My first set at Voodoo today was The Weeks—I’ve been into the band on and off for years and have always missed out on seeing the it live, so I was happy to finally get the chance. I’m really drawn to singer Cyle Barnes’ deep, bluesy voice and the way it mixes with the band’s southern rock persona. I had a chance to interview the band later in the day, which was incredibly cool because most of the members are from my hometown, and those that aren’t grew up pretty close to it. 
After seeing The Weeks, I floated around the festival until it was time to meet up with New Found Glory. I had a great chat with two of the band members (more on that later), and learned quite a bit about the backstory of the legendary pop-punkers.  Later in the day, I caught NFG’s set, and it was everything I expected it to be.  The group offered up old favorites as well was new, even playing a few obscure ones that I never thought would make it to the Voodoo stage.
I was incredibly psyched to catch Cults’ set after my wonderful interview with Brian Oblivion, and the band lived up to my expectations.  Madeline Follin’s voice is just retro rock enough to work, and that mixed with Oblivion’s fantastic guitar and percussion skills made the set seem slightly poppy with an indie rock edge. 
I left NFG a little early to get a good spot for The Gaslight Anthem. I used to listen to the band exclusively on Wednesday nights when my friend and I “studied” AP Calculus, and after many spins, and much deliberation, The Gaslight Anthem has earned a spot among my favorite bands of all time. The band did a great job with choosing its setlist, even playing a new track, “Halloween” for the crowd.
Midway through The Gaslight Anthem, the sun began to set and the crowd began to thicken for Paramore—one of the most anticipated events of the night, fans were obviously ready for Hayley Williams and company to take the stage. This anticipation certainly wasn’t unwarranted—Williams brought a killer performance filled with crowd participation.
Nine Inch Nails went into its set with the intention of giving the crowd a true rock show—at one point, singer Trent Reznor even said “We’re here to fit as much music as we can into the time we have.”  That said, NIN was exactly what I’ve expected it to be—while this was my first NIN show, I’ve seen my fair share of concert videos and Reznor interviews, and I’ve gathered that this band is serious about what it brings to the table, and its fans share that same seriousness.  From the crowd reaction, I found that there really is no middle ground for NIN fans, there’s no “I sort of like NIN.”  Either the band was a complete influence on your musical taste or you’re just not really that into it.