The annual Voodoo Music + Arts Experience will be returning to New Orleans City Park for the 19th year this fall with a diverse musical lineup that was just announced today.
Tickets go on sale Friday for the Festival and having attended many in the past we can tell you it is an amazing experience. The location is gorgeous the food is sublime and the talent is impressive.
Some of the personal highlight acts for RtBE this year are: Charles Bradley, Bleached, The Black Angels and Benjamin Booker. Unfortunately we will not be attending the Experience in 2017 but to get us in the mood, here are a few videos of the headlining acts that will be playing:
RtBE used to love looking forward to Voodoo Fest as much as JazzFest. Times they are a changing though as we are no longer really into the Voodoo Experience, or at least not nearly as much as Jazzfest but with the recent announcement of headliners we thought we would take a look at whose playing.
The three headliners who we already mentioned Arcade Fire, Tool and The Weekend, honestly don't do much/anything for us, which is fine. NOLA festivals always seem to be better when you don't care about the headliner. So here are some deeper bands we would check out if we head down (Still up in the air at his point).
Band of Horses
We mentioned this last week, but we are excited for one of favorite bands to come back onto the scene after a few years of silence. Here they are playing live on Letterman from a few years ago.
The Claypool Lennon Delirium We reviewed them recently and this would be fun, but this leads us to think Les will be sitting in during a lot of late night gigs around town which would probably be even better than this set at the fest.
Seratones
We loved them a few months ago live and really dig their new album obviously this would be a set to catch. Here they are live:
Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaire's
Some Retro soul would work well at the fest....
The Sazerwrap has been the @RockBodyElec way of rounding up all the amazing things that happen down at our annual trip to Jazzfest
in New Orleans. As in past years we will breaking
the review up into two parts, Food and Music, today is the food. Only 11 Months until next years
festival!
Food and joyous celebration of eats, cocktails and ribaldry are just as important to the music on our annual Jazzfest pilgrimage. Click the read more and jump in...
Last year we searched the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and posted them to the site monthly. That was all well and good but this year RtBE is upping the ante with a show every week to celebrate Full Show Friday's.
These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so
enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every
which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still
playing)...This week...Big Gigantic!
For the month of October we will be highlighting bands that will be playing this years Voodoo Experience, this is an Encore for the start of November as the fest is underway now! Big Gigantic play the festival tomorrow, so if you are there check them out!
We linked to a Big Gigantic album a while ago and we can see their rise in popularity as the jam-electro craze carries on. This video is not pro shot and far from pro sound, but you can get idea of the style and show. In reality you should be down at Voodoo anyway instead of listening to this...but enjoy if you can't get the real thing tomorrow:
Last year we searched the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and posted them to the site monthly. That was all well and good but this year RtBE is upping the ante with a show every week to celebrate Full Show Friday's.
These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so
enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every
which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still
playing)...This week...Pearl Jam!
For the month of October we will be highlighting bands that will be playing this years Voodoo Experience, this is the last of our four entries...see you at Voodoo next weekend.
The one act we can not wait to see, and we have seen them a bunch already, is Pearl Jam. One of the few stadium ready rock bands still around, so when they take the stage at this years Voodoo Experience on Friday we will be expecting a good show and they will damn sure deliver even if we weren't too high on their newest release.
That said, last time we were in NOLA for Pearl Jam was at Jazzfest a few years back it is easily the worst we ever saw the band play, they weren't bad, they were just faaasssstt! The whole band was juiced to be in town and they sped through their songs and bolted. So I am guessing they will get it together down in the Big Easy this time.
Now we have a show from England in 2007 when the band was fired up from the success of Pearl Jam (The Avocado) and the set is a rocking good time. They come out on fire teasing some angry Pink Floyd before a bunch of rockers, our favorites from the early going are "Corduroy" and "World Wide Suicide" Later in the show we dig "I Am Mine" (of course) but the whole thing is really well played. The show is pro-shot, pro-sound so enjoy, sorry the encore's ain't here.
