Voodoo Experience 2009 Preview

Maybe no city in America has been as important to American music as New Orleans. The Big Easy's melting pot of people and cultures birthed jazz and blues almost...
Voodoo Experience 2009 Preview
Voodoo Experience 2009 Preview

Maybe no city in America has been as important to American music as New Orleans.  The Big Easy’s melting pot of people & cultures birthed jazz & blues almost a century ago, and has had its hand in pretty much everything else.  In 1999, that legacy was combined with New Orleans’ gothic status for the inaugural Voodoo Music Festival on Halloween weekend.  Since then, it has survived Hurricane Katrina & ‘Heckuva job, Brownie’ – not to mention moving to the weekend before Halloween – celebrating its tenth anniversary last year by renaming itself ‘Voodoo Experience’.  And now the Voodoo returns to Halloween weekend, taking place over three days, Friday, October 30th to Sunday, November 1st, 2009.

New Orleans City Park will be separated into three areas, ‘Le Ritual’, ‘Le Flambeau’, and ‘Le Carnival’, with multiple stages in each sector.  There will be a host of sideshow attractions and artistic exhibits, but what you came for was the music, and here are some of the highlights:

 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30TH

Eminem + D12, 9:30 PM, Voodoo Stage

When The Beatles reissues came out recently, it launched the band to #2 on the top-selling artists of this decade/century/millennium. Who’s #1? Eminem, a.k.a. Slim Shady, a.k.a. Marshall Bruce Mathers III.  The ultra-famous rap star has had the fastest-selling hip-hop album ever, tons of Grammys, even an Oscar (for his song his semi-autobiographical starring vehicle, 8 Mile).   He took a musical hiatus for a few years, but came back in 2009 with Relapse.  He’s also almost as famous for his celebrity lifestyle, including feuds with just about everyone (including his mother & now ex-wife, as well as Triumph, The Insult Comic Dog…).

In addition to everything else, Eminem also has put out & participated in D12, the hip-hop collective from his native Detroit, who come with Eminem down to Voodoo, in his only full concert performance of the year.

Eminem + D12
Ween, 9:00 PM, Soco/WWOZ Stage

Ween has been one of the more enduring and out there acts out there, with a wide-ranging fanbase more typical of jam bands.  After Gene Ween (one-half of the Ween duo, along with Dean Ween) took earlier this year to tour solo with his own backing band, the pair are back, working on a new record, which is sure to get some exposure at Voodoo.

Ween
Fischerspooner, 8:50 PM, Bingo! Parlor

This year, Voodoo is littered with bands that have incredible stage shows, but Fischerspooner should still stand out.  The electroclash duo of Warren Fischer & Casey Spooner (with over twenty more performers behind them) will put on a spectacle, behind their third full-length, Entertainment, released earlier this year.

Fischerspooner
Justice (DJ set), 8:00 PM, PlayStation/Billboard.com Stage

The French duo of Gaspard Augé & Xavier de Rosnay were originally best known for their remixes of other people’s work, but Justice took a leap forward with their debut, , and single “D.A.N.C.E.” in 2007.  They’ve since discovered some of the best new electronica out there, like Midnight Juggernauts (QRO spotlight on).  Their DJ live show has disappointed some, expecting more than just ‘press play’, but the light show at Voodoo should make up for it.

Justice
Silversun Pickups, 6:40 PM, Voodoo Stage

In 2006, Los Angeles’ Echo Lake music scene blew up in a big way – all thanks to Silversun Pickups & Carnavas.  This year, they finally followed that up with Swoon (QRO review), which charted even higher – but the Pickups will still be playing your Carnavas favorites at Voodoo.

Silversun Pickups
The Black Keys, 5:40 PM, PlayStation/Billboard.com Stage

The blues-rock from guitar/drums duo of Dan Auerbach & Patrick Carney (QRO photos) sounds like it comes from the deepest (and blackest…) part of the South, but these two white men hail from Akron, Ohio.  However, The Black Keys (QRO photos outdoors) are as gritty as anyone, whether on their latest record, Attack & Release (QRO review), or live, as depicted on the recent Live at Crystal Ballroom DVD (QRO review).

