Too much of a good thing. The cliché holds true for Long Island iced teas, Ben & Jerry's milkshakes and rock festivals.
Langerado, South Florida's premier version of that third example, has expanded in its fifth year from two to three days of sun-drenched good times, and the impressive lineup of performers is sure to improve on last year's 12,000-fans-a-day attendance.
While Sunrise, Fla., might seem like a bit of a trek, the fest is the best way to enjoy one of the last remaining weekends of winter before spring ushers in thunderstorms, humidity and embarrassing sweat stains in places we'd rather not mention.
The real thrill of festivals like Langerado is the ability to jump from stage to stage, trying out new bands like so many pairs of Sergio Valentes. Dawdle at one stage too long, and you're liable to miss a hot set across the field. So stretch those joints. You'll be scurrying back and forth all weekend.
But 47 acts? On three stages? What to plan on catching? What to safely dismiss? Relax, dear reader. Creative Loafing is here to plan your itinerary.
Too much of a good thing? Maybe. But, just like drinking Long Island iced teas, the hurt doesn't come until the good times are over.
Thurs., March 8
8 p.m., Trey Anastasio
Langerado kicks off on Thursday evening with a pair of shows at the Ft. Lauderdale club Revolution. While Sound Tribe Sector 9 plies its psychedelic techno-rock on the outdoor stage, former-Phish-frontman-cum-solo-artist Trey Anastasio performs an intimate show for about 300 fans inside. Recently, Anastasio made headlines for getting busted while tooling around upstate New York in the middle of the night with prescription drugs and heroin in the car. Legal problems aside, Anastasio is a terrific guitar player who's always worth catching, especially in a setting this small. Tickets for the show have been sold out for weeks, so unless you've already got yours, you'll just have to catch Trey on Langerado's big stage, which he headlines on Friday. —JB
Fri., March 9
5-6 p.m., The Hold Steady
Yeah, yeah, you're sick of hearing about this band. You're tired of reading about the group's rollicking indie-bar-band sound, about lead singer/guitarist Craig Finn's genius lyrics, about the are-they-ironic-or-not? arena power moves. Too bad. Because all the hype is true. When Finn and guitarist Tad Kubler's Minneapolis band Lifter Puller split up, the two relocated to Brooklyn and recruited a new crew, with the goal of sounding like a band you would listen to when you hit the bar for some beers after an afternoon softball game.
Over three ace records, the Steady have more than exceeded that ambition, tossing together punk, indie and classic rock with Finn's instantly quotable quips and ranting voice tying everything together. I do wonder how the group will fare outside of its usual environs (over the past two years, I caught the band at the Masquerade and The Orpheum), but my guess is that by the time Finn bares that huge grin and pours a can of beer on himself, everything will be A-OK. —CLB
6:30-8 p.m., moe.
Upstate New York's five-member progressive-jam outfit moe. knows how to write a song and how to play one, too. Dither (2001) earned four stars in Rolling Stone and 2003's Wormwood was one of that year's best. moe. is currently touring in support of its eighth studio release, The Conch, another critically acclaimed album from a band that writes anything from extremely accessible pop songs to progressive instrumentals to twangy country numbers. Bassist Rob Derhak and guitarist/keyboardist Al Schnier share vocal duties and leadership, with support from guitarist/vocalist/talk box extraordinaire Chuck Garvey, drummer Vinnie Amico and percussionist Jim Loughlin, who plays a mean xylophone. Like other talented bands on the circuit, moe. has cultivated a hopelessly devoted fan base. And more than 15 years of touring gives the band the ability to improvise on any song, at any given moment, with the sort of tight musicianship you'd expect from veteran players who've been together so long they finish each other's musical sentences. —LP
6:45-7:45 p.m., Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
Stephen Malkmus' musical fortunes have risen and fallen since the demise of his much-missed (by this writer at least) band Pavement, which remained just the slightest bit outside the mainstream during its five-album ride in the '90s. With his 2001 eponymous solo debut, Malkmus basically made a Pavement album without the Pavement, even choosing to record tunes he had originally penned for the band. On 2003's Pig Lib, Malkmus started giving his backing band, The Jicks, equal billing, and you could hear why in the looser grooves and jammy feel. Then in 2005, Malkmus released Face the Truth. None of the discs is an end-to-end burner (you get the feeling Malkmus is happier to indulge his whims than satisfy his audience), but each is nevertheless a bright and funny flare-up in the normally oh-so-serious indie rock field. Malkmus didn't tour much to support Face the Truth, thanks to the birth of his child, but when I caught him live in Chapel Hill, N.C., five years back, he was an able live act, never staying totally faithful to the recorded versions of his tunes. In a recent post about Langerado on his website, Malkmus wrote, "It is a long trip for one gig, but we couldn't pass up a chance to tear it up for the hemp-enthralled masses." —CLB
Sat., March 10
1:30-2:30 p.m., The Slip
Formed by two brothers and their childhood friend, contemporary avant-rock trio The Slip hail from Boston and perform music flavored with an amalgam of sounds —Americana-tinged folk, jazz, indie rock, pop and post-rock soundscapes — that fans describe as innovative, eclectic and unique, yet surprisingly familiar.
