We’re planning to bring you as much coverage of the kickoff to festival season as possible, just because we can. And if you think we’re gonna play it straight, you’ve got the wrong guys (or you’ve fucked with the wrong Marine).

Some photos are posted below and individual set reviews and downloads are forthcoming, but here are some general news and notes from Langerado…

–I want to resist the massive, ongoing My Morning Jacket bukkake film the music blogs are creating together, but they really are that damn good: They just fuck your face more than any band I’ve ever seen. MMJ’s especially talented at hitting that high peak and wailing on it for a while instead of letting it back down, and every time that happens I picture Kelly Preston in Jerry Maguire screaming “Don’t ever stop fucking me!” Every single time. Um, am I alone in that?

–The Swamp Tent wasn’t all that crowded for Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, and I’m thinking this was probably the biggest mistake many people made during the festival. I’m all for moe., but Malkmus’ band is incredible and the Langerado faithful have fewer opportunities to see his shows. Throw in the fact that he’s an equal opportunity employer –- the chicks in the band are fucking amazing — and this was a must-watch performance. SuperDee turned to me at one point and said, “He really makes me want to do heroin.” I think she was kidding, but I agree.

–Michael Franti really fits in well in South Florida. He asks “How you feeeeelin’?” more than most Jewish mothers and grandmothers I know. If this whole musician thing doesn’t work out for him, I suggest Franti move down there and open up a delicatessen specializing in chicken soup. Franti’s set was enjoyable, the highlight being the cover of What I Got > Sesame Street > What I Got.

Read on for more thoughts and briefs from the weekend that was…

–As I mentioned in the Saturday photo gallery, the Greyboy Allstars made sure to leave the smooth jazz shiite at home, bringing only the straight dope to Langerado. Saxophonist/Bodybuilder Karl Denson gets much of the credit for the success of this band, but I’ve now seen them four times in the past year and I can’t keep my focus away from Elgin Park and Robert Walter (and Chris Stillwell is one of the more underrated bassists in music right now). Both Park and Walter make it look effortless, and I really love the direction the music turns when either of them take the lead. Park’s new tunes for the upcoming album, by the way, are catchy as shit. Love that guy. Love that Joker.

–Park’s guitar died during the GBA set, something that also happened to JJ Grey during the MOFRO performance. And seeing as how Denson was in Total KD Percussion Mode when Elgin scurried off stage to fix it, the instrumentation of the quartet that remained was organ, drums, bass and tambourine. I have no point here, I just thought that was my favorite band instrumentation of the weekend.

–I finally got my answer on the JJ Grey & MOFRO name change question I’ve been asking ’round these parts. I got a chance to talk to JJ after the Saturday media press conference, and he explained to me that the songs on this album are so personal and autobiographical that his family and friends urged him to put his name on them. As he said, “They’re not about MOFRO’s friend that died of an OxyContin overdose, that’s my friend, and the other songs are about my grandmother and my grandfather.” But because he loves his MOFRO boys, he made sure they were on the album and the band’s name stuck around as well. Solid guy, JJ Grey, humble and personable. With four horns in tow, his set kicked ass, too.

–The Hold Steady is one of the more interesting looking bands I’ve seen in some time. It’s almost as if that generic, nebbishy tech geek from the late ‘90s boom decided to try his hand at music, so he bought some cool jeans, grabbed the stunt double for Deadwood’s Al Swearengen or Alfred Molina’s Boogie Nights character, and got to work on some songs. Still, the whole thing really works — these guys put on a solid show, and they had the most fun on stage of anyone we saw.

–The kid behind me during the hot Medeski, Martin & Wood set really wanted to breakdance the whole time. I never knew one could breakdance to MMW’s catalog, but this young chap defied all expectations to the contrary. During a lull in between songs he started yelling “Play Nocturnal Transmission” at the top of his lungs, repeatedly. When he feared the band couldn’t hear him he hustled to the stage, weaving through the crowd faster than anyone I’ve ever seen. He made his way back just as quick and declared “They heard me.” Then he broke out some more sweet dance moves. I was impressed with his whole persona.

–I spotted the guys from Dubsconcious about 14 times throughout the festival. I heard they had to be forcibly removed from the premises late last night after they chained themselves to the Sunset Stage.

Stick around, we’ll have plenty more to come from inside the festival and out…