The Black Keys
Janelle Monae, 5:00 PM, Voodoo Stage

The Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter nicely crosses between the urban and alternative genres, from signing to Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Bad Boy Record to opening on tour with of Montreal (QRO photos with of Montreal).

Janelle Monae
The Cool Kids, 4:00 PM, PlayStation/Billboard.com Stage

The hip-hop duo of Antoine ‘Mikey Rocks’ Reed & Evan ‘Chuck Inglish’ Ingersol (QRO photos) have played with numerous hip-hip & non-hip-hop acts, so are a good fit to bring the beats to Voodoo Experience.

The Cool Kids

 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31ST

KISS, 9:00 PM, Voodoo Stage

The seventies arena-rock spectacular was perfected by KISS, known world-round for their trademark face paint (even when not wearing it…) and epic stage show.  They also gave the world such classic rock classics as “Detroit Rock City”, “Rock and Roll All Nite”, and a bunch more.  Their 1996 reunion brought the spectacle back, even if half of the original line-up left in 2000, iconic singer/bassist Gene Simmons still sports the longest tongue in rock ‘n’ roll.

October sees the release of the first new KISS album in eleven years, Sonic Boom, and the band comes to Voodoo as part of their KISS Alive/35 North American tour.   And is there a better night than Halloween to see KISS?

KISS
George Clinton & The Parliament Funkadelic, 8:15 PM, Soco/WWOZ Stage

If you don’t know who George Clinton is, then you should really be ashamed.  One of, if not the innovator of funk, Clinton took the Motown soul sounds of the seventies and, well, funkified it.  With Parliament/Funkadelic, he not only blew that sound up, but also blew it up on stage, introducing the kind of spectacle that all other acts still measure themselves against.  “Make my funk the P. Funk / I want my funk uncut / Make my funk the P. Funk / I wants to get funked up!”

George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic
Jello Biafra & The Guantanamo School of Medicine, 8:00 PM, Bingo! Parlor

As frontman for the iconic late seventies/early eighties punk rock act The Dead Kennedys, and then as founder of Alternative Tentacles record label, San Francisco’s Jello Biafra has been a voice in political punk for going on thirty years now (as well as being one of the most active figures in the United States Green Party).  He’s mostly been known for his spoken word since then, but has returned to the rock with the just-released The Audacity of Hype, backed by The Guantanamo School of Medicine.

Jello Biafra & The Guantanamo School of Medicine
Jane’s Addiction, 7:35 PM, PlayStation/Billboard.com Stage

One of the first bands to emerge from the early nineties alternative music scene, you knew Jane’s Addiction’s break-up right at their height of popularity in 1991 would never knew last.  They’ve since reunited not once, not twice, but thrice!  Starting in 2008, all four original members got back together for the first time since the first break-up, joining Nine Inch Nails on the ‘NIN/JA’ tour (QRO photos outdoors).   The gaudy, extreme, alt-sexual antics of the seminal act are a perfect fit for the Voodoo Experience.

Jane's Addiction
Drive-By Truckers, 6:30 PM, Soco/WWOZ Stage

The Suthron, ‘three-axe attack’ of Drive-By Truckers comes from the backcountry of Alabama & Georgia, and down to N’Orleans.  They’ve kept strong since the 2007 departure of Jason Isbell, last year with the charting Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, and this year with Live From Austin, TX and The Fine Print: A Collection of Oddities and Rarities.

Drive-By Truckers
Wolfmother, 6:20 PM, Voodoo Stage

Remember when ‘wolf’ bands were all the rage? Well, AIDS Wolf (QRO photos) may have killed that, but Sydney, Australia’s Wolfmother (QRO photos outdoors) are still here – despite the departure of two-thirds of the band last year, leaving singer/guitarist Andrew Stockdale the sole original ‘wolf’ (QRO photos).   In fact, the new line-up’s first new release, Cosmic Egg, drops right before Voodoo.

