Voodoo Experience 2016 Recap – Day One

Voodoo Experience 2016 kicked off on Friday, October 28th....
Voodoo Experience

Voodoo Experience 2016 Recap - Day One

Since 1999 Voodoo Fest has been rocking New Orleans’ City Park and the 2016 edition was no exception. Headlined by mega R&B star The Weeknd, alternative metal gods Tool, and indie rock heavyweights Arcade Fire, the festival brought a mixed crowd of young and old united by their love of listening to live music and dressing up in costumes. Set on a Halloween weekend, October 28th to 30th, a majority of those in attendance and those on stage donned outrageous outfits. Art was also a feature of the event, especially the interactive cemetery sculptural installation that summoned ghosts of the old south. With a smaller footprint than Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza, navigating the fest’s four main stages was pretty easy. Blessed with good weather, Voodoo Fest goers need only complain about the dusty earth and above average temperatures rather than the inclement weather that canceled the final day of the fest in 2015.

 

Lost Kings

Mayer HawthorneIt was not surprising to see Day One at Voodoo Fest pack the largest and youngest crowd of the weekend. With a line-up that included a rare appearance of The Weeknd in the Crescent City and artists like G-Eazy and MUTEMATH that have ties to the local community, Day One was all about getting your groove on. The Le Plur Stage saw early action. With performances by Cheat Codes, Lost Kings, Slander, and What So Not, the beats kept going at that EDM stage. A strong undercard of smooth tunes came courtesy of Seratones, Mayer Hawthorne, and Wild Belle. With Kevin Gates literally tied up for a few months, the crowd also benefited by an unexpected performance by the hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd. The following is a recap of the top artists from Day One.

Slander

 

MUTEMATH

MUTEMATH

Paul MeanyComing off of a summer tour as opening act for Twenty One Pilots, New Orleans’ own MUTEMATH took the massive Altar Stage to a late afternoon crowd of sun worshipers. Dancing and moving around on stage like a possessed man, vocalist Paul Meany kicked off their set with the synthy soulful song “Used To” off of the 2015 release Vitals followed by “Light Up” off of the same album – more atmospheric pop tunes that recall the catchiness of Miike Snow. “Blood Pressure” from 2011’s Odd Soul (QRO review) moved the set into a more rocking territory with Meany doing his signature keyboard body slam until his heels were above his head and drummer Darren King hitting the drums so hard the brakes on the casters that kept his riser in place where pushed to their limits. Returning to their more dance-y basslines, MUTEMATH performed their latest single “Changes” to a grooving crowd. Towards the end of their set, Meany brought his young daughter onto the stage with pink guitar in hand to accompany him on the instrumental track “Reset” off of MUTEMATH’s 2006 self-titled album, a touching moment that made the crowd go, “Aww…”

MUTEMATH

 

Chairlift

 

G-Eazy

G-Eazy

Gerald! Gerald! Gerald!“Gerald! Gerald! Gerald!” The young crowd for G-Eazy chanted enthusiastically as they waited for the lanky Bay Area rapper with New Orleans ties to appear on the Altar Stage. Dressed in a purple three-piece suit with green slicked back hair, DC comics Joker face paint, and a gleaming gold grill, G-Eazy took the stage and launched into “Random” from 2015’s When It’s Dark. G-Eazy was feeling real sentimental during pyrotechnics-enhanced set, mentioning how he moved here in 2008 and snuck into Voodoo Fest and then later played the fest at nearly the same stage, albeit much earlier in the day. He even gave a shout out to his first show at the Republic, a stage he would take at an after show on Saturday night. While G-Eazy kept the crowd moving, he kept his radio hits like “I Mean It” and “Me Myself and I” backed up by a New Orleans brass band towards the end of his set. Instead, the middle of his performance was dominated by random digressions such as a political rap featuring the lyrics “Fuck Donald Trump” that oddly had thousands of concert-goers in this very red state chanting along, and a marriage proposal between fans Matt and Jess. A proposal of fidelity at a show with lyrics like “You really think she stay true? / I doubt it ‘cause I’m fucking your girlfriend / And there’s nothing you can do about it,” made a few in the audience roll their eyes.

G-Eazy

 

Reignwolf

Reignwolf

Jordan CookDescending on New Orleans from the Great White North by way of Seattle, Reignwolf brought that gritty, striped-down blues-rock that many compare to Jack White – a welcomed injection of dark and moody sounds in a rather dance-centered Friday line-up. Looking like a character out of a Marvel comic, Jordan Cook took the more intimate South Course Stage in black leather jacket and pants, and tore into some guitar licks while he kicked a bass drum in rhythm. His raw energy was fueled by a receptive crowd and a supporting band that appeared as wild as he was. Writhing and contorting his body across the stage, he hit the fans with the singles “Hardcore” from 2016 and “In the Dark” from 2013. At the midpoint in the performance, Cook asks the crowd, “Is it alright if I come out to you?” After which he then climbed off the stage and teetered precariously on the edge of the photo pit barricade while performing “Electric Love” to the crowd that clapped along in rhythm. Reignwolf finished out their set with the haunting tune, “Are You Satisfied?” Judging by the head banging, I think the crowd was satiated.

 

The Weeknd

The Weeknd

Abel, Abel, Abel!Undoubtedly, the biggest draw of Voodoo Fest was The Weeknd. The young audience, primarily made up of those in their teens and twenties, that stretched from the front of the Altar Stage to nearly the entrance of the park was going crazy in anticipation of the hot Canadian R&B singer. Running behind schedule, Abel Tesfaye took the stage that was outfitted with triangular scaffolding backdrop to a crowd chanting, “Abel, Abel, Abel!” Wearing black buttoned coat and sans gnarly signature locks, the singer started strong with “The Hills” from 2015’s Beauty Behind the Madness and the driving new single “False Alarm”. He worked through his catalog, barely taking a break to talk to the audience, with the exception of stopping at one point to say, “I seen titties in the crowd and shit,” before ripping into “Tell Your Friends”. Tesfaye’s appearance in the Big Easy was a treat for locals, as he admitted that he rarely comes to New Orleans. With a laid back vibe for most of his set, the crowd tended to linger longer than usual, staying for his last hits, “I Can’t Feel My Face” and “Starboy” before Uber began surging by 5x.

The Weeknd

 

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