You know you’re in for an interesting experience when Gwen Stefani climbs the rafters and Macy Gray feigns masturbation on stage.
The fourth annual Voodoo Music Festival proved to be a genuine crowd pleaser although it didn’t provide legendary acts such as Snoop Dogg or the massive, impenetrable audience that flocked to see last year’s headliner, Tool.
It also lacked last year’s frigid temperatures and tardy performers that left crowds huddling over their pipes for warmth rather than the obvious use (see the above legendary act).
Instead, a warmer, less congested crowd came out to see headlining acts that included No Doubt, 311, Sum 41, Macy Gray, Counting Crows, and Jurassic 5, plus local favorites such as Galactic.
Lesser known acts are also a festival staple.
One such act, Blind Boys of Alabama, opened the festival at 11 a.m. on the Rolling Stone stage.
Jack Johnson, a newer folk rock performer, attracted a surprisingly large audience of loyal fans.
However, the majority of the festival attendees didn’t show up until after 3 p.m, creating long entrance lines and an undetermined waiting period. The wait may have been a treacherous experience, but it was worth it to see the diverse array of acts and a few new additions to the festival scene.
The new Trance Tent was added, and by day included the latest videogames and rave music. By night, Cut Chemist became the first headlining DJ act to take the stage, spinning records to a laser light spectacle before returning to perform with his usual outfit, Jurassic 5, on the Rolling Stone stage.
J5 enthralled the audience with their mixture of melodic rap and playful energy.
However, across the park on the larger Cox stage, Down, one of the few metal bands in the line-up, didn’t fair as well with festival-goers.
It failed to appeal to the Tool leftovers, instead attracting a meager crowd that became thinner and thinner as the lead singer engaged in long-winded speeches between sets.
Macy Gray began her performance with an even smaller audience due to unexpected rainfall.
The rain later subsided and Gray and her band riled up the audience with white ‘fro wigs and sporadic sexual antics, courtesy of Gray.
Back on the Cox stage, No Doubt attracted droves of fans with another example of the energetic performances for which they are known.
During “Just a Girl,” Gwen Stefani did a series of push-ups before scaling the railings of the stage and stopping to sing, allowing the audience members in the back to get a glimpse of her other than from the two large video screens projecting the performance.
Later, Stefani pulled an audience member onstage who held up a sign asking for a hug.
In addition to complying with the fan’s request, he gave her a piggyback ride as she performed another song.
After No Doubt, the focus of the headlining acts shifted to Counting Crows, who performed several popular numbers featuring piano accompaniment along with guitar riffs to an adoring audience.
311 was the last big act of the festival, playing a mixture of heavy rock and ska to the crowd surfers who provided the finale at 10:45 p.m.
In addition to several big-name acts, a little stage near the concession area featured a variety of specialized acts such as belly dancers and folk guitarists.
Aside from catering to almost every musical interest, Voodoo Fest provided a rather low-key atmosphere this year.
The seemingly smaller crowd probably didn’t bring in as much revenue as festival organizers anticipated, but most people seemed to have a good time and look forward to returning to worship the music next year.
treated one fan to a hug. BOTTOM RIGHT (Charles Costello)
(Charles Costello)
Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal from No Doubt give an energetic performance to a huge audience. Stefani later climbed the railing of the stage so that all of her fans could get a chance to see her. Stefani even treated one fan to a hug. (Charles Costello)
