Ice Cream Man

Langerado 2008 Review

Words by Molly Drobnick
Photos by CraSH, Keith Berson, Mathew Wenthe

The first music festival of the season signifies the coming of many magical experiences and broadening of knowledge and taste in music. Having heard praise for Langerado over the past couple of years, and realizing the scope of bands on this year’s line-up, choosing Langerado as my 2008 kickoff experience was simple.

Arriving in Florida at the Ft. Lauderdale airport, the welcoming sounds of steel drums and the local Floridian tongue reminded me of a past trip to Barbados in the Caribbean. I recalled the weather forecast for the four-day festival and stood content knowing I was prepared for swampland, ravenous mosquitoes, and whatever else the everglades might throw our way—except the alligators, of course, since I’m from Los Angeles. But first, our Ice Cream Man (ICM) crew (Craig, Keith, Mat and Meghan) had to stock up the truck and Bessita, ICM’s new Toyota Yaris wrapped in multi-colored popsicles and the ICM logo, with enough ice cream to last through the entire festival.

Brimming with ice cream, our caravan forged through torrential downpours and heavy traffic to reach the media check-in tent just outside the Langerado site of Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation . This marked the 6th year of Langerado and the first at Big Cypress, the same site where Phish held its notorious millennium show. Langerado without a doubt experienced growing pains in terms of logistical planning and organization, but that is usually the case in a year of expansion.

Eager to witness Les Claypool playing against a backdrop of lightning, we stepped out of the car and to my surprise I was stung immediately by red fire ants. The angry little beasts had apparently been flooded out of all their nests and continued to antagonize nearly every festivalgoer over the four days, leaving brutal itchy bites behind. Though to be fair, we had invaded their land. Our worries melted away as we took in the deep vibrations of Les Claypool’s bass and eerie voice.

Aside from the fire ants and a tornado barely missing Big Cypress on Friday, insects were few and the weather was bright and sunny during the day and much cooler at night than most had anticipated. On Friday, during the Beastie Boys show, their high-energy performance demanded my body groove all over the Everglades Stage field area thankfully keeping me warm on a night I could barely feel my fingers and toes due to the bitter cold. The Beasties showcased their musical development and maturation over the years trading off between favorites like “Shake Your Rump,” “Body Movin’,” “Intergalactic” and funk/jazz inspired instrumental songs, getting crowd participation throughout the show.

Approximately 25,000 enthusiastic people swarmed the festival grounds daily to experience bands appearing on five stages. The vast expanse of the festival grounds and wide-reaching camping area became abundantly clear once I took a ride on the Ferris wheel. The distance between stages was quite far in order to avoid noise bleeding into the next stage, the Chickee Stage being the most difficult to traverse because of the mud and distance.

The diversity of bands and genres represented was startling and exceptional. Artists usually not billed together except for at mega festivals like Bonnaroo and Coachella, were mixed with up-and-coming bands like Spam Allstars, That 1 Guy, and Back Yard Tire Fire. Throughout the festival I overheard people saying they hadn’t seen bands like R.E.M., 311, Arrested Development and Blind Melon since the 90s, and others exclaiming the only reason they came was to see those bands specifically. Although powerful and well done, those shows definitely gave me flashbacks to my days in middle school and were a trip to say the least. Speaking with Brett Dennen after his solid performance he said, “It feels like a rock festival and not like a world, folk or jam festival.” There certainly was a rock aspect to the festival, but it might best be described as eclectic, and that includes the crowd.

Certain bands compose a festival checklist of acts that make me feel right at home. Langarado offered so many it was impossible to catch them all, but one such band was Railroad Earth. Their inimitable bluegrass and folk rock sound drew a large smiling crowd happily kicking up the dust. Two others are Keller Williams and Gov’t Mule. After seeing Keller over 20 times in the past, his set lists had begun to feel repetitive. His performance this time broke out of the box with new and progressive songs, masterfully playing a new (to my eyes) double necked guitar/bass. Overlapping Keller’s timeslot, Gov’t Mule was vibrant and sharp with Warren Haynes throwing down on his guitar commanding the audience to jump onboard his roaring hard rock train.

In between or on the way to a show, festival attendees took advantage of the wide-array of alternative activities such as ZeroHero’s Greenerado eco-village, Kiderado featuring storytelling and kid-oriented events including a parade, and freestyle motocross demos presented by Red Bull TNT. The Langerado folks sent a clear message to people with their emphasis on sustainable companies and practices, offering highly educational workshops and publicizing ZeroHero’s supply of corn-based utensils, cups, and much more.

Unfortunately a number of people didn’t bother to use the plentiful recycling bins, instead relying on Clean Vibes' trash and recycling crew to work their magic each day. The festival’s determination to offset the event’s carbon footprint was apparent as well with Bid For Green’s (BFG) collaboration with ZeroHero and donation of B20 Bio-Diesel to power all generators and light towers during the festival. Forward-thinking BFG reached out to bands to make the switch over to B20 Bio-Diesel as a way to fuel artist tour busses.

During the day, members of the Seminole tribe held informative sessions on the resident alligators at a specific pond that was fenced in for everyone’s safety. At first, the process of capturing the prehistoric animals seemed a bit cruel. But listening to the speaker, it became apparent that the tribe saves dozens of alligators from being killed in nearby developed areas by giving them refuge on their reservation.

Trying to catch everything, both music and non-music related, caused a sensory overload. On Saturday I tore myself away from the always enjoyable music of Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood to catch Ghostland Observatory. The duo stunned with their raw and original performance and many stood not knowing how to compute the mesmerizing electro-rock-punk show, complete with a shimmering silver cape and green laser show. Their sound had traces of the 80's and Daft Punk meets David Bowie and The Clash. Another unique band to come out of Austin, Texas? Amazing.

Another groundbreaking performance came from That 1 Guy. His artfully designed instrument called the "magic pipe" seemed to be made from metal pipes, and amongst other things, serves as a multi-stringed bass and electronic drum surface. Comedic lyrics ranging from cheese to bees complimented his enormous stage presence with a sound blending heavy metal, soft classical jazz, and deep bass rhythms somewhat comparable to Les Claypool.

World music and reggae bands were abundant with Ozomatli, Antibalas, and Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars. The most notable in that group being The Wailers whose heart-felt performance and tribute to Bob Marley connected with the substantial crowd, conveying their dedication to their roots and heritage. Crowd favorite electronic-based bands such as Pnuma Trio, Bassnectar, STS9, and The Disco Biscuits were on the bill as well.

The culmination of Langerado came with Phil Lesh and Friends, Lesh being the original bassist of the Grateful Dead. Some onlookers speculated that Darkstar's (a Grateful Dead tribute band) striking performance on the first night may have caused Phil Lesh and Friends to stray away from mimicking the sounds of the Grateful Dead. Although new versions of Dead songs are often appreciated, the crowd seemed rather disinterested at times desiring more energy from the ensemble. Knowing veteran Warren Haynes had been on the same stage only hours before, I could not help but wonder what the show would have been like with Warren turning up the volume.

"Cloud 9 Adventures" put on an overall exceptional festival attributable to the quality of music represented, vibe and community of Langerado. Hopefully by next year problems such as too few restrooms, not enough potable water and a lack of event staff knowledge will be remedied and the reputation will only continue to grow.

ICM would like to thank Madison House Publicity for their professionalism and helpful attitudes during the festival and for taking care of our media credentials.