Last year we searched the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and posted them to the site monthly. That was all well and good but this year RtBE is upping the ante with a show every week to celebrate Full Show Friday's.
These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so
enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every
which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still
playing)...This week...Kid Rock!
Ahh now this is one we are sad we will be missing, Kid Rock in New Orleans just seems like a match made in heaven and if we didn't have to fly back on Sunday we would have def stuck around to see his crazy ass. Hoping to hang with him somewhere in the murky back corners of that town...and I would say I got at least 50/50 odds on that.
Rather then going into the songs, which we honestly dig, I will tell a story. Years ago one drunken night friends and family were chatting about the best party people out there, and who we would draft for our team. Celebrities, Rock stars, People we know all got mentioned and you can probably see where this is going...I drafted Kid Rock real early for my party team, I think the first round (either him of Jack Nicholson). He just seems like he would be a barrel of fun and I think we would probably find a ton of common ground.
Pro Shot, but the sound is a bit low, and reading the comments it is obvious this isn't the full show...
Last year we searched the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and posted them to the site monthly. That was all well and good but this year RtBE is upping the ante with a show every week to celebrate Full Show Friday's.
These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so
enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every
which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still
playing)...This week...The Cure!
This week we have a band that I never got into, the closest I came to digging them were Dinosaur Jr's. cover of their tune. That said they will be headlining this year and I wanted to share their show. I guess I should mention it two weeks into my preview of this upcoming festival..the lineup stinks. I don't care as the city is the real draw to head south, but god this lineup is total weaksauce. I could literally count on my hands the bands I would really want to see...that ain't good, but Voodoo has always been more for the kids, so maybe I am just getting old.
The fact that I never connected with The Cure doesn't matter much as they sound like they did years ago. The music is still poppy, while lightly brooding. "Just Like Heaven" of course is my highlight, I like "Inbetween Days" as well, but fans I am sure will be able to tell me other gems that they love and I am missing out on. This is also the most recent of the shows we will be posting this month, so odds are this set will be a lot like the one they play at Voodoo.
Don't waste any time, click that link up there and get on in there. We will have a review soon, we have been a bit back and fourth on the songs released so far, but the cool thing is, everyone can form their own opinion.
Last year we searched the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and posted them to the site monthly. That was all well and good but this year RtBE is upping the ante with a show every week to celebrate Full Show Friday's.
These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so
enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every
which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still
playing)...This week...Nine Inch Nails!
We are starting off this series with a band/artist who lived in New Orleans and has roots in the community. This concert actually comes from a past Voodoo show that Trent played as NIN back in 2005 when proceeds went directly to hurricane victims.
We have always liked NIN at an arms length, and will probably not make it to their set at this years festival, but if they could guarantee a set list and playing like the one we are watching today we might switch our plans up, this is cooking! Reznor is emotional, fired up, and a more engaging front man then I have ever seen him be before.
The only downside is someone STUPIDLY decided to censor this performance, I am only guessing it was a TV broadcast and things were on delay, but I have no other reason why someone would decide to censor anything like this. That is surprisingly the only negative to this outstanding show...
It opens with an aggressive blast of the NIN that we dug back in the day "Head Like A Hole" but it is updated with a dramatic digital ending that soars. "Terrible Lie" continues the old power while "Closer" is pure industrial sexuality, and the guest appearance of Saul Williams is a bonus (the editing does stiffle things a bit). The fact they played the best song he created, "List Of Demands" is cool. Wow, did that album really come out in 08? Time is flying.
NIN gems like "Wish" "Suck" and "Hurt" make this a killer set...hmmm we may have to catch him on Saturday now after all...this show is damn good.
Ehhh this one is a bit weird. Very middle of the road bland, piano heavy without being interesting or inspiring...hmmm, we liked "Mind Your Manners" when we first heard that but this one seems dull. We hope the full album will be better and this will flow when the disk is in motion...thoughts on this tune?
