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Voodoo Review

What would normally be an hour drive to New Orleans turned into a 2 and a half hour trip due to traffic and bad weather on Friday.  But, we made it to Voodoo Fest just in time to grab a couple beers, and catch the last of Justice's set before Eminem hit the stage.  Due to the bad weather and traffic we missed The Black Keys and Silversun Pickups.  It stopped raining about 15 minutes before a the rapper's video introduction started.  It was a film-short about a serial killer on the loose, in Louisiana.  The crowd went nuts, then Eminem came out and launched into "3am," if I recall correctly.  I was skeptical about what the performance would be like, but I gotta say with a full band and DJ Eminem was really good.  And, he was joined on stage by the rest of D12 for "My Band" and "Purple Pills."  The set included other hits like "Without Me," "Stan," and he closed the show with "Loose Yourself" as an encore. 

The second day of Voodoo included sunshine, although the ground were still soaked.  Luckily Voodoo organizers were on top of their game and brought in sand to help the situation.  We caught the gypsy punk act, Gogol Bordello, which turned the Playstation/Billboard stage into an all out dance party.  They were the best band, I'd never heard of before.  Go see them if you ever get a chance.  Wolfmother destroyed the place, but said they turned it down so they wouldn't "upstage" KISS.  If that was turned down, I'd feel sorry for my ears if they were going all out.  Jane's Addiction was awesome.  I'd always wanted to see them but never got a chance, then they broke up.  There set included a film short staring Kevin Bacon and a young boy who said he'd wished he'd got a chance to see Jane's before they broke up.  They opened with my favorite "Mountain Song" and their set included "Ocean Sized," "Been Caught Stealin," "Stop," "Nothing Shocking," and, of course, "Jane Says."  Awesome.  Ferrell took time out to encourage the crowd to get out of control and mentioned how happy he was too see the city coming back even if there's more to be accomplished.  Kiss was awesome, of course.  Given that they started in 1973, a year after I was born, and are still putting on that kind of live show you've got to give it up for them.  And, yes, they were loud as hell.  We closed out the night by heading over to catch a few minutes of George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic before we headed home.

On Sunday, we got there in time to hear The Pogues and Brand New, both of which were excellent.  I'd always wanted to see The Pogues.  I'm not a big Widespread Panic fan, which might surprise some, but they put on an excellent live show.  I certainly understand why so many people do like them.  But, they bring out an odd mix of people that includes Frat boys, young kids pretending to be hippies, older folks, and a lot of cops.  The searches on the way in were more rigorous and the security presence was much stronger than I noticed any other day.  A friend of ours saw a hippie get chased and tackled by the cops on her way into the park.  Plus, some hippie kid passing out coupons for the Ra Shop tried to sell me some weed at $25/gram.  I wouldn't pay that much for it even if I wanted to smoke it.  I guess you gotta expect price gouging though since all the beer and booze was way overpriced too.  Seven bucks for a 16oz. bottle of Miller Lite or $5 for can!  Are you kidding me?!!!!!!  On the upside I guess it keeps people from getting too drunk since nobody can really afford that beer at that prince during an economic downturn.  On the plus side, most of the food that I had there was excellent.  But, I still think they should let people bring in their own sandwiches

Pricey booze aside, the highlight on Sunday for me was seeing The Flamming Lips who put on one excellent, weird show.  Their set started with a video of a dancing lady made of pulsating light that eventually sat down spread her legs wide open.  The band members emerged or were rather birthed from her lady parts, then frontman Coyne came out in a huge ballon which he used to crowd surf a little.  You just cannot go wrong with tons of confetti cannons - which must've been fired at least 5 times during the opening song - and an amazing light show against the backdrop of a sunset.  Great set.  We stuck around to hear several songs from Lenny Kravitz who was also excellent, and had a great horn section playing with him.  I was rockin' to "Mr. Cabdriver."  But, after three days of music we were a little tired and decided to head back home a little early. 

My only complaint - other than the bad weather and stinky bathrooms - is that there are just too many good acts playing at the same time and there's just no way to work it to see all of them unless I can figure out a way to be in more than one place at the same time.  Next year though I think we're gonna spring for the LOA passes.  Having access to a full bar and cleaner bathrooms alone should be worth the cost if we get them early, and the front row access to the Voodoo stage won't be bad either.

