With five simultaneous stages, will Langerado be too much fun?

By Samantha Spector

For those of us still contending with the long, cold winter, Langerado brings a welcome kickoff to the American festival season. You’re stoked to get out of the cold and into the Florida sunshine for the ridiculously great lineup the organizers are bringing us. The problem is how to see all the bands you want considering the overlapping stage schedules.

Since the festival is at a new site at the Big Cypress Indian Reservation, nobody really knows how the festival grounds will be laid out or how to set up your weekend for maximum musical enjoyment. However, checking the schedule maker that is available on the festival website, courtesy of Jambase, starts to provide some clues.

There are five performance venues. The big venue is the Everglades Stage, where The Beastie Boys, R.E.M. and Phil Lesh & Friends are scheduled to close out Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights respectively. But the Sunset, Swamp, Chicken Hut and Greening Stages each have plenty to offer all weekend long, frequently simultaneously, beginning Thursday at 6 p.m.

For me, I don’t have too much of a problem on Thursday, except for the overlap between the late night sets from Perpetual Groove and Dark Star Orchestra. Friday also is fairly spread out until the mid-afternoon conflict between Sam Bush and Ozomatli presents a bit of a challenge. Later that night, I have to figure out a way to be in three places at once when Umphrey’s McGee, STS9 and Phix hit the stage for a triple-barreled post midnight blowout.

But even that doesn’t even compare to how exhaustingly awesome Saturday is going to be. During the day, I’ll meander in and around the stages to check out lesser known bands Railroad Earth, Blitzen Trapper and State Radio (the newest project from the guys from Dispatch). Once 5 p.m. hits, however, it’s a whole new blur.

We’ve got Citizen Cope competing with Pnuma before Thievery Corporation, The Benevento Russo Duo and RAQ all hit the stage at the same time. That leads in directly to Matisyahu, Medeski, Martin and Wood and Ghostland Observatory (check back for an on-site interview between the guys and I on Friday). The stages will be cleared for R.E.M. before The Disco Biscuits, Lee Boys, Pelican, Dan Deacon and Yard Dogs Road rock us into the wee hours of the morning.

Things will get even more interesting on Sunday. I’ll have to decide between Josh Ritter and Martin Sexton before The Funky Meters hit the stage. I have no idea why organizers decided to have Keller Williams and Grace Potter & the Nocturnals go head-to-head, but there is no question that I am going to have to forsake Minus the Bear for Gov’t Mule (Warren Haynes always wins--always.). I’m curious about the newest incarnation of Blind Melon but haven’t seen Ani DiFranco live since Bonnaroo ’04. Talk about decisions of the best kind.

They say you can sleep when you are dead, but it isn't a bad idea to bank some hours before heading out. Rest up, festie friends, it’s going to be a long weekend. Stay tuned.