So Pearl Jam played Wrigley last week and while the show was interrupted by weather related delay's there were still some cool happenings in Chicago.
One of the biggest was having Mr. Cub himself come out and sing "All The Way" with Eddie Vedder who is a big baseball fan and loves his Cubs.
Below is a video of the song which was inspired by Ernie Banks himself as Banks welcomes everyone to his house.
Pretty cool all around, combining our love of Pearl Jam and Baseball, two things near and dear to our hearts. We can't wait to see Pearl Jam rock out in New Orleans at Voodoo Fest. Here is the full version of the song now:
The Sazerwrap has been RtBE way of rounding up all the amazing things that happen down at our annual trip to Jazzfest
in New Orleans. This year we will breaking
the review up into two parts, Food and Music, today is the food. Only 11 Months until next years
festival!
Every year it gets harder and harder to put into words how amazing the NOLA Jazzfest experience is. From the amazing friends whose numbers keep expanding to the all night raging to the music and food that just melts your brain and clogs your heart...Things are pretty much magical in that town.
Today we will talk about the calorie inducing portion of the trip, the tasty eats that NOLA is famous for. Each year seems to up the ante on the restaurants we hit and the great variety and quality of the grub and cocktails.
Last year we searched the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts
and posted them to the site monthly. That was all well and good but this year RtBE
is upping the ante with a show every week to celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for
long so enjoy them
while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way,
but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Neil Young & Crazy Horse!
Ok so we shockingly missed one of our hero's last year when they played Voodoo Fest, but we have the full show professionally shot here, ready to go with amazing visuals and sound.
This recent NY&CH set might not have switched up much as the tour progressed, we caught it twice and loved it both nights...hell, who doesn't love a good rumble?!?! We wrote a full review of one of the stops here for Glide so we won't write too much more regarding this one...Enjoy:
2012-10-26, City Park, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Voodoo Experience
w/ Crazy Horse
Love And Only Love / Powderfinger / Born In Ontario / Walk Like A Giant / The Needle And The Damage Done / Twisted Road / Ramada Inn / Cinnamon Girl / F*!#in' Up / Psychedelic Pill / Mr. Soul / Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black) // Like A Hurricane
There are a lot of places I like, but I like New Orleans better. There's
a thousand different angles at any moment. At any time you could run
into a ritual honoring some vaguely known queen. Bluebloods, titled
persons like crazy drunks, lean weakly against the walls and drag
themselves through the gutter. Even they seem to have insights you might
want to listen to. No action seems inappropriate here. The city is one
very long poem.
Bob Dylan is one of my hero's, sure I love his songs, but even if I hated them his description of New Orleans in his book Chronicles is the best I have ever read. I agree 100% with him on all of it, and just reading those lines makes me want to buy a return ticket...Jazzfest can't come soon enough...but let's not get ahead of ourselves, Voodoo Experience still has plenty to offer.
Mid way through Saturday, heading over to the main stage one had to get roped into the multi-genre-multi-cultural offerings of Ozomatli who combined everything from hip-hop to salsa in their set, fitting in beautifully amongst the musical blending pot of New Orleans. This LA band brings the party live every time,
What is better under the mid day delta sun then a bit of metal? Mastodon took to the main stage and under pristine skies thrashed out a set worthy of the main stage bashing and blasting notes all across gorgeous City Park. Groups of fans headbanging or even laid down to enjoy the madness surrounding as costume clad revelers (lots of Sexy Native Americans flocking around this year) drank and gabbed behind the metal curtain being lowered over the stage.
Next up was suppose to be the fantastic Azztravaganza, showcasing the best in NOLA bounce, but sound issues and a bit of Diva-ness seemed to delay things for waaay too long. One of the problems of any festival is booking and scheduling and while Cheeky Blakk and the others would have been great to catch for more then just a few songs of, Social Distortion called back on the main-stage.
