Langerado: The Day of the Songwriter

I woke up to a chilly Florida morning, got out of my tent, yawned, stretched and thought TODAY IS THE DAY WARREN HAYNES AND GRACE POTTER HIT THE STAGE. Yep, just like that. Thought bubbles, caps letters and all.

But first, Josh Ritter.

Ritter and his band were my favorite surprise of the weekend. I was buying earrings from a vendor who happened to be directly across from the Swamp Stage. Hey, I'm a chick, give me a break.

ANYWAY I was drawn to the stage when I heard Ritter sing:

"I'll have you back by the break of day
I'm going your way anyway"

I couldn't move. This is what music festivals are all about- discovering those artists you have heard about peripherally through friends but never thought to seek out. I actually had goosebumps in the hot afternoon sunshine when he sang "The Temptation of Adam." He and his band were obviously thrilled to be on the stage. Dressed in natty suits and creased pants, this was one of those bands that will obviously be big in the upcoming year.

Speaking of which, it's time to talk about Grace Potter. The lovely, the incredible, the hotness that is the lead singer of the Nocturnals.

Miss Potter is a rock star- she's got the style, the charisma and that voice. I've been a fan of her and the band since happening upon them at All Good last year and caught them when they came around with Gov't Mule last September. The Nocturnals road dog work ethic is palpable- the band has always been up-tempo, cohesive; but this time around was something more. They were a team. Potter is the frontwoman but was always slightly behind the rest of her bandmates musically. This time, you could tell her talent had grown in spades. It was also incredibley cool to hear other people in the audience know the words to "Nothing But The Water."

(Sidenote: I met Grace while we were backstage the day before her performance. She was rocking her red cowgirl boots, chugging warm wine straight from the bottle and giggling about her "day to play." That's a whole lot of cool in one chick.)

Totally buzzed off the Nocturnals and positively roasting in the sun, it was time for the Gov't Mule set. In my world, the Holy Trinity is composed of Eric Clapton, Derek Trucks and Mr. Warren Haynes. Whether with The Allman Bros., GM or solo, the man is magnanimous (say that five times fast). Gov't Mule shows are always packed with irregular and surprising covers. This time around, we had a little James Brown, a little Pearl Jam and a smattering of Traffic thrown in (with a "Hey Jude" teaser). Here's the set-list:

1. John the Revelator
2. Thorazine Shuffle
3. Time To Confess
4. Rocking Horse
5. Soulshine
6. Hunger Strike (Pearl Jam)
7. Dear Mr. Fantasy (Traffic)
8. Hunger Strike reprise
9. I'm A Ram
10. Brighter Days
11. Brand New Angel
12. It's A Man's World (James Brown)
13. Blind Man in the Dark

First of all, I have seen Haynes do "Soulshine" in outdoor venues five times. Three out of those times, the man has made it rain. This was almost the fourth. He sang "It's damn sure better than rain," and I swear on my galoshes, black clouds formed over our heads. Haynes also continued the undercurrent of political strife amongst the artists and included the line "And God created George W. Bush,/ but man told him what to say./ Maybe one day a black man or a brown man or a woman will come along/ and save the day," during his cover of "This Is A Man's World" (this wasn't the first time he has used that line, by the way. It's been pretty regular in his performances for a couple of years.)

And then, Phil Lesh and Friends. He and his band played two sets to close out the weeekend. the first went something like:

1. Sugar Magnolia
2. The Wheel Tease
3. Uncle John's Band
4. The Wheel
5. Jam
6. Cumberland Blues
7. Gone Wanderin'
8. Help On The Way
9. Slipknot
10. Franklin's Tower

set 2:

1.China Cat Sunflower
2. I Know You Rider
3. New Speedway Boogie
4. A Hard Rain Is Gonna Fall (that's six Dylan covers from various artists over the course of the weekend, for those who are counting)
5. Unbroken Chain
6. Telstar
7. The Golden Road
8. Viola Lee Blues
9. Casey Jones

That's it folks. Don't call, don't write, don't text. I'll be sleeping for the next week.