Voodoo Music Experience - City Park, New Orleans, LA (10.28.-10.30.11)
Posted by Matt Arena on 11.03.2011
Voodoo Music Experience brings a great lineup year after year in a smaller setting for much less than the premiere festivals around the country. Being centered around Halloween weekend, will Voodoo be able to keep it's status one of the best small festivals around the country?
They don’t call it Voodoo for nothing. It’s not a mistake that New Orleans’ very own three-day music festival happens to fall around Halloween every single year. It’s already a crazy party scene in NOLA right that weekend so add to that some great music and you’ve got one hell of a party. The lineup is always good for a festival of it’s size and price range ($150 + fees for a 3 day, $70 for a one day), even if the lineup is a little frontloaded. I attended last year and though I only went Friday & Saturday, it was a really good value. Hell I got to see Muse and Ozzy on Halloween weekend, not to mention Cage the Elephant, Street Sweeper Social Club, and Metric. Opposed to bigger festivals like Lollapalooza and Coachella, Voodoo is very laid back but still gets top tier headliners. This year they nabbed Soundgarden, blink-182, and The Raconteurs for the weekend in addition to a solid combination of smaller acts. Add that to the fact that New Orleans is arguably the greatest party city on Halloween weekend, how could I pass that up?
FRIDAY
When I first walked into City Park I immediately noticed the changes they brought this year. In 2010, they sported two “main” stages across from one another, both of them being about the same size and housing the bigger acts for the weekend. But this year they changed things up a bit. There were a row of three evenly sized small stages on one end of the park and instead of two main stages, one big stage and some amusement park rides on the other side of the field. Yeah. I don’t really understand it and it definitely hurt the festival overall. The cool thing about 2 main stages is that all the big acts are there and you can just walk back and forth between the two all day. They usually have better sound and lighting than the small stages, giving smaller bands an opportunity to play under conditions they normally wouldn’t. Plus who goes on a Ferris wheel at a MUSIC festival? But hey it seemed like people dug it, so what do I know.
First act of the day for me was an early one with The Static Jacks, a very good young band from New Jersey. Having seen them about 3 times at various other gigs around New York City in small clubs, it was pretty cool to see them on a bigger stage with some production. They played on the Bingo! Parlor stage, which was one of the three small stages and surprisingly had great sound. I’m used to seeing these guys open for bands in clubs that hold about 200 people, so the sound isn’t anything special so it was really cool to see them with some proper sound and even a few lights behind them. Dressed up as what appeared to be hippie zombies of some sort, the Jersey rockers had a great set. They’ve got a really old school classic punk sound and it translates incredibly well to their live shows. Lead singer Ian Devaney straddles and whips the mic stand around like an Olympic pole-vaulter, providing a lot of the energy from the stage. Having a full hour to play, which is about twice as long as they’re usually allotted, they showcased pretty much everything off their stellar debut album, “If You’re Young.” During songs Defend Rosie and Into the Sun Devaney hoists homemade signs with lyrics scrawled on them in the air, which provided for some fun as I watched him fight the windy New Orleans air. Even though the crowd was small, you don’t get the feeling that they notice. Whipping and hurling themselves around stage, it’s evident that these guys are really playing for themselves. A definite highlight of the set was the cover medley they played, which included a variety of Clash songs and a really awesome rendition of Springsteen’s Born to Run. Here's a video of one of my favorite songs off their debut album, featuring Ceci Gomez of Beast Make Bomb, it's called "Girl Parts."
Next up was Civil Twilight on the main stage. Having seen these guys before, I was really excited to see what they could do on a headliner’s stage. They’ve got a very atmospheric and reverberating sound, which played incredibly well on the big stage. For me this was one of (if not) the best acts of the weekend. Of course most of the people in the crowd didn’t know who they were but everyone seemed to be into it and for a 1:35 set time, they had a pretty good crowd. The South African three piece have been compared to early U2, mostly because of lead singer/bassist Steven McKellar’s vocal similarity to Bono. Being one of those rare bands that can create a ton of sound with just three people, they took full advantage of the massive sound the stage was able to produce and really filled the entire park with their music. Being a three piece from South Africa with a bass playing lead singer, these guys are anything but ordinary. Lead guitarist Andrew McKellar even uses a violin bow to create an extremely unique sound needed for a track called “Letters in the Sky.” They also have an incredible cover of “Teardrop” by Massive Attack and one of the few good renditions of Immigrant Song. Steven was really talkative with the crowd, moving around as much as possible and creating an intimate feeling even though they were on such a big stage. They played a ton of new material as they’ve got a new album due out “early next year” and if it’s any indication, the new album will be awesome. Though they sound a little quiet and restrained on the record, they translate their sound at live shows to really come alive. The dynamic guitar solos combined with the groovy bass lines and great drum beats produce a great mix of sounds that mesh perfectly together. Below is one of their tracks off their first album, Quiet in my Town, a song called "Anybody Out There."