While I will never doubt the absolute coolness of Mike Ness, this set at Voodoo was not one of the bands best. They played all of the hits and had the crowd pogo-ing, but the overall sound, either from the venue itself or the band, was not up to snuff. There was a tin sound that was high pitched and distracting through much of their set. It didn't distract the fans though from crooning along with the punk legends.
Saturday had to end early at this point, but Sunday came on strong like a stiff Sazerac. The Sheepdogs woke up some sleepy eyes via their straight up blues rock riffing.
Fishbone brought their freaky style-ee sense to the stage just afternoon, but again scheduling became an issue as Dr John and Preservation Hall with Del McCoury were all scheduled at the same time causing lots of walks back and fourth from stage to stage...thankfully they were real close. Then a rare treat occurred as the Morning 40 Federation was resurrected and reunited for a special Voodoo Experience show.
Blowing a Baritone and playing on a Slide trombone the group washed the crowd in its sludge water party music causing even the most hungover revelers to raise a cocktail towards the stage. The group ran through it's drunk classics's like "Gin Instead of Whiskey" and "Dumpster Juice" while closing the daytime shenanigans with the classic "Corkscrew". For professional videos from their set click on over here!
The Holy Voodoo Last Day continued over on the main stage with Odd Future, who can safely be called the worst band to grace any stage that RtBE caught this weekend. Their recycled hip-hop beats sounded tiny and weak on the huge stage, their rhymes mixed "fuck" in so much it just sounded lazy. The group had little charisma and even people who went in want to catch them live were walking around disappointed post set.
Thankfully after them TV On The Radio took over and while things were instantly rectified the group built and built a layered set. While at times the nuances of their studio recordings were lost over the vast field the group managed to pull things off in the end.
The band played a combo from their albums and was more intellectual and textured then groovy causing most fans just to watch as opposed to dance, which was a distinct difference then most of the crowds through out the festival.
While semi on the fence during the set the bands final number put the playing over the edge as they threw down a surprise cover. "Waiting Room" by Fugazi is a direct ticket to RtBE's heart and these Brooklyn boys did it swimmingly. Here is a version of their cover from this summer:
Then the final schedule conflict of the festival, The Meters or Cheap Trick? George Porter Jr's bass lines were so tasty we just had to chew on them for a while, but we couldn't pass up the Trick when it came to some classic 70's rocking:
That also made the transition easier to the finale and highlight of a weekend of highlights with The Raconteurs closing out an amazing weekend of music. Jack and the boys were a steam engine driving south from Memphis straight through to the mouth of the Mississippi, rolling the whole dam way. The group is exactly what a rock and roll band is all about, power, texture, kick ass-riffs, engaging verses and sing-along chorus's....you gotta give it up for one of the best bands in America. Opening their headlining set with "Consolers of The Lonely" the band never looked back. They played almost all of their back catalog and never let down for an instant, truly a set for the ages and a perfect way to wrap things up on this weekend:
Epic "Blue Veins" Solo:
Until next year when the Voodoo Dawn calls once again, and RtBE tries to chase it down...
The ghosts race towards the light, you can almost hear the heavy
breathing spirits, all determined to get somewhere. New Orleans, unlike a
lot of those places you go back to and that don't have the magic
anymore, still has got it. Night can swallow you up, yet none of it
touches you. Around any corner, there's a promise of something daring
and ideal and things are just getting going.
This town just drips intrigue, it infects your blood like a drug and reeks havoc with your mind. Worlds are swallowed with every drop of spirits and eons flow by in hours. The 2011 Voodoo Experience was no exception, it rushed by but felt suspended in time while combusting in the air above City Park.
After some effervescent lunch time Gin Gin Mules at the Swizzle Stick Bar in the Loews Hotel we made our way into the dazzling City Park Landscape, which has to rank as one of the most magnificent locations to host a concert in the country.