Last November's Bar/None Records release Eisenhower synthesizes classic rock and orchestral elements while placing a premium on songwriting and genre-hopping skills. The album is marked by hushed vocals, intimate acoustic lullabies, rolling, big-beat anthems, Lennon-esque ballads and deconstructed post-punk romps. On a side note, The Slip's song "Even Rats" is featured in Sony Playstation's video game Guitar Hero, exposing the band to a massive new crop of (underage) fans across the country. —LP
4:30-5:30 p.m., Perpetual Groove
Things get cooking Saturday afternoon with a 4:15 set in the Swamp Tent by Athens, Ga., jam-band Perpetual Groove. P-Groove — for those in the know — makes its way to Lauderdale after a Thursday night show at St. Pete's The Garage. If you made that gig and dug what you saw, there's no reason not to hop in the car for a repeat performance. In true jam-band tradition, the group switches up the set list from show to show, mixing its Phishy-smelling jam-rock with choice covers (Radiohead's "The National Anthem," Rage Against the Machine's "Bulls on Parade"). Catch the first half of the set, then get ready to move. There are some authentic Florida sounds just over the horizon. —JB
5-6 p.m., JJ Grey & Mofro
A true original, JJ Grey brings his down-home backwoods drawl back to Langerado for a fifth straight year. With a languid style straight out of North Florida, Grey's tunes tell stories of living the rustic life away from the bright-lights-big-city mentality that is quickly devouring Florida. Grey is the real deal: a proud redneck who still lives on his grandparent's chicken farm and raises organic vegetables. Along with the smooth, soulful guitar playing of Daryl Hance, Grey brings the rich oral tradition of Florida's musical past firmly into the now without sacrificing the music's roots or authenticity. Langerado is all about the counterpoint, so after about 40 minutes of rustic chill-out, head to the Everglades stage for some heady New York improv. —JB
5:45-7 p.m., Medeski Martin & Wood
Straight out of Brooklyn's trendy DUMBO neighborhood comes the jam/jazz power-trio of keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Billy Martin and bassist Chris Wood. Each player brings unique talents to the stage, with Martin and Wood laying down pliant grooves while Medeski leads the way melodically with his array of keyboards. MMW shows often alternate between the group's dance-inspired '90s jazz vamps (think "Bubble House" or "Chubb Sub"), more current material (from 2004's End of the World Party (Just in Case)) and wild free-jazz improvs. MMW has been known to inspire worship amongst jam aficionados, but you won't have time to kneel. Instead, hustle to the Sunset stage for hip-hop with a conscience. —JB
6:45-8 p.m., Michael Franti & Spearhead
Give or take a Wayne Coyne or two, Michael Franti & Spearhead gave the best performance at last year's festival. Mixing hip-hop with funk and rock, Franti keeps the energy high. Fresh off a journey to Iraq and other assorted war zones, Franti has produced a film (I Know I'm Not Alone) and an album, Yell Fire!, about his experiences.
As Franti explains on Langerado's website: "The thing that I found when I was in war zones was that nobody wants to hear songs about war. They want to hear songs about connection to people, about love and life, songs that make them dance." Franti and Spearhead are guaranteed to get your body moving and your mind turning, often at the same time. —JB
8-10 p.m., My Morning Jacket
Named after a discarded coat lead singer/guitarist Jim James found while combing through the remains of his favorite bar after it burned down (the coat was embroidered with the letters "MMJ"), Louisville, Kentucky's My Morning Jacket is on the rise. The quintet's headlining Saturday-night slot is as much proof of the group's popularity as their videos' regular rotation on the normally music-free MTV. The band's been compared to a modern-day Lynyrd Skynyrd, but that may just be some shared Southern roots and long, long hair. My Morning Jacket is more a postmodern, atmospheric Southern rock band, its reverb-heavy classic rock and Zeppelin riffs marked by James' haunting, melodic crooning. —LP
Sun., March 11
5:15-6:15 p.m., Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues
Not that you asked, but of all the new CDs I listened to in 2006, not one matched Cat Power's The Greatest. Chan Marshall — aka Cat Power — came of age in the indie game by playing rough, skeletal solo rock, but for last year's disc, she headed to Memphis to record at the famed Argent Studios with a cast of soul legends like guitarist Mabon "Teenie" Hodges and bassist Leroy "Flick" Hodges. The duo played with the crack studio band that laid down the famous Al Green sound back in the day. The resulting mash-up sounds like nothing so much as an '06 indie update of Dusty in Memphis, marrying Marshall's aching voice and sorrowful songwriting with the gorgeous, life-affirming lift of Memphis R&B. And, after a live reputation marred by onstage psychological breakdowns and countless cancelled gigs, Marshall seems to have finally pulled it together enough to regularly perform in person. If you go to Langerado and miss this, your weekend has been wasted. —CLB
7-8 p.m., Explosions in the Sky
This Austin, Texas group has been producing spaced-out post-rock instrumentals since first getting together in 1999, after drummer Chris Hrasky put up a flyer in a local record store that read "Wanted: sad, triumphant rock band." Guitarists Munaf Rayani, Mark Smith and Michael James — friends since '93 — met Hrasky at a local pizza joint and did some jamming with him. Several months later, following a gig on the Fourth of July with the fireworks that inspired the band's name, the foursome decided to make a more permanent go of it. Probably best known for their work on the soundtrack to the movie Friday Night Lights, Explosions' music is contemplative, romantic, thunderous, melodic, tragic and sometimes simply lovely. A perfect sound to round out a perfect weekend, right before the not-so-perfect schlep home. —LP
This article appears in Mar 7-13, 2007.