aside, Langerado has stepped it up a notch and was bigger and better than ever. Hopefully it won't fall into the ranks of Bonnaroo , but it only seems inevitable. Can't wait for next year...
(click for more photos)