Blogs

R.E.M.
March, 8, 2008
Langerado

Better Than:Realizing that your $50 bag of mushrooms failed to induce any hallucinations

This morning we read an effusive article about REM’s performance at Langerado. The writer, Leslie Gray Streeter, described the show as “energetic,” and declared that their performance was “the lovely, light-hearted, serious-minded end to a night of uplift.” Um, Lesley – were we at the same concert? ‘Cause the REM we saw was slow, draggy, and caused disappointed hippies to leave in droves. Yes, Michael Stipe was engaged and engaging, yes he made between-song quips that were amusing and charming. But the music was so not meant for the venue. Opening up with the jangly “What’s the Frequency Kenneth,” the audience seemed hopeful at first. Dancing ensued amongst the patchwork n’ tie-dye clad set. By the third song -- the painfully slow “Drive” from Automatic For the People -- the hippies started to beeline for the campgrounds. “Dude, fuck this. Let’s go get stoned at the tent,” one declared as he stumbled past.

REM’s set droned on unopposed – we assume as festival headliners, it was part of the agreement that their set didn’t clash with anyone else’s. Because of that, the nature of their music (which ranges from ploddingly morbid to toe-tapping despair as typified by “Bad Day,” which they performed), and the miserable cold front that left body-painted topless chicks scrambling for sweaters, the REM set cast a shadow over the festival. “This reminds me of Bonnaroo when the Police played,” remembered hippie-fest veteran Casey, who drove to Langerado from Alabama. “Everyone went to go see the Flaming Lips instead.” Perhaps if another, more danceably appropriate band was performing at the time (hey Langerado peeps! Can we get Beck sometime soon?), the audience wouldn’t have left the fest grounds in vast crowds during the headlining set. But as it was on Saturday night, the closing strains of “Man on the Moon” was met by a collective “meh” by an audience that was far more jazzed to see Bassnectar, Sound Tribe Sector 9, and Phil Lesh than ol’ Michael Stipe.

--Patrice Elizabeth Grell Yursik

Ani DiFranco
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Langerado

Better Than: A Chocolate Seven-Layer Birthday Cake

It’s a funny thing when you feel the “obsession” link with a musician kick in, especially when it’s been a few years since you felt so in love with the music. Such was the case at Langerado when I finally got to see Ani DiFranco rock the reservation with an hour-and-a-half long set that had hundreds of crooners bum rushing the Sunset stage at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday night. Bi-polar warm/cold fronts, port-a-potties, life as a dirty hippy and the fact that my party left before the show couldn’t keep me away from DiFranco’s collection of acoustic guitars and a playlist better than a chocolate seven-layer birthday cake. Opening with a few of her newer jams like “Half-Assed” and “78% H20” definitely had the Ani appreciators swaying, but halfway through her set, the songstress treated die hards to a taste of the oldies like “Napolean” and “Gravel,” which were better at Langerago live than on any other live disc she’s ever thrown together.

DiFranco’s performance was worthy in comparison to double-disc Living in Clip, only with the hint of a makeover, both inside and out. Sporting a new haircut – an Ani bob circa the Up Up Up days – she joked with the crowd about the transition of writing angry, depressed songs to performing a fresh batch of happy, warm jams that kind of “freaks me out,” she laughed. The highlight of her show had to be the unexpected trip in the time machine back to “Untouchable Face,” a love-at-first-sight track that once-turned all Ani fans I know. Things couldn’t get any better when DiFranco busted out with “32 Flavors,” a single that made her semi-famous on the mainstream circuit before one-hit wonder Alana Davis’ revision. As the crowd clapped and cheered for her return, the feminista maven rocked out hard with a three-song encore featuring “Little Plastic Castles,” “Shameless” and the infamous “Both Hands.” The Ani experience is pretty deep when you relate to what she puts out there. I have to say, this was my first time seeing Ani DiFranco outdoors, and the vibe of the crowd, the intimate four-piece band and the sunset made the experience as surreal as when I met her back in high school, only with a more mature, appreciated value.