Weeping willows extend over fairgrounds, offering shade and relaxation beneath sunny skies. The New Orleans weather was intensely schizophrenic on this journey as Day time set's were held under burning suns while night fall brought forceful winds chilling the crowd, there were many costumed revelers unprepared for the drastic changes. In the shadow of a hurricane that blew by one couldn't help but be grateful for all the dry nights presented though.
Besides being blown away by the venue, the 5+ stages were all humming with vibrant performers from noon until midnight. Friday had a few bright spots, one was the LA soul outfit Fitz & The Tantrums who had the Bingo Parlor Stage grooving to their smooth jazzy soulscapes:
The constant delight of Band of Horse's was also appreciated by the masses as the group controlled the main stage with ease and delivered a heart warming set. Looking as if they just walked off of Frenchman the group blasted off into "The Great Salt Lake", got expansive with the title track off it's most recent album "Infinite Arms" and dripped with emotion over "No One's Gonna Love You". "Cigarettes, Wedding Bands" was a crowd-pleaser as well:
The band had masses of fans singing along and with their new album almost finished up here's hoping they continue their upward trajectory. Soundgarden ended the night via their metal/grunge ways playing crowd favorites like "Spoonman" "Beyond The Wheel" and "Fell On Black Days". The group added an "event" feel to what just felt like a fantastic day in the park.
Saturday started early for RtBE as we got to the fairgrounds before noon to catch the gutter gospel styling of the one and only Rough Seven .
Click on the pic to expand (more Rough Seven pictures below)
While not packed to the gills, it didn't matter as the band easily put on one of our favorite sets of the whole weekend with their winning mix of gospel, rock, mayhem and energy. Their late night Checkpoint Charlies set (while lacking a female touch) ramped up the energy even more 12 hours later...these kids are a must see attraction whenever they grace the stage in New Orleans.
Because Voodoo won't let me embed the offical videos, you need to click on these links but they are worth it Here is "Had A Home" and one of RtBE's favorite songs from any band, "Meltdown"
After that delicious set it was time to check out the food selection at Voodoo, and while light years better then most festivals, there did seem to be a lot of the same food, just prepared by different local stations. We scarfed down a Fried Green Tomato and Shrimp Po'Boy as friends tried out a host of different entrees such as the Vegan Black Beans and Rice and Crawfish Bread Bowls.
To digest we strolled the park grounds following the Noisician Coalition Parade, which was a hoot as they laid down in front of concert goers and freaked out everyone they could.
When we got back around to the stages we were just in time to catch The Soul Rebels Brass Band and start getting funky!
The beauty of a festival like this was the proximity of the stages but never a mixing of sound. You have the ability to wander between the blasting funk of the Soul Rebels and the piano based rock and roll of the Happy Talk Band:
The Song "Mayday" from this years Voodoo:
We took full advantage of this checking out bands for a song here or there before settling down to get down. This would come in very handy for Sunday night, but we aren't even through with Saturday yet! For that and more you will just have to wait for part 2 of the review. Until then a few more RtBE Pics from the Rough Seven set, click to expand:
Rock The Body Electric will be covering this years Voodoo Experience. Leading up to the event we will be showcasing some of the acts who are playing the show, now the spotlight shines on: The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs close the festival on Sunday @ 7:15 on Le Ritual Voodoo Stage
They were a surprise late announcement and coming as a huge victory for all rock and roll fans Voodoo Experience placed the storytellers of rock and roll as the festival closers on the main stage. Jack White has recently been touring with Wanda Jackson, Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler did a Greenhornes record and Brendan Benson has been working on some solo action, but the time has come for the group to reunite.
The band started back in 2005 and released their first album Broken Boy Soldiers. It was instantly clear that White relished the opportunity to break out of his self made confines and play with a full rock and roll outfit. Keller and Lawrence provided the thundering low-end while Benson provided a writing partner for him, flourishing into a full group not just a side show vanity project. The songs were solid if not earth shattering, "Level", "Store Bought Bones" and "Steady As She Goes" were all winners:
The band hit the road and RtBE had the privilege of first catching them open for Bob Dylan in 2006 and were instantly impressed, seeing them 3 more times that tour. The band's second album Consolers of The Lonely was a surprise to most fans as it was recorded quickly and released even quicker in 2008. The album was sonic blast of pure rock and roll with the group hitting on all cylinders.