Wolfmother
Gogol Bordello, 4:50 PM, PlayStation/Billboard.com Stage

From Eastern Europe & elsewhere, through the Lower East Side comes ‘gypsy punks’ Gogol Bordello, who followed up debut Underdog World Strike with Super Taranta! (QRO review) in 2007.   The many, many-person outfit is fronted by singer/guitarist Eugene Hutz (also of the film version of Everything Is Illuminated), but there’s so much going on on-stage, you won’t know where to look (QRO photos outdoors).

Gogol Bordello
Mutemath, 3:50 PM Voodoo Stage

Putting some ambience and psychedelica into their alt-rock is New Orleans’ own Mute Math, who just followed up their 2006 self-titled full-length debut with this year’s Armistice.  The band blew up in 2007 with their video “Typical”, where the band performs the song backwards…

Mutemath
Mates of State, 2:50 PM, PlayStation/Billboard.com Stage

Lawrence, Kansas’ husband-and-wife indie-rock duo of Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel make up Mates of State (QRO photos), who are coming off of last year’s Re-Arrange Us (QRO review).

Mates of State
Black Lips, 12:50 PM, PlayStation/Billboard.com Stage

A band better known for their live show than their records, that’s not just because of the relatively unimpressive recorded material like this year’s 200 Million Thousand (QRO review), but also due to their crazy mishmash of genres and styles on stage (QRO live review).  Atlanta’s The Black Lips’ wild live show includes everything from nudity to fireworks – and live animals (QRO photos at a festival).   The Big Easy should hopefully let the boys let ‘er rip (QRO photos outdoors), but be rest assured their rabidly loyal fan base will still be crying out for more (QRO photos outdoors at a festival).

Black Lips

 

 

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST

Lenny Kravitz, 7:00 PM, Voodoo Stage

Voodoo is certainly a festival headlined by out-sized egos, even Marshall Mathers & Gene Simmons (see above) can’t match Lenny Kravitz in pride.  He brought back retro-rock in the nineties by aping Jimi Hendrix on Let Love Rule, and never really stopped, even if his last two records, 2004’s Baptism and last year’s It Is Time For a Love Revolution saw declining sales (albeit from a very high starting point).

Be warned: Kravitz has had to cancel some shows on this recent tour, but has also been making them up.  But more to the point, as Dick Valentine (QRO interview) of Electric Six (QRO spotlight on) says on “Lenny Kravitz” from I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me From Becoming the Master (QRO review), “Why in the world does anybody like Lenny Kravitz?!?”

Lenny Kravitz
Meat Puppets, 7:15 PM, Bingo! Parlor

“The Brothers Meat”, as Kurt Cobain called Curt & Cris Kirkwood of The Meat Puppets (QRO photos at a festival) in the seminal MTV Unplugged session where they sat in with Nirvana (QRO DVD review), have been through major ups & downs, including break-ups & jail time.  But the seminal eighties punk rock act helped birth the ‘cowpunk’ genre, and have kept it up with their second post-reunion record, Sewn Together (QRO review).

Meat Puppets
The Flaming Lips, 5:45 PM, PlayStation/Billboard.com Stage

Hitting up the few festivals they didn’t hit last year, there’s a good reason The Flaming Lips (QRO photos at a festival) are so popular on the circuit, as there is no live show out there like a Flaming Lips show (QRO live review).  Confetti cannons, costumes, video screens, balloons from the sky, puppets, singer/guitarist Wayne Coyne surfing the crowd in a giant plastic bubble – The Lips have it all (QRO photos), and expect them to take it even higher (QRO photos at a festival).  Oh, and they’ve got some great music, too, from early nineties hit “She Don’t Use Jelly” to 2006’s Grammy Award-winning At War With the Mystics (even put out a movie, Christmas On MarsQRO review), with their latest, Embryonic, just out.

