Take some amazing food vendors, add thousands of people, sprinkle in some major musical acts and contain all of that into City Park on a Halloween weekend. The result is day one of this year’s Voodoo Music and Arts Experience.
The day began with a few of the smaller names such as Veridia, FSQ and Hello Negro. Small crowds, probably a result of school or work schedules, kept these acts from delivering whole-hearted sets.
By the time Royal Teeth took the Ritual stage, an ample amount of people had arrived at the festival. The New Orleans born band had a well-planned setlist and surprised most of the crowd who hadn’t heard its music before.
The surprise winner of day one of Voodoo was indie duo Twenty One Pilots. The band performed most of its debut album, “Vessel,” and incorporated a hip-hop mashup that the crowd certainly loved.
At one point in the set, singer Tyler Joseph stood upon the hands of fans singing to everyone in attendance. He later ran through the crowd and climbed the scaffolding of the camera operation area for another shocking moment.
It is that level of crowd interaction and innovation most festival goers look for in a show. Another example of this was Action Bronson’s set at the Carnival stage. Bronson, known for his aggressive style and relentless lyricism, would continually talk to the fans during the performance and invite them to laugh and enjoy the show as much as he is enjoying his life.
The pride an artist has in his or her work truly shows during a live performance. It is the live performances that keep people coming back.
That is how acts such as Outkast and Rise Against have stayed around for so long. Rise Against, no matter the listener’s opinion, has always put on a good live show. The thought of how each song transitions into the next and which songs to play when are greatly appreciated by music lovers.
Outkast, the crown jewel of day one, did everything one could expect it to. Celebrating its 20 year anniversary, the rap duo played its greatest hits including “Roses,” “Hey Ya” and “Ms. Jackson.” A few lucky women were brought on stage to dance with Andre 3000, and Big Boi brought out Sleepy Brown to assist in a few songs as well.
Each member performed a few tracks from their split album “Speakerboxx/The Love Below.” For a group that may not release any new music, seeing Outkast perform live can now proudly be crossed off of the bucket list of thousands.
My heart goes out to the Flambeau stage as it seemed to receive little love compared to its siblings. The smallest or most different acts were kept to this stage today and most were occurring during a better known artist’s set. Hopefully, attendees can respect all of the ritual by showing Flambeau a little more attention.
Voodoo is more than music though. Remember there are multiple art installations involved as well. However, the pieces this year are a little lackluster. A giant metal bird can be climbed into and as one pedals inside of the bird’s brain, the wings begin to open. Other than that, the other installations could be found anywhere else. A little more focus on the art could bring Voodoo to another level, but that’s a story for another day.
Day one has set the bar quite high for day two. With a stacked lineup including Skrillex, Arctic Monkeys and Thirty Seconds to Mars, it’ll be interesting to see what Saturday has to offer.