Langerado Festival 2007 : Recap

<p><a href="Features/Langerado_Festival_2007_Recap/"><div style="text-align: center"><img src="http://www.qromag.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/langeradorecap.jpg" border="0" alt=" " /></div></a> <br /></p><p>The 2007 festival season kicked off this weekend in South Florida with Langerado. This three day festival blended jam...
Langerado Festival 2007 : Recap

The 2007 festival season kicked off this weekend in South Florida with Langerado. This three day festival blended jam bands with indie rock so seamlessly that patchouli and indifference were standing at every stage. With headliners such as Trey Anastasio, The New Pornographers, and Widespread Panic, the park was packed all three days. The years themes including “Green-A-Rado” meant that unlike many music festivals you could generally walk to most places without stepping on anything dangerous. Signs were hand painted and placed throughout the grounds reading environmental preservation and volunteers were wandering with garbage bags cleaning throughout the day. As for keeping patrons fed and hydrated Langerado featured a huge selection of decently priced food and beverages that catered to those vegetarian and not. It was a pleasant and welcomed surprise. With so much going on at all times, QRO’s festival highlights included in no particular order:

Explosions In The Sky
Explosions In the Sky Straight out of Texas (no girl-pants on these cowboys), this group rocked the first stage and lived up to their rep as the loudest band ever. Thundering drums and a haze of guitar effects kept the crowd sedate and swaying. No words were needed or offered in their womb-like set.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones: Legendary group known for the musical ability of their bassist Victor Wooten (virtuoso), Roy ”Futureman” Wooten (creator of the Synthaxe Drumitar), and front man Bela Fleck who played the acoustic and electric banjo. A band for musicians to appreciate kept everybody dancing.

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks Playing around the same time as Trey Anastasio and still keeping the tent completely packed at a festival with a nearly double ratio of neo-hippies says something about a band. With recent addition Janet Weiss on drums, the pulse was steady as stone.  Bassist Joanna Bolme sprained her ankle early on in the day and had to be supported as she hopped across the stage but managed to play the set without complications. Keyboardist Mike Clark was dancing throughout the show while tossing a tamberine back and forth with the drummer. Frontman Stephen Malkmus with newly grown mustache spat on his mic throughout the set in a heated performance. A couple songs in a naked patron walked through the crowd and made an attempt to get over the fence to the pit. Rebuked by security she turned back and disappeared into the crowd.

Matisyahu
MatisyahuChassidic Reggae act of New York was a crowd favorite, a few songs into his set a group of four or five Rabbis came into the photo pit dancing. The sound was strong from the beginning end and set an energizing tone to the mid day Sunday. He also offered Shabbat services to the public for Friday and Saturday.

The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers Finishing off the night in the Swamp tent, Canadian indie rockers The New Pornographers played tracks from their album Twin Cinema and others with an energetic show. Asking the crowd about the glow jewelry turned into an all out glow tossing event with concert goers throwing their glow sticks and jewelry at the band. At first touring keyboardist Kathryn Calder and bassist John Collins donned them as crowns before throwing them back to the audience and the fun continued. John later got hit in the head with one flying glow necklace but smiled it off. At one point a particularly large foam glowstick got thrown on stage where frontman AC Newman commented accusing the audience of having a dirty mind before thowing it back in the crowd. A great sound and tight harmonies along with glowing light show made for a great ending to South Florida’s most ecclectic festival.

The sound guys
The sound was as close to perfect as possible for a climate such as here in Florida. Didn’t hear a single sound issue the entire time. Whoever ran sound on the three stages should go work at Coachella.

The facilities
There must have been 40+ port-a-potties throughout the festival. I don’t have the specs, but how often do you find so many at a music fest?

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