(enter to win passes to dance on-stage with The Lips at WTUL’s Free Yr Radio tent – see below)

The Flaming Lips
Squirrel Nut Zippers, 4:15 PM, Bingo! Parlor

The late nineties swing revival saw no bigger product than Squirrel Nut Zippers, who included a whole host of styles alongside, including delta blues, gypsy jazz, and even Klezmer.  The new decade saw the Zippers break up, but they got back together in 2007 (just in time for today’s roots revival), and their style never went out of style in the Big Easy.

Squirrel Nut Zippers
Shooter Jennings, 2:30 PM, Soco/WWOZ Stage

The only child of country singers Waylon Jennings & Jessi Colter, Shooter may have had country in his blood (even portraying his father in the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line), but has been getting more rock in recent years (not to mention getting engaged to The Sopranos’ Drea de Matteo…).

Shooter Jennings
The Pogues, 2:15 PM, PlayStation/Billboard.com Stage

Kings Cross’ pride took the punk of the late seventies and early eighties and introduced an Irish tinge, fronted by the unmistakable Shane MacGowan.  As well as giving Brits their favorite Christmas song ever in “Fairytale of New York”, The Pogues also are the godfathers of today’s Celtic punk and workingman’s punk, such as Flogging Molly (QRO photos).  After a booze-soaked dissolution in the nineties, the band reunited in the new millennium, and in the last few years have even returned to the States (including playing St. Patrick’s Day shows at New York’s Roseland Ballroom – QRO venue review).  While there hasn’t been any new material since the reunion, that just leaves more time for their classics (even if seeing them outdoors isn’t quite the same as the whiskey-stained pubs they came from).

The Pogues
Widespread Panic, 3:15 PM, Voodoo Stage

After Jerry Garcia’s death, The Grateful Dead (QRO photos) could no longer be the greatest road-warrior jam band out there.  That status was taken up by Phish, but then they broke up.  Both bands are back, but neither is currently working the road like the band you could most point to as their successor, Widespread Panic, who play their umpteenth festival at Voodoo Experience.

Widespread Panic
Brand New, 1:25 PM, Voodoo Stage

Long Island’s Brand New (QRO photos) have been getting bigger & bigger, most recently with last month’s Top Ten release, Daisy.   They may be more mainstream than many like their alt-rock, but what do you expect from Long Island?

Brand New
All Time Low, 12:25 PM, PlayStation/Billboard.com Stage

Far more mainstream is Baltimore’s All Time Low, who started covering Green Day & Blink-182 (QRO photos), and have they really grown from there?

All Time Low
Earl Greyhound, 11:25 AM, Voodoo Stage

The recent ‘afro-punk’ movement has unfortunately been trending away from the original likes of TV On the Radio (QRO live review) and Dragons of Zynth (QRO album review), and towards the next generation of Hendrix rip-offs, Earl Greyhound (QRO photos).

Earl Greyhound

 

Toyota’s Free YR Radio 2009 has hit up radio stations & festivals across the country, and concludes at Voodoo Experience, with Tulane University’s WTUL.  In fact, in addition to the live broadcast from Voodoo & interviews, WTUL will be giving away passes to join The Flaming Lips & dance on-stage!

 

Friday, October 30th
11:00 a.m. – Preservation Hall Director: Ben Jaffe Interview
12:00 p.m. – Why are we building such a big ship?
1:00 p.m. – Mynameisjohnmichael
2:00 p.m. – Ratty Scurvics (interview)
2:30 p.m. – Glasgow
3:00 p.m. – Bones (interview & performance)
4:00 p.m. – Bingo! Show
4:30 p.m. – The Generationals
6:30 p.m. – Happy Talk Band (interview & performance)

Saturday, October 31st
11:00 a.m. – Zydepunks
1:00 p.m. – Andrew Duhon
5:00 p.m. – Irvin Mayfield
6:00 p.m. – Rotary Downs

Sunday, November 1st
2:00 p.m. – Squirrel Nut Zippers
3:00 p.m. – We Landed On The Moon!
4:00 p.m. – Quintron and Miss Pussycat
4:30 p.m. – Trombone Shorty (interview)
TBD – Tab Benoit
TBD – Cyril Neville

 

For festival’s website, go here: http://thevoodooexperience.com/2009/index.php

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