Amidst a sea of clever costumes and, otherwise, oddly dressed individuals, one man stood to brave the uncertain waters of the Voodoo Music Experience. I went undercover, dressed as one of the people, to dig up the cold, hard facts behind the music. My findings were perverse and unexpected. You may think you know, but you have no idea. This is the diary of Undercover Brother at Voodoo Fest.
This is officially my sixth year in a row going to Voodoo, meaning that I have been to almost half of the festivals, so far. This year, for the second year in a row, the number of musical acts was downsized, as there were 5 stages in total, but 6 at the festival in 2010 and previous years. Some notable artists at this year’s festival include Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Metallica (filling the spot left when Green Day had to drop), Jack White, Skrillex, The Avett Brothers, and Justice, to name a few. The line-up this year left something to be desired and the setup and scheduling of the acts didn’t do anything to make matters better.
Similar music festivals, such as Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza, featured some of the same musicians adding names such as Passion Pit, The Shins, Metric, Miike Snow, and more. All of these artists came out with new music this year that has been well received by the public. It would have been smart for Voodoo to take advantage of the recent success of these bands and book them for this year’s festival. However, a large mass of funding was put into booking DJs and other electronic artists to book a full schedule of dance music for the Le Plur stage.
Before 2011, there were two main stages facing one another with performances staggered between the two throughout the day. Each stage displayed a screen so that people waiting for the next act to start on one stage could still enjoy the show happening on the other. You rarely had to miss any of the acts that you wanted to see, which set Voodoo apart from so many other festivals. This year there was only one main stage with no stage adjacent to it for you to enjoy while waiting for the next band to start. The next most popular stage was the Le Plur stage which was not located close enough to the main stage to hear. This change downgraded the experience, for sure. Adding insult to injury, shows on the Le Plur stage most often overlapped shows on the main stage. So there was really no way to see both acts, even if you wanted to take the walk back and forth between the stages. For instance, on Saturday, Metallica and Justice played sets at the same time and, on Sunday, Jack White and Skrillex played simultaneously on two different stages. In the past, those performances would have been staggered, giving people the opportunity to see both shows. No such luck at this year’s festival.
As a result of a lack of interest in this year’s music schedule coupled with the dissatisfaction of many festival goers from last year’s Voodoo Experience, the turnout was the lowest I’ve ever seen it. Friday had the highest volume of people, as Neil Young drew in an older crowd. On Saturday, the bulk of people showed up about two hours before the Metallica concert to hunker down and get a good spot. Sunday had the weakest turnout, with many people leaving before the start of Jack White’s headlining performance. There was a general feeling of apathy this year, as it often took around 5-10 minutes after a band started performing for a crowd to form at a stage. People were not seeking out specific artists but simply gravitating towards whatever sounded or looked interesting, as they were walking by.
One beacon of light at the festival was that most of the same vendors were there as there were in years past. You could still pick up delicacies such as crawfish break, alligator po-boys, and seafood bread bowls. There was even the surprising new addition of deep fried Oreos. And the art and culture section of the festival was still alive and well. Unfortunately, Voodoo added rides to the festival in the last two years, which indirectly create competition for the vendors that had to pay to be at the festival. With this year’s low turnout, the vendors may not have made as much of a profit, leaving the festival in jeopardy of not seeing them out again next year.
As we move forward, I think that, if Voodoo doesn’t make some major changes to how they operate the festival and the price they charge for tickets, they will continue to see a lower turnout. They need to go back to the roots of what made them great, i.e. two main stages, no cheap gimmicks, book more artists. I want to see Voodoo be amazing again.
