Voodoo Fest 2010 happened over the Halloween weekend and I happened to be there for Friday and Saturday. I didn’t make it Sunday as I couldn’t afford to spend anymore money for another ticket. So why didn’t I just buy the weekend passes? Well, I had to weigh in what was happening that weekend. It was Halloween weekend after all. I assumed there was a bunch of stuff happening Saturday night so I didn’t plan on going to the fest that day (My original plan was to go on Friday and Sunday). At the last minute, I decided to go since a couple of my friends were going. As a result, I had to give up going on Sunday. Anyway, hit the jump to read on. Click on the images to view a larger version.
Day 1: Friday’s lineup on my schedule
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM: Innerpartysystem @ Le Plur stage
There were some technical problems in the beginning but once it was resolved, they rocked the stage. Highlights: They played a remix of the Ghostbusters theme!
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM: Kaskade @ Le Plur stage
Awww yeah, Kaskade. He was one of the main reasons I decided to go to Voodoo Fest in the first place. Highlights: He played a lot of tracks from his new mix album, dance.love. Probably one of the biggest surprises to me was when he played Steppin’ Out. I didn’t expect him to play that song since he only had a short time to play. It’s one of my favorites and a very nice surprise. He closed the set with Move For Me. Oh yeah, I was also right up front. Very awesome.
6:30 PM – 7:45 PM: Metric @ Voodoo stage
Metric was great as always but they weren’t a priority as I’ve already seen them live before. Highlight would be, of course, Emily Haines.
7:45 PM – 9:15 PM: Hot Chip @ Le Plur stage
Hot Chip was good but I couldn’t stay for the entire act due to tight scheduling. I had to leave early to get a good spot at the stage where Muse were going to play.
While I was waiting for Muse to come on, Weezer was performing on the other side at the Sony Make.Believe stage. They weren’t a priority either. Not saying that they suck or anything. I’m just a bigger fan of Muse. The Sony stage and the Voodoo stage was right across from each other. So if I were to check out Weezer, I’d have to be at that stage and then when they’re done performing, I’d have to walk to the stage where Muse was going to play. Most likely by the time I get there, the crowd would have already swelled to epic proportions so, I skipped out on Weezer. At least I got to remotely check them out since you could hear them performing in the background and they were on the big screen. A weird thing they did was cover Kids by MGMT. Weird, because MGMT was set to perform that Sunday. I guess the highlight of that performance was when Rivers was singing on top of a pair of Porta Potty’s.
9:00 PM – 11:00 PM: Muse @ Voodoo stage
Man, Muse totally rocked the Voodoo stage area. I was at a decent spot but it could’ve been better if there weren’t so many tall people in front of me. Anyway, they played all the songs you’d expect them to play. They had a good balance between new and old songs. Highlights: Where do I even begin? First were the glasses Matt Bellamy wore (as you can see above). One of his guitars had a Kaoss Pad-like device beside the bridge and he was pulling effects off of it. It was insane. The biggest highlight was when they closed with Knights of Cydonia complete with harmonica intro! It was nuts and we went wild once we all knew what they were about to play.
Oh yeah, the stage and lights were awesome! Major props to the production team that put it together. Heard it took two days to get it done.
Friday recap: Friday was THE day for me to go. Saturday and Sunday I can miss but not Friday. Overall, it was a great experience and I got to catch all the acts I wanted to see. Granted, my legs and back hurt like hell from all the standing, walking, and jumping around but, it was all worth it.
Day 2: Saturday’s lineup on my schedule
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM: Rebirth Brass Band @ Soco/WWOZ stage
Famous brass band in New Orleans. They were great and got me pumped. Important because I just came straight from work.
4:45 PM – 5:45 PM: The Vettes @ Bingo! stage
I have already seen The Vettes prior to Voodoo Fest but its good to check them out again. They’re great live and its good to know that they’re local.
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM: Florence + the Machine @ Sony Make.Believe stage
Yeeaahhh, Florence Welch was awesome. She had an amazing stage presence. Highlights: The opening set got her banging on a floor tom with a single drum stick. It’s a small detail but I loved it. The guy on the harp was awesome also. The closing songs included Rabbit Heart and Dog Days Are Over.
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM: Drake @ Voodoo stage
Drake put on a good show but he talked a lot about Lil Wayne haha. Highlights: During Fireworks, the stage went dark and actual fireworks were popping behind Drake and his crew… inside the stage. It was a very nice touch. This is the very stage that Muse performed on.
8:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Street Sweeper Social Club @ Sony Make.Believe stage
The first I’ve heard of these guys (except for guitarist, Tom Morello). Good stuff here. Highlights: Tom Morello, of course. Dude was shredding it on the guitar. Oh yeah, they covered Paper Planes by MIA.
Saturday recap: It was alright overall. My legs were hurtin’ really bad but I managed to get through the day.
And for the sake of “coulda, woulda, shoulda”, I’ll post my Sunday schedule:
- Janelle Monae
- Minus the Bear
- Ferry Corsten
- Paul Oakenfold
- Interpol
- MGMT
- Deadmau5
- Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
I have already seen Ferry Corsten and Deadmau5 live but I’m disappointed that I missed out on Janelle Monae and Minus the Bear. I’m counting on them to come back here soon haha. Anyway, the whole experience was great. It’s rare to see all these acts over a weekend. Muse and Kaskade alone made the whole experience worth it. I just wished they had a longer time slot. This year was great for live shows. I’m not sure how next year will top this one.