If you would’ve told me yesterday that the Carnival stage would be the place to be, then I would’ve called you insane.
With Ms. Lauryn Hill, 30 Seconds to Mars and Arctic Monkeys all playing on one stage, there’s no way things could get better, right? Day two of Voodoo was a day for the underdogs and a pleasant surprise for festival goers to be exposed to newer music.
There was a small gap in time between Naughty Professor’s Carnival set and Tysson’s, so I decided to walk over to Flambeau and show the stage some love. Here is where the first of many treats began. Utah band Desert Noises performed in a way I can only describe as memorable.
The band was fairly unknown by the crowd yet by the time the set was over and I took my eyes away from the stage, I was surrounded by people who all thought the same thing I was thinking — these kids are good. For such an early show, the band brought all of its energy and has found a place in my Spotify library.
I headed over to another lesser known act on the Carnival stage named Tysson. Again it started with a small crowd and grew as the act went on. I’m all about the incorporation of hip-hop, rock and pop elements to create one big musical slap to my face, and I got it here. The band performed some songs they’ve never played before and found a connection in being a local act.
This trio from New Orleans has tapped into something potentially great if they don’t over do it. Use of electronic instruments and real ones together opens up a whole new door for sound exploration.
I took a break from the action and when I jumped back in, went straight back to the Carnival stage for ASTR’s set. Yet again I was amazed with the energy the pop duo had on stage. Something was in the air around the Carnival stage that began to make every performance as exciting as it would be on the Ritual stage.
Carnival also hosted eclectic rock band Peelander-Z, City and Colour and New Orleans’ favorite diva Big Freedia. Yes, these were all great shows as well and the crowd knew that. At one point I felt the Voodoo grounds looked a little empty before walking over and realizing City and Colour had everyone captivated.
Today the Le Plur stage was overrun by teenagers. So many teenagers who just wanted to bounce around and lose their minds to bass drops all day. They got their wish as Flux Pavilion and Skrillex delivered simultaneous sets that even caused the moms to dance.
The real let down today were the main stage Ritual shows. Flow Tribe was a very funky start to the Ritual stages day. Death from Above 1979 lost a few members of the crowd with its shameless plug to Coors Light in the middle of the set.
30 Seconds to Mars was a good show too except for Jared Leto’s poor acoustic portion. He can do better, I know he can. Even while dressed as Jesus he couldn’t save that portion of the night.
The only saving grace of the night was Arctic Monkeys, who I’m not really a big fan of anyway. Still I recognize talent when it is there and these guys absolutely killed it. The crowd for AM stretched to near the Ferris Wheel located a good distance away.
There was supposed to be another show on the Ritual stage, but we only got one-third of it. Ms. Lauryn Hill “got lost” on her way to the venue and began her set 40 minutes late. 40 whole minute.
So of course when she got there and 30 Seconds to Mars was set to play right after and needed to set up, she kept singing when cut off. So as the lights dimmed on Hill and her microphone was put on mute, it was quite symbolic of her fall from stardom. A silent fade to black.
She did finish her set later that night on the Flambeau stage but rivaled the trail end of the Arctic Monkeys set. I don’t come to festivals to see an artist 40 minutes late. Five is one thing but 40 is a lost job in the business world.
What I do come to festivals for is more than seeing large names. Yes, Outkast is legendary and 30 Seconds to Mars is a bucket list for most people, but these smaller names truly capitalize on the festival environment.
They don’t have the mainstream pull Arctic Monkeys has to attract a crowd, so when they perform and see people at their shows, its because they’re truly interested in them. This is the chance smaller names have to gain more fans and spread their sound. They’re working to get where these big artists already are and that hunger was clearly appreciated on day two.