After Civil Twilight’s set, I headed back over to the Bingo! Parlor stage, where the popular British band The Wombats were playing. Before the set even started they had a pretty big crowd and it was clear the crowd was pumped. I caught a part of their set a week before at Webster Hall in New York as a part of CMJ, but it was a real surprise to me how great they were. Coming out in a variety of costumes that changed throughout their set, they are one of those bands that looks like they’re having an absolute blast on stage. Maybe the fact that they were totally hammered had something to do with it. Drummer Dan Haggis remarked, “We haven’t been this pissed since Reading. I wish we could play all our gigs this drunk off our arses.” Even though they looked incredibly young, The Wombats have been around for about 8 years but have a pretty solid catalogue of songs to choose from with 2 full studio albums and four EP’s. Though I’m not extremely familiar with all of their stuff, there wasn’t a moment I was bored during the set. It was fun enough just to watch them jump around the stage, especially spaz bassist Tord Overland-Knudsen. They were incredibly talkative and interactive with the crowd, even stopping multiple times to grab wigs and even a full on penguin suit as they were thrown on stage. One of the weirdest yet coolest moments of the show came when an impromptu Deftones jam session popped up after a song. Apparently big fans of the band, they ripped out the riff to My Own Summer as the outro on multiple occasions. It was weird being that The Wombats have a more frantic brit-rock sound to them but it’s one of my favorite riffs ever so I wasn’t complaining. They had the crowd in the palm of their hand as the front was a mass of dancing and jumping, which is pretty impressive considering their set was at 2 in the afternoon. The Wombats are a band I’ve been meaning to see and get more into for a while now, and their set at Voodoo did exactly that. It was my favorite set of the day and arguably the best of the weekend. Enjoy a video from UK's Glastonbury Festival in 2008, The Wombats performing "Moving to New York."
The next act I was looking forward to wasn’t until later that night, even though I did catch a rather bland set from Band of Horses, which was My Chemical Romance at 7:15. Say what you want about the “emo” label sometimes thrust upon the band, they’re always extremely fun live. I’m not a fan of most of their new stuff, though there are some tracks off Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys that are great, I do always enjoy seeing them play gigs. I thought they were an odd choice to play right before Soundgarden, being that their current touring buddies blink-182 were playing the very next night. This had a big effect on the crowd, which were people mostly waiting for Soundgarden. Festivals in general, and specifically Voodoo, don’t have the greatest crowds as you don’t get as many fans of each band as at a standalone gig but it was really bad here. I was able to slither about halfway to the stage minutes before the set and it didn’t seem like anyone around me was really into it. MCR came out in medieval themed costumes and in my opinion brought a really energetic performance despite such a stagnant crowd. Flamboyant front man Gerard Way usually has no trouble connecting with the audience but even he had a hard time getting them into it. During “Welcome to the Black Parade” his request to “get your fucking fists in the air” to the Queen-esque breakdown usually has the entire crowd fist pumping, but only got a handful of people to do it. They were pretty heavy on newer material, playing 6 songs off their latest album, but were able to sneak in a couple older hits like “Our Lady of Sorrows,” the short but thrashing track off their first album. The set highlight for me had to be DESTROYA, my favorite track off their newest album and an absolute monster live song. My Chem were pretty light on the more pop-rock tracks, with the only exceptions being “The Only Hope For Me is you” and “S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W.” They more than made up for this with big hits like I’m Not Okay and Teenagers, the latter which seemed to get the biggest response of the night. I’ve seen My Chemical Romance a couple of times in the past and while this wasn’t as great of show, it wasn’t by any fault of the band. The set list was very strong for a festival slot and seeing them prance around the stage in faux-knight armor was extremely entertaining. Voodoo hasn’t posted any video from their set yet, so enjoy a fantastic performance of DESTROYA, complete with poncho.
