Voodoo Experience 2009: Friday In Review

After taking a week to soak in what was the 11th annual Voodoo Experience, we've gathered our pictures and words to present for you all. Friday of Voodoo was a busy one which saw Toast and I driving straight from Houston to the festival where we met up with Bacon (and the Missus), Hash Browns and travel-mate "Skinny Sumo" for the start of an incredible weekend. During our first day we caught sets from a host of bands, including The Cool Kids, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger Band, Alejandro Escovedo, Janelle Monae, The Black Keys, Silversun Pickups, Justice, Ween and Eminem. Several hard rain storms also accompanied our first day, which only brought out the best in both the artists on stage and us fans rollicking in the mud.

Read all about Friday, October 30th at the 2009 Voodoo Experience after the jump.

All photos by Eggs, unless otherwise noted

The Cool Kids ::: Playstation/Billboard.com Stage ::: 4:00pm

The day started off with Toast and myself securing our media and photo passes for the weekend, then heading in through backstage (a privilege that we lost after day one) while slamming a few High Life's. We walked up on the main concert field just in time for The Cool Kids to take the Playstation/Billboard.com stage. I've see the Cool Kids just once before, which left me impressed, so it was pertinent to get to the festival for their set. They bring a new sound to the world of hip-hop by mixing several early influences with modern subject matter. The duo consisting of Chuck Inglish and Mikey Rocks worked the early afternoon crowd over with their clever rhymes and bass-heavy beats. It was the perfect way to open the festival, and gave Toast and I the right energy boost need to carry on our day.

While still awaiting the arrival of our other BOTheads, Toast and I headed closer to the main entrance to meet up. While waiting, though, we meandered towards the Preservation Hall where the Tao Rodriguez-Seeger Band were a few songs into their set. Simple folk melodies matched with clever instrumentation were the backbone of Rodriguez-Seeger's group, and it was a nice change of pace from the hip-hop set we just witnessed. Grandson to famed folk singer Pete Seeger, Tao is carrying on the family torch with an updated form of his grandfathers music. We didn't have the chance to stay long, but I left impressed with his work and with the plan to check out more upon my return home.

Having seen Alejandro Escovedo once before, I decided to give him another chance. Not that his performance wasn’t decent. It was just not what I was looking for at the time. The afternoon set at the Soco/WWOZ stage proved to be a much more exciting experience and was the last set at that stage that wasn‘t a swampy excursion to find a spot. Escovedo gave the early-bird crowd a great mixture of soft and heavy tunes – an overall glance at his storied musical past. Escovedo’s raspy voice seems to blend perfectly with his brand of latin-based country-rock music. I went in expecting the worst, but what I received was a good set of some Texas rock-and-roll to get the weekend moving.

I was the only one in the group excited to catch Janelle Monáe perform at Voodoo, but I was also the only one who'd ever seen her live before. I quickly headed over to photograph her, which was an exciting event in itself as she is one of the most photogenic subjects I've ever worked with. She came to the stage dancing her tiny ass off, and continued on with her energetic routine for four full songs. A personality and voice as big as her hair, Monáe had no trouble wowing the crowd with her poppy R&B songs, especially the radio-friendly "Sincerely Jane" and a cover of the Charlie Chaplin-penned, Michael Jackson-popularized "Smile." Her music might not be my favorite brand, but such showmanship will bring me back every time.

Photo by Toast

One thing you can always expect at Voodoo is an excellent mixture of traditional and modern local music. The Preservation Hall-Stars are a perfect example of that. Their Friday set at the Preservation Hall stage (Of course it was) was a booty shaking good time. As the crowd began to form under the tent, the set began with a New Orleans styled parade that continued throughout the majority of the set. This got the crowd moving as rain began, which would be steady throughout the rest of the night, making things a little sloppy. I stuck around for a little while, but had to cut out a little early to make it to The Black Keys. The large group took turns putting their skills on display as each of them performed skilled solos. My short time at the show was good way for me to get into the swing of New Orleans, sending me off into the cold, wet night.

The Black Keys were up next, and were the most anticipated act of theday for several in our crew. They didn’t disappoint. Dan Auerbach(guitar/vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums) powered through a setlist of favorites spanning their career including “Your Touch,” “I Got Mine,” and “Set You Free.” The rain hit its peak during their performance, but the duo seemed to harness the power of the weather rather than be hampered by it. The harder the wind blew and the rain came, the harder the boys from Akron brought the heat. We in the crowd LOVED it, and the energy the band was channeling was more than reciprocated by those that stuck it out through the rain. This was my first time seeing the Black Keys, and I left impressed. With only two guys on stage there was little room for error to begin with, and, considering the less-than-ideal conditions, it’s amazing how in sync these two blues-rockers were.

