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LANGERADO FESTIVAL 3-9-07: First festival could portend a good year by Nick Meador
The first major music festival of the year took place at Markham Park in Sunrise, FL (the only stretch of open fields between Fort Lauderdale and the Everglades) from March 9–11. Although the festival boasted three days of live music, I was only able to attend on the first day due to constraints on my schedule (i.e. – needing to return to MSU) and wallet (i.e. – money don’t grow on trees). As information about this year’s festivals is released, I realize that Langerado isn’t the best deal. Three-day passes ranged from $115 to $145, depending on when you bought them, while single-day passes were $60 ($75 at the gate) and camping passes were $195. Markham Park had a capacity of 15000 (fewer than 2700 three-day passes were left as of March 1), and last year the attendance was over 12000 people. The festival set-up was nice, even though it wasn’t what I expected. There were three stages: two open and one in a large tent. I thought there only would have been one stage, but since the festival ran from noon to 10 pm each day this made more sense. The parking lot was around the lagoon from the festival area, but the camping area was a dull area near the highway surrounded by a fence. I don’t understand why camping cost $50–80 extra. It was a really unattractive space to camp. The stages were all parallel to each other, facing north, with a line of merchants and food stands behind the audience fields. The food court was excellent with many different varieties to choose from. I had a jerk chicken platter to start, and later had a gyro. The beer selection was great too. All beers (including Miller Lite, Newcastle, Pilsner Urquell and others) were $5. Each band played for 1–2 hours, and it was easy to jump around and see pieces of every band’s set since all the stages were pretty close together. I was pleased to see many families at the festival in addition to the hippies and college kids. Children make any place a little happier. And the weather was hard to beat. It was 80 and sunny all day, until the sun set and the temperature dropped to about 70. Luckily, I hadn’t before seen any of the bands playing on Friday. I walked in as Assembly of Dust was on. They seemed to be a standard jam band, and set the general mood for the entire day. Next was Tea Leaf Green, a piano-led quartet from San Francisco with a very fresh sound. [note – Lotus was the only band I didn’t see at all, because I hadn’t yet figured out the stage set-up] New Monsoon came third, and marked the first time a banjo was played that day. This band, who are also from San Francisco, mix bluegrass with rock and jazz, but not as effectively as Bela Fleck (who I’ll bring up again later). My favorite act of the entire day actually came at 3:15 pm. Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings played the Swamp Tent and made all the jam band minions shake their booty. The Dap Kings, which consists of drums, bass, two guitars, trumpet, tenor and baritone sax, set the stage for the Jones, who came on and introduced herself as the “female James Brown.” When Jones asked the audience how many were seeing her for the first time, almost everyone raised their hand. She strutted her stuff and sang her heart out, and the band served up soul and funk that was refreshing and entertaining. Inside that tent, you could close your eyes and almost envision a sunny summer afternoon in some mistakenly forgotten era. All of the band’s music is released by their own Daptone Records on CD and vinyl, which shows their dedication to producing a very specific type of music. North Mississippi All Stars and Galactic followed, but neither tickled my fancy. I made sure to see the Hold Steady at 5:00 pm in the Swamp Tent, since their 2006 album Boys and Girls In America had almost universal approval. Unfortunately, theirs was my least favorite performance of the day. I knew from listening to clips before hand that they had a rough rock sound that brought to mind Bruce Springsteen. At the show, I realized that the singer doesn’t really sing. He just grunts with his hoarse voice about crap that doesn’t concern me. Plus, the keyboard player was dressed in a ridiculous black suit with red tie and a mustache. I didn’t understand the hype before, and I definitely don’t now after giving their live show a chance. The evening hours were filled with the giants of jam band music festivals. Bela Fleck & the Flecktones took the Everglades Stage at 5:30 pm with their distinctive blend of bluegrass and jazz. Fleck is a banjo master, incorporating such strange things as a wah pedal (usually used with electric guitar) into his playing. Future Man plays a drum machine/guitar “invention,” and sometimes even hits a real drum set. The band put on a fun, eccentric show, but will fail to hold the attention of those with simple tastes (they barely held my attention, and I am a fan of both bluegrass and jazz). moe. came at 6:30 pm on the Sunset Stage, and it was easy to see why they’re so popular among the jam band crowd. They were the most fun when they let loose, and explored beyond the simple core of their songs. I made a short trip to the Swamp Tent for Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, who were another black sheep playing a sort of alternative rock that reminded me of ‘90s acts like Toadies (remember the song “Possum Kingdom”?). Anyways, I returned to catch the end of moe.’s set, until Trey Anastasio began on the Everglades Stage. I had heard so much about Trey (and his now inactive band Phish) that I sort of knew what to expect. This is a man who makes his living touring, and his craft is live performance. I actually spend most of the set lying on a blanket looking up at the stars. Give me a break! It had been a long day, and I needed a rest. I can see why the majority of jam band fans love moe. and Trey, but I found them essentially boring. Although it’s important to consider that I was not in possession of any intoxicating substances other than alcohol (while many, on the other hand, were high as a kite). Before leaving, I watched STS9
(Sound Tribe Sector 9) in the Swamp Tent for a while. The band had an
electronica side and a jammy side, but they don’t operate as well
as similar bands like the Disco Biscuits. STS9 didn’t capitalize
on the peaks that occurred in their wandering songs. Finally, I left
the park around 9:00 pm, hoping to beat the traffic and get back to
my hotel before I passed out from exhaustion. I wish I could have been
there on Saturday to see My Morning Jacket and the Disco Biscuits, and
on Sunday to see Girl Talk and the New Pornographers (complete with
Neko Case!). But Friday was a great day, and it made me excited for
all the other festivals still to come in 2007. Links: Videos: Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings performing
in the Swamp Tent Bela Fleck & the Flecktones performing on the Everglades Stage
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