--Tracy Block

Part psycho, part Jane's Addiction

Blitzen Trapper
March 8, 2008
Langerado

Better than: A wake-up call from the hippie jam band tenting next door

After a night of blustery winds and torrential rain ruined any chance for restful sleep at Langerado, day 3 of the fest kicked off with a set that was something like hot, morning coffee from Portland, Oregon sextet, Blitzen Trapper.

Blitzen Trapper's name evokes imagery of rugged, mountain men types, and for the most part, they manage to fulfill that ambition. At 12:30 p.m. the group emerged, looking like indie-rockers gone rough; sort of like Jeremiah Johnson got lost in American Eagle Outfitters. Seems the group didn't sleep well either, the result of a rush trip from last night's show in Tallahassee to the fair grounds at Big Cypress Reservation. But they made it intact, and were pretty geared up for a show on a stage so grand. "This stage is too big," singer-guitarist Eric Earley told the crowd early. "We're used to playing on something the size of the drum stand."

The change in venue didn't seem to faze the Trappers though, who switched gears from the country-fried twang to the Skynard-meets-Wilco riffage of the title track off their 2007 album, Wild Mountain Nation. They may not have been used to playing in these wide open spaces, but their tunes are perfect for it: Big, bright pieces full of wide-eyed awe and naturalist ambition, they seem to speak directly of the soul of the festival-goer. At times, that language may seem overly complex: There's a mess of slide guitar, steely acoustic strumming, keyboards, rock solos, samples, recorders, harmonicas, and a chorus of gravely voices. But largely, the group 'rassled their big sound in and made it work together, especially as it switched gears from country rock to acoustic ballads to the sheer, art rock-inspired wackery of tracks like "Sci-Fi Boy." That eclectic, fully American sound is what makes Blitzen Trapper work, and it's also what made them work at Day 3's opening slot. A dose of indie, country, jam-band styling, acousticism, electronics, and good ol' fashioned rock was a perfect refresher for a day's lineup that would cover all of the above and a bit more.

--John Linn

Tuba Gooding Jr. at work.

So the Roots showed hip-hop crews why they always reign supreme this past Friday night at Langerado. The talented Philly-based band was tight, crazy, fun, and definitely experimental as they worked out a few songs from their upcoming album, Rising Down, which is dropping April 29 on Def Jam.
If you didn't catch their set, let me tell you, it was awesome!! Long-time bassist, Leonard Hubbard quit the band after 17+ years this past December and I was excited to see how they would replace him. Lo and behold, they eschewed conformity and filled his slot with a sousaphone player. If that's not enough, the band has nicknamed their new badass sousaphone guru Tuba Gooding Jr. Dude is ill.
Oh, and they played a mean, nasty, shit-kicking version of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" for like 20 minutes and just blew everyone else away. Definitely my favorite show of the weekend.

Anyway, if you missed em while they were here, definitely check out their latest video called "Get Busy." Different, but promising.

-- Jonathan Cunningham

Ben Folds
March 8, 2008
Langerado
Better than: Whatever and Ever Amen on constant rotation

I missed Ben Folds last time he came to town with John Mayer. I figured I couldn't stomach the fans of pasty folk hipster Mayer any more than I could stomach his music. But I'm sorry I couldn't find the constitution then to do what I had done just now: Watch Ben Folds come out and just ravage through a set of piano rock that managed to turn a huge crowd of mostly unfamiliars into new fans.

That's sort of a tough task to begin with, but not one unfamiliar to the versatile singer-songwriter, Folds. Piano - even the slice-of-life piano ballads tempered with a dose of punk that Folds plays - doesn't usually equate raw energy, and getting throngs of fans more accustomed to traditional rock bands to buy into the sound takes confidence and conviction. But Folds has confidence to spare. He ran practically full tilt to his piano, leaned forward as if to lunge at it, and never let up -- and rarely sat down -- throughout his whole set.