The last and undoubtedly biggest band of the night was Soundgarden. Being a fan of them since I was about 12, I was pretty pumped about finally seeing this band. Having just wrapped up a tour with Cooheed & Cambria, Soundgarden also has a new album, which they showcased throughout their set. I’ll be honest, as much as I enjoyed Soundgarden, they didn’t blow me away. Black Hole Sun may have been the first song I ever really fell in love with and I felt like hearing it live would be a religious experience. It didn’t really feel like they were giving it their all, especially during that song. That may have something to do with the toll that years of touring have taken on Cornell’s voice, which in my opinion is one of the greatest ever in rock. That’s not to say that they weren’t good live or that I don’t have respect for them. They played an extremely long 22-song set, which for a festival is something I have to admire. Slotted for 2 hours and playing all of it was something rare for the weekend. Soundgarden are a great band and I do love them, but it just doesn’t feel like they really bring it live. It’s kind of just them standing there playing their music. I guess expecting them to jump around like 20 year olds is a little unfair and to his credit Cornell did chat with the crowd. But I just didn’t feel much energy from them. Overall they played a good set and I did enjoy them, but didn’t walk away with my mind blown out of the back of my head like I expected. Here’s a video of Spoonman from their recent tour stop in Newark, NJ.
SATURDAY
Being that Voodoo typically frontloads their schedule with a crazy Friday lineup, Saturday was a bit more relaxed as I was only really interested in Social Distortion and blink-182. So first act of the day for me was later with Social Distortion on the main stage at 5:45. Social D are one of those bands that are great and have been around forever but never really exploded like some other bands of their time. Not that this bothers them. I went into this set knowing a couple of their songs and not really expecting to be amazed, but I must say they were extremely impressive. Resembling a mafia don more than a front man, Mike Ness’ unique voice lends a certain sound to anything they play. They were loud, fast, and extremely entertaining. Blitzing through their one hour set, I don’t think I could find a weak point in their show. The lights paired up with the sound perfectly and the crowd seemed really into it too. Pits popped up in the swelling crowd, feeling pretty natural with the old school punk rock sound that Social Distortion has. My favorite part of the set was when they whipped out an amazing and unique cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” Plenty have attempted a cover of this in the past and it doesn’t always pan out well, but Social D were able to speed it up while keeping the spirit of the original song. Here’s a video from the KROQ Weenie Roast a couple years ago, the track “Story of My Life.” Check out Social Distortion in the next couple months as their tour across the US with the Foo Fighters.
In between Social D and blink-182 was Snoop Dogg. Yeah, Snoop Dogg. Because obviously fans of blink and Social D love Snoop too. It really was a ridiculous schedule, but that didn’t seem to effect the crowd. Snoop came out with a gaggle of hype men and hype women (is that the term for girls scantily clad shaking their asses on stage?) and really got the crowd going. I watched from the back in awe at how ridiculous the entire thing was. I mean here’s a 40 year old man slinking around stage talking about slamming hoes and smoking weed. I guess it’s his “thing” but for over an hour it was one of those sets you watch and goof on. During “I Wanna Love You,” I heartfelt ode to an exotic dancer, a chair was brought out so one of the dancers could give him a lap dance. Of course thousands of people at a music festival would love to see Snoop get a lap dance. Right? I understand this type of thing isn’t for me, which was evident by how crazy the crowd was. To his credit, Snoop has a ton of hits so I knew a majority of the songs, but after a while it got to be enough. I’m going to deviate from my usual post-recap video so if you REALLY want to see a live video of Snoop you’re on your own.
The headliner and last act of the night was blink-182. Recently getting back together and putting out a new album, blink haven’t been around for a while but are still relevant as they tour the country on the Honda Civic Tour. People seem to be divided on their new album and though I haven’t listened to the entire thing, I’ve liked what I’ve heard and it doesn’t sound too different from older blink material. They’ve got a ton of hits, more than I realized, and showcased almost every single one of them throughout their 21-song set on Saturday night. The first 7 songs were phenomenal, all great songs and one of the best opening 30 minutes I’ve ever seen at a show. The only disappointment to the set was the absence of Adam’s Song, which is a song the band stated they won’t play live since the death of their friend DJ AM. Travis Barker is still a monster on the drums, almost perfectly reenacting the complicated drum fills heard on the studio versions of their songs. Some may have their misgivings about the new album, but the intro/outro riff to “Up All Night” is AWESOME and a lot more straight up rock than most of their stuff. The banter between dual front men Mark Hoppus and Tom Delonge was funny, even if it did sound like two high school kids at lunch. Tons of “your mom’s vagina” jokes were thrown around, which were kind of funny at first but after the fourth or fifth one it got annoying. Much like a high school kid. “Stay Together for the Kids” and “First Date” were highlights of the set, though you’d be hard-pressed to find a hit that didn’t sound amazing. I hadn’t seen blink-182 prior to this and would without a doubt have seen them again. They really impressed me and I’m not kicking myself for not going to the Honda Civic Tour when it stopped by locally. Here’s a performance of “Stay Together for the Kids” from their headlining set at last year’s Reading festival.
