The Voodoo Music + Arts Experience kicked off yesterday with clear skies and plenty of great performances. Thousands of costume-clad music fans celebrated Halloween all across City Park’s festival grounds, which was adorned with stunning visual displays like the psychedelic Pepsi dome, a gigantic metal spider, numerous light up sculptures and remote-controlled interactive art installations.
Local funk-rockers Flow Tribe got things started on the main stage, aka The Altar. The band’s six members showcased the edgier side of their sound whilst dressed in brightly colored and/or polka-dotted suits, often veering into a hard rock territory reminiscent of 2007 Voodoo headliners Rage Against The Machine. The group also delivered a well-executed cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” that seemed like an appropriate choice for the setting.
Flow Tribe were followed by Welsh alt-rockers The Joy Formidable, who noted that the show marked their first appearance in New Orleans in some time. The group–led by singer and guitarist Rhiannon “Ritzy” Brian–bounced between a low-key indie style and a high-velocity rock sound that gave Brian plenty of room to show off her guitar chops.
Former My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way and his backing band The Hormones were next up on the main stage with the final show of their world tour before Canadian alt-rockers Metric followed with a sunset performance. The group’s fusion of explosive rock and pulsing electronic elements made for one of the night’s more exciting sets, especially considering the intensity of light show.
Metric was followed by indie-rock mainstays Modest Mouse, who worked through a mix of tried-and-true classics, as well as material from their latest album Strangers to Ourselves. It seemed as though frontman Isaac Brock would have preferred to play his set this evening instead of yesterday, as the singer/guitarist exclaimed, “I wish it was raining on all of you right now, but that’s because I’m a dick.” Regardless, the eight-piece banded did not disappoint as they added layer upon layer to songs like “Doin’ the Cockroach” and “Ocean Breathes Salty.”
The Altar finally wrapped things up with an energetic performance from 2015 festival royalty Florence + The Machine. Lead singer Florence Welch looked like an off-color version of The Nightmare Before Christmas’ Jack Skellington as she appeared in a bright pink pantsuits and Dia de los Muertos-style face paint. Welch was equal parts singer and MC, running wildly around the stage as she belted out material from throughout the band’s catalog and instructed the audience to clap, sing and, at one point, hug each other.
Fans that hung around The Altar seemed to be altogether pleased with the day’s offerings, but it must be noted that the stage’s volume was often loud enough to drown out many of the sets at the nearby Carnival Stage and the relatively nearby Flambeau Stage. It’s an unfortunate problem that has become all too common at recent Voodoo Fests, and even drove Carnival Stage performer Nikki Hernandez to angrily dedicate a song to “the band on that stage” out of frustration.
However, the smaller stage were not without their own highlights. Jason Isbell, in particular, treated the Flambeau Stage to a fantastic set of understated country-infused southern rock, while Joey Bada$$ drew a sizable crowd when he performed with local brass heroes The Soul Rebels as his backing band. Jack White collaborator Ruby Amanfu also delighted the Flambeau Stage with her brand of neo-soul, though her set also suffered from sound bleed issues.
Meanwhile, Voodoo’s electronic-oriented Le Plur stage took on a life of its own for most of the day for what was essentially a festival-within-a-festival (or perhaps a rave-within-a-festival). The stage, which was tucked away in a distinct space of its own, was consistently well-attended as DJs like Wax Motif, Jauz, Salva, Destructo and Alesso bombarded fans with an endless barrage of throbbing dance music and Top 40 remixes. Jack U–the double DJ tag team of Skrillix and Diplo–brought much of the same (with considerably higher production value) during their packed headlining set, which featured a guest appearance by singer Kai.
The Voodoo Music Experience continues today with a special headlining set from Ozzy Osbourne with Geezer Butler, Slash and Tom Morello, as well as performances by Jane’s Addiction, Lettuce, Santigold, Steve Angello, Django Djano, Terrence Blanchard featuring The E Collective and many more.
All photos by Noé Cugny. Click here to see the gallery on Flickr.
