Sunday, November 2
1:15 p.m.
We arrive at Voodoo to check out Howie Day. The crowd was pretty slim, but this did not take away from his stellar performance. Kim and Day are secretly carrying on a torrid love affair, and so she thought the show was great. Matt enjoyed Day’s use of sound pedals to create loops and hooks.
1:45 p.m.
We went to watch Smile Empty Soul from behind the stage in the exclusive fancy VIP section. The lead singer sounded like he was going through puberty or he had just overexerted himself, because his voice kept going out. We spent the majority of the show making fun of his unfortunate vocal abilities and drinking water to prepare for the rest of the day.
2:45 p.m.
We headed over to the Rolling Stone/Southern Comfort Stage to see Rusted Root. Female hippies with more armpit hair than Matt ran rampant as they danced like whirling dervishes. We dined on the best culinary delights Voodoo had to offer – cheese sticks and chili cheese fries. Other fans seemed green with envy over our delectable morsels. After several questions about where we procured our food, the hippies were forced to go and satisfy their own intense hunger with these dairy covered treats.
3:30 p.m.
We walked over to the Fuse stage to listen to Cypress Hill going insane in the membrane. A mysterious deep fog seemed to roll in as the band took stage, and the meteorological sight was accompanied by the sweet fragrance of Mary Jane. The band pummeled the crowd with free merchandise possibly to waken the audience from its drug-induced haze.
4:45 p.m.
At this point the weekend climaxed with the “Holy Trinity of Rock.” The first tier of the trinity was the Queens of the Stone Age. The eardrum shattering sounds could have deafened a small child. The theme of their performance largely was centered around illegal drug use. We appreciated our narcotic sobriety and the Queens’ heavy rock sound.
6:15 p.m.
The second tier of the Trinity on our Sabbath spent in reverence of rock was A Perfect Circle. Kim was slightly apprehensive and bothered intensely by the headbanging women next to her who continually yelled expletives. But, she was surprised by how much she enjoyed the show. Matt, on the other hand, went into a deep state of enchantment from the first note. Despite the fact that lead singer Maynard looked similar to Cousin It and refused to look at the audience, the show was phenomenal.
8:00 p.m.
The day culminated with the White Stripes. A sparse stage setup and the lack of Renee Zellweeger did not deter the band from putting on a perfect closing performance to the Voodoo Fest weekend. The raw sound and unbelievable guitar playing clearly showed why the White Stripes were at the top of the Rock Trinity.
9:00 p.m.
As the White Stripes exited the stage, we and everyone else left Voodoo Fest 2003 happy, feeling more cultured in the ways of music and the joys of Slim Jim.