The Silversun Pickups, who hail from Los Angeles, have been picking up steam since their latest release Swoon came out in April of this year. I have had mixed opinions on them based on their studio work, and was anxious to see how they'd translate their sound into a live performance. I was happy that I took the time to catch them on the Voodoo stage. After a slow start, they began rocking and didn’t let up until I left. Playing a lot of material off of ‘Swoon’, the crowd seemed to be picking up steam. Although lead singer Brian Aubert’s Billy Corganish voice can get to ya a little bit after awhile, I was extremely impressed with the Silversun Pickups and was one of my favorite sets of the opening night.

Leading up to the festival, French electro-duo Justice were mysteriously removed from the line-up, which in turn pissed me off immensely. A few days later, though, the announcement of a special Justice set, including visual enhancement from a huge group of illuminated floating balloons that were to be choreographed to their set. I was glad to see they were back on, but even more excited than ever for this set because of the additional visual enhancement. Come the day of the show, and it's pissing rain with wind blowing in all directions. Needless to say, the balloons weren't floating, but thankfully Justice were still manning the DJ booth. Pardon my French (pun intended), but holy shit they were good. Not only was this easily the best set of the weekend (to me, and I believe Toast as well), but it was also one of the best sets of music I've seen this year. I'm not sure if it was the rain or the bottle of Jack we were nursing, but I haven't gotten down like that in some time. "D.A.N.C.E" livened up the crowd, but it was an almost 80's rock version of "DVNO" that really started the party. From there, Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay had no trouble filling their hour-and-a-half with tweaked out remixes, and almost seizure-inducing beats. I knew going into the performance that it would be one of my favorites, but I never thought they would blow me away as much as they did. Go see Justice.

The WWOZ Soco/Stage had been running late all night, so when we walked up after Justice, Ween were yet to start. Ahhhhhhhhhh, Ween. One of my most anticipated shows of the evening took place at the Soco/WWOZ stage, which had turned into nothing short of a mud bog after the constant bouts of rain. After having my mind blown by Justice just minutes prior, I was more then ready for a dose of Ween. Starting out a little bit on the mellow side with “She Wanted To Leave”, I settled in for what was sure to be an excellent set. Just as I was thinking that I really wanted to hear “Spinal Meningitis,” the unmistakable sound of a triangle began the song. From then on, Gene and Dean continued to impress me until my abrupt departure to check out Eminem on the main stage. Expecting to maybe get to close it out with Ween, I was sure I was pretty much done with them. Well thankfully, Eminem pretty much sucked balls, so I inevitably headed back to catch the majority of their set. Closing out with “Roses” and the ever so peppy “Fiesta”, Ween left the first day festival goers with giant grins on their faces, anticipating the next days events just that much more.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into a live Eminem show, but I was promised a full live band – a growing fad in rap shows these days – and a not to be missed performance (according to various Twitter reports). I listened to the first song from a distance, and was unfamiliar with it so I went on to photograph and catch the beginning of Ween with my fellow BOTheads. I knew I really wanted to see at least the last half of Eminem, so after a few Ween songs, Toast and I headed back to the main stage. We got to hear the classic tracks like "The Real Slim Shady," "The Way I Am" and D12's "Purple Pills," but unfortunately each and every lyric Eminem spat out was completely supported by a noticeable backing track. He wasn't pulling a complete Milli Vanilli (or Ashley Simpson for you younger readers), as he was actually rapping, but any time he would pull away from his microphone, a softer version of his vocals would still be present. I have no doubt in Eminem's talent, but this little thing was enough to ruin the show for me. The encore finished with the almost anthemic "Lose Yourself," which seemed to be enjoyed by a majority of the crowd, but found Toast and myself meandering back towards Ween just in time to catch "Roses Are Free."

After a long day of travel, and a full day of music, nothing sounded better to the whole BOT crew than a night filled with drunken debauchery in the French Quarter. We hit the hotel to freshen up, then took the half a block trip to Bourbon Street for our first of many tipsy strolls through The Big Easy that weekend.

Stay tuned for more Voodoo Experience coverage in the coming days!

Breakfast On Tour