Voodoo Review

What would normally be an hour drive to New Orleans turned into a 2 and a half hour trip due to traffic and bad weather on Friday.  But, we made it to Voodoo Fest just in time to grab a couple beers, and catch the last of Justice's set before Eminem hit the stage.  Due to the bad weather and traffic we missed The Black Keys and Silversun Pickups.  It stopped raining about 15 minutes before a the rapper's video introduction started.  It was a film-short about a serial killer on the loose, in Louisiana.  The crowd went nuts, then Eminem came out and launched into "3am," if I recall correctly.  I was skeptical about what the performance would be like, but I gotta say with a full band and DJ Eminem was really good.  And, he was joined on stage by the rest of D12 for "My Band" and "Purple Pills."  The set included other hits like "Without Me," "Stan," and he closed the show with "Loose Yourself" as an encore. 

The second day of Voodoo included sunshine, although the ground were still soaked.  Luckily Voodoo organizers were on top of their game and brought in sand to help the situation.  We caught the gypsy punk act, Gogol Bordello, which turned the Playstation/Billboard stage into an all out dance party.  They were the best band, I'd never heard of before.  Go see them if you ever get a chance.  Wolfmother destroyed the place, but said they turned it down so they wouldn't "upstage" KISS.  If that was turned down, I'd feel sorry for my ears if they were going all out.  Jane's Addiction was awesome.  I'd always wanted to see them but never got a chance, then they broke up.  There set included a film short staring Kevin Bacon and a young boy who said he'd wished he'd got a chance to see Jane's before they broke up.  They opened with my favorite "Mountain Song" and their set included "Ocean Sized," "Been Caught Stealin," "Stop," "Nothing Shocking," and, of course, "Jane Says."  Awesome.  Ferrell took time out to encourage the crowd to get out of control and mentioned how happy he was too see the city coming back even if there's more to be accomplished.  Kiss was awesome, of course.  Given that they started in 1973, a year after I was born, and are still putting on that kind of live show you've got to give it up for them.  And, yes, they were loud as hell.  We closed out the night by heading over to catch a few minutes of George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic before we headed home.

On Sunday, we got there in time to hear The Pogues and Brand New, both of which were excellent.  I'd always wanted to see The Pogues.  I'm not a big Widespread Panic fan, which might surprise some, but they put on an excellent live show.  I certainly understand why so many people do like them.  But, they bring out an odd mix of people that includes Frat boys, young kids pretending to be hippies, older folks, and a lot of cops.  The searches on the way in were more rigorous and the security presence was much stronger than I noticed any other day.  A friend of ours saw a hippie get chased and tackled by the cops on her way into the park.  Plus, some hippie kid passing out coupons for the Ra Shop tried to sell me some weed at $25/gram.  I wouldn't pay that much for it even if I wanted to smoke it.  I guess you gotta expect price gouging though since all the beer and booze was way overpriced too.  Seven bucks for a 16oz. bottle of Miller Lite or $5 for can!  Are you kidding me?!!!!!!  On the upside I guess it keeps people from getting too drunk since nobody can really afford that beer at that prince during an economic downturn.  On the plus side, most of the food that I had there was excellent.  But, I still think they should let people bring in their own sandwiches

Pricey booze aside, the highlight on Sunday for me was seeing The Flamming Lips who put on one excellent, weird show.  Their set started with a video of a dancing lady made of pulsating light that eventually sat down spread her legs wide open.  The band members emerged or were rather birthed from her lady parts, then frontman Coyne came out in a huge ballon which he used to crowd surf a little.  You just cannot go wrong with tons of confetti cannons - which must've been fired at least 5 times during the opening song - and an amazing light show against the backdrop of a sunset.  Great set.  We stuck around to hear several songs from Lenny Kravitz who was also excellent, and had a great horn section playing with him.  I was rockin' to "Mr. Cabdriver."  But, after three days of music we were a little tired and decided to head back home a little early. 

My only complaint - other than the bad weather and stinky bathrooms - is that there are just too many good acts playing at the same time and there's just no way to work it to see all of them unless I can figure out a way to be in more than one place at the same time.  Next year though I think we're gonna spring for the LOA passes.  Having access to a full bar and cleaner bathrooms alone should be worth the cost if we get them early, and the front row access to the Voodoo stage won't be bad either.

The Spanish Moon's Swanky New Website

The Spanish Moon, Baton Rouge, LA - Bar and Live Music.  Pretty nice upgrade from the previous version. Now, if they could just get rid of the puke smell inside the place.