SUNDAY
Much like Saturday, Sunday was a little light as far as acts I had highlighted, with the main attraction being the headliners. First act for me was The Limousines, a band I hadn’t heard but heard good things about. Which was my first mistake. I was expecting an alt-rock indie band, but instead was greeted by two guys in skeleton onesies. They were more techno-pop than anything, which isn’t really my thing. I’ll give them credit as they tried very hard to interact with the crowd as lead singer Eric Victorino hopped around the stage, climbing like a spider monkey and coming right up to the barrier multiple times. He even hopped down during a prolonged intro and hugged just about everyone on the right side of the barrier. I left after a couple songs, but if electro-pop is your thing, you may enjoy them.
Next up was the controversial rap group, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (OFWGKTA). I wasn’t a fan of their music, but Tyler the Creator is horribly offensive so I least went to hear him be awful and offend people. And that was pretty much what it was. The music itself was angry and loud, with the group members hurling themselves around stage more than you’d see at a usual rap gig. They even jumped down into the insane crowd, executing a weird surf-mosh as they punched and kicked as they rode the crowd from back to front. Tyler lost a sock and shirt in the scuffle and another member took his chains off before jumping into the sea of fans. Don’t wanna get your chain snatched, after all. And the crowd. The crowd was easily the most intense of the entire weekend, with mosh pits opening left and right as crowd surfers flew over the barrier every minute. They didn’t seem to be big fans of photographers either, verbally (and allegedly physically) abusing the people in the photo pit. Hurling curse words and telling them “to get real jobs” (which is ironic coming from a bunch of guys who make their money yelling angrily on stage), honestly I thought it was funny. To their credit, their hate was because they felt that space should be for their fans, but still it was funny to hear them rag on the photographers. I have a lot of friends who shoot gigs and I do so myself, but it’s always funny when other people get made fun of. There was supposedly an incident where rapper Left Brain supposedly slapped a female photographer in the face. The group has denied the incident, saying they hit cameras, not people, but a suit is imminent. Now I was there and I did see Left Brain take a swipe at something. I remember it happening and thinking “did he just high five a fan?” then realized that the only people that close where people in the photo pit. So whether or not he hit the camera or the girl is still up for debate. Regardless, it’s a dick move and they’ll probably get sued. Here’s something from this year's SXSW Festival.
Up next at the Bud Light stage were alt-rockers Portugal. the Man. They have recently blown up, with their latest album garnering a solid new following of fans. Recently they made the news when all their equipment was stolen following their set at Lollapalooza this summer and was eventually found thanks to twitter. It seems to be the best thing to ever happen to the band as they’ve just gotten more and more popular since then. I was able to catch them at an acoustic set in a hotel lobby during CMJ week in New York so it was nice to finally see them do a full live set. On their studio albums they have a lighter indie rock sound, but live it really makes an impressive jump. All the songs exploded from the stage with a great energy, as they added some pretty awesome riffs and jams to bookend a majority of their songs. They even added a really heavy take on The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” as an outro to their song “Into the Devil,” which went down extremely well with the crowd. I was surprised as how heavy they were, a lot of songs sounded so much more layered and dense live than on the album. Portugal. the Man really surprised me and were one of the best acts of the entire weekend. Judging by the raucous crowd in front of them, it was pretty obvious the crowd agreed.
The last act of the night and of the entire weekend was Jack White’s side project, The Raconteurs. They had a really big crowd, both can be attributed to the fact that it was the last act of the weekend and that it’s JACK WHITE. The man is insanely talented on the guitar and just hearing it on the album doesn’t even begin to compare seeing it live. The Raconteurs have a great, bluesy, riff based style to their music, which is pretty much right up my alley. A lot of the set was just instrumental jams and to be honest it was better than some full songs played. Some of the songs were a bit slow and killed some of the momentum they had with the crowd. They really excel when they go for that modern riff-blues that White used with The White Stripes, but about half the set were slower almost country type songs. While they weren’t exactly highlights of the set, pretty much all the songs had everyone’s head bobbing and I definitely enjoyed the set. They weren’t the strongest choice to headline the final night of a festival, but finally being able to see Jack White live was pretty awesome. Here’s the band playing “Steady, as She Goes” live from Radio 1’s Big Weekend from 2008.
The 411: At times the acts were disappointing and the scheduling was a little non-sensical, Voodoo Music Experience still managed to be a really good value for a three day festival. Changes to the stage set up questionable, but for the most part it sticks to what works; good music and good food. Though some changes need to be made to make it worth the trip again next year, Voodoo Festival is always a good time and definitely a solid bang for your buck.