The disk doesn't let up from beginning to end, no weak tracks at all. RtBE helped out Glide Magazine at the end of the last decade with their "best of" list, and we ranked Consolers of the Lonely as the 4th best album of the decade, here's what we wrote:
#4. The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely (2008) The
rock world had been waiting and it finally happened; Jack got himself a
band. The first effort from these raconteurs had it’s moments but the
stars aligned when Consolers of the Lonely was conceived and rushed to
release. Loose enough in production yet utterly precise it destroys
speakers with its power (“Salute Your Solution” & “Attention”)
soothes with it’s over the top pomp (“The Switch and The Spur” &
“Many Shades of Black”) and most surprisingly goes huge with its arena
rock-ability (“Rich Kid Blues” & “Consolers of The Lonely”). Brian
Stoltz, guitarist for the Funky Meters told Glide
in regards to this album: “I can’t find one note on this record to
criticize - nothing out there this innovative. In the land of noodles
and white gravy, these guys are the saviors of rock ‘n roll.” We agree.
Stoltz is a New Orleans staple, and one of RtBE favorite shows ever was The Raconteurs set at the 08 Jazzfest when the ripped into the new album with flair and passion. Their live show is just as dominate as the albums and probably even more so as the group lets it all hang out:
Hopefully you can stay until the end of the Voodoo Experience because The Rac's promise a hell of a show, and lets hope a new album soon!
Rock The Body Electric will be covering this years Voodoo Experience. Leading up to the event we will be showcasing some of the acts who are playing the show, now the spotlight shines on: Morning 40 Federation
Morning 40 Federation will be playing @ 3:15 at Le Carnival Bingo! Parlor.
The band of marauders known as the Morning 40 Federation are a perfect example of the mystical power of the Voodoo Experience. The band is no longer, but rises like revived Zombies every Halloween as the group reunites for a special concert. The band is drawn to the fest like a drunk to a free shot...and that is something else this group knows about....
The group was legendary for their insane live sets at the beginning of the 00's becoming a must see live act in NOLA and one that would routinely sell out, party all night and end in a mix of sweat, liquor and mayhem. Their were mainstays until 09 when they played their last show during Mardi Gras:
RtBE first got turned on to the group back in 02 or 03 (the years blur together) when we went to the quarter to celebrate Halloween, some insane costumes were in tow that year, but what stood out the most from that trip was catching Morning 40 Federation at One Eyed Jack's. The band was on fire and the crowd was lapping up every minute, they played all night and we hung with the band post and then drank with the rising sun. It was a trip as is the band:
We caught up again with them in NYC when they played one of the dirtiest bars in Manhattan (it was closed down shortly after they played) for a friends book release party. The group does it's best to contain the mayhem and put out horn drenched funk-outs and break down/get down jams all behind lyrical yammering and howling.
The cocktails and other things will be in full effect on Sunday afternoon as the band takes the stage. It is pure Boosh to catch the fellas when they are playing, and an even bigger one when it is this haunted time of year...their set is not to be missed.
Rock The Body Electric will be covering this years Voodoo Experience. Leading up to the event we will be showcasing some of the acts who are playing the show, now the spotlight shines on: Fishbone
Fishbone will be playing Sunday 10/30 @ 1:45 in Le Carnival Bingo! Parlor
We are moving now to the last day of the festival with our Sunday Spotlights and there are a ton of great acts playing the Voodoo Experience's last day, so pace yourself kiddies!
The rock/funk/soul/toss-all-the-sounds-in-a-bucket-and-see-what-pops group from Los Angeles California, Fishbone will be doing their dirty deeds this year making the Voodoo Experience that much more freaky. The band has seen it all over the last 30 years and still continues to get amped and play with unbridled passion.