The Spanish Moon's Swanky New Website

The Spanish Moon, Baton Rouge, LA - Bar and Live Music.  Pretty nice upgrade from the previous version. Now, if they could just get rid of the puke smell inside the place.

Monotonix Show

Monotonix puts on quite a show.  Last night I saw them for the second time at The Spanish Moon.  The opening act was one of the worst bands I'd ever seen though.  It was a duo, a drummer and a guitar player/vocalist.  They basically just played 90 second "songs" that involved lots of screaming.  It was not very musical even for thrasher punk.  But, Monotonix rocked the place.  They do not play on the stage, they play around the bar . . . dragging the drum kit along with them as they roam through the place with super long mic and guitar cords.  The band started off the set right in front of the stage (see below), and moved around the room for a while, and then went outside and all the way down the street (see below).  Then they came back inside and went upstairs to play the finale.  If you like loud rock'n roll, then you'll like Monotonix.  But, if you do not like lead singers throwing beer all over the place as he makes his way through the crowd during the set, then you might want to wear a rain jacket.

Monotonix Show

Monotonix puts on quite a show.  Last night I saw them for the second time at The Spanish Moon.  The opening act was one of the worst bands I'd ever seen though.  It was a duo, a drummer and a guitar player/vocalist.  They basically just played 90 second "songs" that involved lots of screaming.  It was not very musical even for thrasher punk.  But, Monotonix rocked the place.  They do not play on the stage, they play around the bar . . . dragging the drum kit along with them as they roam through the place with super long mic and guitar cords.  The band started off the set right in front of the stage (see below), and moved around the room for a while, and then went outside and all the way down the street (see below).  Then they came back inside and went upstairs to play the finale.  If you like loud rock'n roll, then you'll like Monotonix.  But, if you do not like lead singers throwing beer all over the place as he makes his way through the crowd during the set, then you might want to wear a rain jacket.

Pics from Monotonix at The Spanish Moon

  Last night after a few drinks at Churchill's the 'ole lady and I went to The Spanish Moon to meet up with a few friends to see Hollywood Blues, a local band, and Monotonix from Tel Aviv. 

While I usually like the sorts of bands that play at The Spanish Moon it's my least favorite venue in Baton Rouge as far as sound goes.  It's a big brick building that's just does not seem all that conducive to good sound.  That aside the trio that make up Monotonix completely rocked!  The band, particularly the led singer, is basically crazy.  They played the show in the crowd and the moved the drum kit around the room for a while during the show before ending up out in the street with a crowd of folks dancing around.

Monotonix basically has a garage band sound with mountains of fuzzy guitar, which I love!  The sound was big enough that you almost forget that there's no bass player.  If love fuzzy rock this is a band you definitely need to check out.  In fact, even if you don't like that kind of music, you should go see the band play just to check out the band's kick ass shorts and lively stage presence.

As for the local opening band, Hollywood Blues . . . well . . . eh.  They're also have a garage sound that draws heavily on late 60s rock, punk, blues, and I think I detected some country flavor in their too.  It's a hipster band, basically, which isn't bad but they were not exactly the best hipster band I've ever seen.

Pics from Monotonix at The Spanish Moon

  Last night after a few drinks at Churchill's the 'ole lady and I went to The Spanish Moon to meet up with a few friends to see Hollywood Blues, a local band, and Monotonix from Tel Aviv. 

While I usually like the sorts of bands that play at The Spanish Moon it's my least favorite venue in Baton Rouge as far as sound goes.  It's a big brick building that's just does not seem all that conducive to good sound.  That aside the trio that make up Monotonix completely rocked!  The band, particularly the led singer, is basically crazy.  They played the show in the crowd and the moved the drum kit around the room for a while during the show before ending up out in the street with a crowd of folks dancing around.

Monotonix basically has a garage band sound with mountains of fuzzy guitar, which I love!  The sound was big enough that you almost forget that there's no bass player.  If love fuzzy rock this is a band you definitely need to check out.  In fact, even if you don't like that kind of music, you should go see the band play just to check out the band's kick ass shorts and lively stage presence.

As for the local opening band, Hollywood Blues . . . well . . . eh.  They're also have a garage sound that draws heavily on late 60s rock, punk, blues, and I think I detected some country flavor in their too.  It's a hipster band, basically, which isn't bad but they were not exactly the best hipster band I've ever seen.

Toadies at The Varsity