I'll get this out of the way now: Yes, he still plays Ben Folds Five tunes, and he does them better than ever. He charged through an uptempo version of "One Angry Dwarf" with a sneer, chuckled a bit as he sang the chorus to the perfectly apropos "Kate" (about an sweet, hippie chick with a yen for Krishna and weed), and throttled back into a satisfying rumble for the balladic "Narcolepsy." There was no "Brick" or "Song for the Dumped," but that's OK. Folds is obviously willing to oblige long-time fans with a bit of nostalgia, but he's moved on from his days in BFF. He's got a new catalog of perfectly crafted pop rock tunes to hum along, feel pissed off, or get emotional to.

As far as the new material goes, "Landed" showed off Folds' chops as he navigated the meandering melody with ease, while "Rocking the Suburbs" and his totally-fucking-silly white-boy cover of "Bitches Ain't Shit" had the crowd singing along in glee. I don't know why, but I was still shocked to see the group of forty-somethings in front of my mouthing along with "Bitches." I guess the magic of Folds works two ways: In one regard his brand of brazen, punky piano rock manages to endear the instrument to young hipsters, while in the other he's managed to show the Elton John crowd that you can still say "fuck the man" in B flat. That's a pretty broad cross-section for any artist to maintain, but after seeing Folds man the stage for an hour, it's easy to see how he's managed it so brilliantly.

I only wish Langerado had given Folds a slightly longer set. Hopefully they get him back next year so he can earn a bit more of the fanship he rightly deserves.

--John Linn

G. Love and Special Sauce
March 7, 2008
Langerado
Better Than:All the jam in Welch’s reserves.

Forget Umphrey’s McGee and the Disco Biscuits and whatever’s left of the Dead (and that includes you, Dark Star Orchestra), ‘cause when it comes to full fest groove, there is but one band that can stand throughout the land: G. Love and Special Sauce.

Yeah, yeah, I know, thousands upon thousands of tie-dyed fogies might disagree; so too the neo post-hippie kids who seem permanently wedded to their grandparents’ laps. But bottom dollar down, when it comes to boogaloo beat and wisecrack rhyme, those Philly white boys have got it going on – big time.

Of course the cats have had practice. Hell, not only were they the coolest of the tour that came as H.O.R.D.E. way back in the ‘early ’90s, but, if I recall correctly, when I caught ‘em at Central Park Summerstage later that decade they even blew away Beck.

Okay, so I could be wrong about the Beck part (hey, it was a decade ago), but I’m not wrong about H.O.R.D.E., just as I’m not wrong about G. Love’s continuing capacity to outgroove the marmalade composites known as jam. Least ways if the bopping throngs at yesterday’s suitably-timed Sunset Stage Langerado set were any indication.

And throngs they were: sweaty, silly and out for good ol’ fashioned fun. Of course, G. Love and company gave ‘em what they came for, and they gave it to ‘em with the flair and the moxie of long-running showmen. In fact, so confident was he in his and his band’s ability to produce paroxysms of fist-pumping, G. Love (otherwise known as Garrett Dutton) came out and kicked-off the action from a chair.

If my sweat-soaked notes are to be believed, of the crowd-wowing bits I clocked “Back of the Bus,” “Booty Call” and “Baby’s Got Sauce;” after that, I stopped trying to remember titles and just got into the swing of it all. Me, and about 5000 like-minded Fest freaks. Really.

Would I do it again? Probably not. But I’d defend to the death of Phil Lesh the smarter fest fan’s chance to do so, for as long and as often as they’d like.

Take that, jelly boys!

Personal Bias: I’ve dug white soul since Bowie was the Thin White Duke.

Random Detail: Drummer Jeffrey Clemens (aka Houseman) has a kit fit for a Lemonade stand.

By the Way: You can stream a helluva lot of Special Sauce on their site.

–John Hood

Alright, Langerado is in it's first full day and early reports are indicating that the music is rocking, the crowds are thick, and the drug busts have already started.
Watch your ass people. Cops are on the lookout so be safe and stay out of jail.
There's a couple of solid local music acts ready to play today like Spam Allstars and the Heavy Pets. And a bunch of big names as well like the Roots, the Beastie Boys, and Vampire Weekend.

Stay tuned to this site for continual news coverage from Langerado all weekend long.
Once again, here's the line-up in case you need it.