Coming to prominence in the late 80's Fishbone were the great band that never seem to break out into massive stardom that seemed destined for them. Now they have a new documentary titled Everyday Sunshine that chronicles the bands career and since it has been completed the band has hit the road to accompany showings of the film. Voodoo Fest is one of the biggest stages the band has played in a while and surely they will rise to the occasion.
RtBE have been mega-fans of the group ever since we first got a cassette copy of the bands self titled EP released in 1985, and it is still the recording that holds the dearest place in our hearts to this day. Tracks like "Lying Ass Bitch", "U.G.L.Y" and "Another Generation" are all fantastic tracks, not to mention the uber jam, "Party At Ground Zero"
Recently RtBE had the privilege of catching the band with a bunch of good friends and we were amazed that the group has lost none of it's edge, in fact they were tighter then they had been in recent years according to most in attendance.
The album Truth and Soul is another fantastic voyage with a number of great tracks, the bands cover of "Freddie's Dead" was a fantastic update of a classic track, an exceptional cover. "Subliminal Fascism" is an out and out burner, "Ma and Pa" has always been one of the favorites, but the track that takes the cake is "Bonin' In the Boneyard" with Norwood Fishers insane bass runs:
Joining Norwood on stage in NOLA will be the irrepressible Angelo Moore and the guitar magician Rocky George who played with metal/hardcore stalwarts Suicidal Tendencies and the Cro-Mags. The band is primed for some mid day Halloween insanity on the 30th, so cruise on by the Bingo! Parlor at 1:15 to get onboard the freak train.
Rock The Body Electric will be covering this years Voodoo Experience. Leading up to the event we will be showcasing some of the acts who are playing the show, now the spotlight shines on: Mastodon
Mastodon will be playing Saturday 10/29 @ 4:15 pm on the Le Ritual Voodoo Stage
There can be many late night bar-stool arguments as too which bands were and will be the funkiest, bring the best party or groove the smoothest on the Voodoo Experience stages, but the argument regarding the heaviest group on the bill? No need for that one as Mastodon has been tapped to bring their ice age riffage to the Le Ritual Stage for the masses. The sludge metal proprietors from Atlanta aren't all doom and gloom though, they are intellectually conceptual (almost to a fault) and have a keen sense of humor as they wrote tracks for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Movie, just peep this:
That is bad ass! The group has really done a number of interesting metal albums/prog-rock at times with their elongated songs and winding concepts. RtBE got turned on to the group back in 2004 when we heard that a southern metal band had just released an album based on Melville's American Masterpiece Moby Dick. The album was Leviathan and it is still our favorite from the group. Here is one of the mega tracks from that release, "Blood And Thunder"
If you are going to put the time and effort into a project like that AND pull it off, RtBE will forever be a fan. Granted their last few albums have received larger critical acclaim and sales, but the tales of the whale always fell the freshest for some reason, all though I still think Melville should have received a writing credit....
Blood Mountain came next with its complex changes and mental acrobatics amidst searching lyrics (minus the grooves thatkept Leviathan engaging and afloat though), and then the tripped out Crack The Skye followed. It was an emotional journey and a concept about Russian prohpets, time-travel and who knows what else. Dedicated to drummer Brann Dailor's sister Skye who committed suicide the album deals also with some deep issues. The 11 minute "The Czar" is typical of the album, long songs that explore a lot of space:
Their newest release The Hunter, isn't going for a concept and things seem to have been better off, it feels like a classic metal album in all regards. There are traces of Sabbath, Alice In Chains, early Metallica along with a host of other bands, but in the end it still sounds like Mastodon (stay tuned for a full review coming soon to RtBE) One of the tracks that resonates and even sounds radio friendly is "Curl of the Burl":
This Saturday get your headbanging on @ 4:15 on Le Ritual Voodoo Stage with the lumbering Mastodon
