VOODOO FESTIVAL NEW ORLEANS 2015

Starting sixteen years ago, Voodoo Music + Arts Experience has become one of music’s most prestigious, go-to festivals.

Taking place in New Orleans’ historic City Park, Voodoo has been the host of top-selling acts such as Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, Rage Against the Machine, R.E.M., and My Chemical Romance to local, New Orleans born artists, including Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Dr. John, and the Rebirth Brass Band, among numerous others.

This year, the festival’s unexpected headliner was none other than the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne, along with a few friends: Tom Morello, Slash, and Geezer Butler.

The last day of the festival was cancelled due to bad weather, thus calling off bands like Zac Brown, Deadmau5, Title Fight, and Third Eye Blind.

On the opening day, we caught two sets from ex-My Chemical Romance singer, Gerard Way, and his band, The Hormones, and Jason Isbell.

Saturday saw the beginnings of rain, which would last through the rest of the weekend. But that did not halt the music. We were able to catch sets from Clutch, Babes In Toyland, Jane’s Addiction, Public Image LTD, and, as it was billed, Ozzy + Friends, featuring Geezer Butler, Tom Morello, and Slash.

Gerard Way delivered two electric sets – one in the Toyota Tent to 300 and on the main stage to over 3,000. Since MCR’s break-up in 2013, Way stated he would never again play songs from his former band.

Throughout his second set, he slayed through his first solo album, Hesitant Alien‘s, track-list and ended with a Jesus and Mary Chain cover.

Way also used his set to encourage people to speak up about mental illness if they need help. The set ended with him stating, “Make your life your art no matter what it is you do.”

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Jason Isbell from Green Hill, Alabama, was one of the highlights of Voodoo Festival. Since it falls on Halloween weekend, Isbell and his band, The 400 Unit, appeared on stage dressed as Batman: masks, sweatshirts, capes, hoodies, and all.

Former member of Southern Rock band, the Drive-By Truckers, Isbell has found success on his own. This past year, he released Something More Than Free, the follow-up to 2013’s critically acclaimed, Southeastern.

Throughout his set, he played songs from his extensive catalogue, as well as telling stories and making funny jokes about his surroundings.

The funniest came from when he introduced his band: “… and behind me on the drums, all the way from Tuscumbia, Alabama, the biggest thing to come out of Tuscumbia, Alabama, since Helen Keller, my good friend… BATMAN, otherwise known as Chad Gamble.” Every band member was introduced the same way.

The stage where Isbell performed was really close to the EDM stage. “Thanks, Voodoo, for not having us any closer to the dub stage than we already are,” he said with a haughty laugh.

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Saturday, New Orleans saw heavy rain and mud, but that did not stop the music.

Clutch played through the hardest rainfall of the day and brought out members Pepper Keenan and Mike Dean, from recently reunited Corrosion Of Conformity, who were playing a show later that night with Mastodon.

During Spacegrass from Clutch’s 1995 self-titled album, they welcomed Keenan on stage. He is originally from Mississippi but lived in New Orleans most of his life, developing his musical style.

For the last song of their set, Dean performed “D.C. Sound Attack” from the 2013 album Earth Rocker with the band.

 

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A break in the rain came at dusk, just in time for recently reformed Babes In Toyland to bring their girl power to New Orleans. After breaking up in 2001, the outfit is back with a new bass player and a new set of fans, which they state in our interview, is one of the reasons they considered reforming. One fan even made signs that caught the attention of the women.

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Jane’s Addiction rocked, as usual, and performed directly for their audience. They never let their energy fade, and the crowd was engaged throughout the performance. Especially during “Jane Says”, a single from their 1988 debut album Nothing’s Shocking, when the audience yelled the words from beginning to end.

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While the Sex Pistols are a fond memory in the minds of punk fans, John Lydon, formerly known as Johnny Rotten, has returned to the stage with the reunited Public Image, LTD. Touring in support of their new album, What the World Needs Now…, the band brought their unique sound to the stage, while Lydon read from a music stand during most of the songs.

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The inadvertent headliner of the festival, was none other than Ozzy Osbourne himself. Since the third day of the festival would be cancelled, the Prince of Darkness closed out the second day – Halloween – in a way that only he could: with rain, friends, and a little bit of blood.

Joining him throughout the evening were fellow Black Sabbath band member, Geezer Butler; former Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave guitarist, Tom Morello; and former Guns N Roses and Velvet Revolver guitar player, Slash.

Osbourne played through his extensive catalog of projects and kept the crowd engaged, even through the rain.

The best crowd moments came from “Iron Man” and “War Pigs”, when the crowd screamed the words and then sang the guitar riffs.

• = with Tom Morello
  *^ = with Slash and Tom Morello
  *^% = with Geezer Butler

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Ultimately, Voodoo Festival has proven that Rock and Roll, in all forms, is most certainly not dead, and the audiences proved that with their participation, energy and dedication.