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“Music cleanses the understanding; inspires it, and lifts it into a realm which it would not reach if it were left to itself” --Henry Ward Beecher
NEW ORLEANS | This week brought me no internet and I must say I felt lost. After having been infected by something I caught off of a Facebook app, I decided I will never download any more applications.
Now I have my computer back but discovered last night that the odds are against me as I cannot get NewOrleans.Com to come up. I will figure this out.
The break gave me time to think about my last weekend at Voodoo and my real feelings on the festival. I had many ups and downs throughout last weekend. Even though I enjoyed the music I saw, I am not a “get down and dirty” girl so I was very annoyed with the whole muddy mess left from the torrential rains on Friday. I also think the beer prices are insane ($7 for one drink!). And I was highly disappointed that rapper/poet K’naan did not play on Saturday as I waited and waited for him on the Voodoo Stage. Otherwise, Saturday and Sunday were both beautiful days filled with plenty of sunshine and the joyful sounds of music resonating throughout the entire park.
With the many national acts filling Voodoo’s stage, I must say my favorite bands of the entire show were Gogol Bordello on Saturday, Walter Wolfman and the Dirty Dozen Horn section at the Pres Jazz Hall tent, Lenny Kravitz and the collaboration known as the Noisician Coalition. I also loved the the life sized Bird cage at the entrance to the festival, the Robot, the Mechanical “grasshopper” seen in and out of various concert areas and the Road Kill food booth which featured various choices of meats and veggies wrapped into cone-shaped deliciousness.
I had many high expectations for Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello, and I was not disappointed. Their high-energy, dance-filled, eclectic set stayed on the minds of many of those watching as I have read throughout the week on many people’s Facebook pages and heard murmured around town. I love this band. They filled the stage with their nine members as I swayed and danced while jotting down favorite song lyrics. It's apparent this band loves to play their European brand of music to the masses as evidenced in lead singer Eugene Hurtz words.
“Reggae and gypsy music were created by poor people with nothing to lose,” Hurtz explained. “They had to find a new way to look at the world.”
This way of thinking about music hits home as it reminds me of how New Orleanians feel about our music. Second line and blues music came out of the despair of poor folk attempting to squeeze some joy out of life. Noted lyrics that stuck from the Gogol Bordello set are “Educate thy Friend, my neighbor” which was part of an upbeat, polka style song which featured the band’s dynamic Russian fiddler. During another song that had everyone swaying to and fro (including a pair on stilts), Hurtz played the Spanish guitar beautifully backed by the accordion to the words “One-there is a trap set up for you on every corner of this town.” The song was beautifully executed full of melodic acoustic guitar riffs, heavy accordion sounds and the heartbeat of the drums. It ended with the band and the audience singing together “ay, ay, ay, ay, O-eay!” ending with the Hurtz's Spanish guitar solo.
At one point during one of Bordello’s frantic dance songs one band member came out in a Mexican Wrestler shiny blue metallic mask. It reminded me of the corny “Lucha Libre” movies my stepdad watched on the Spanish channel, Univision.
The last song I remember from the set was their ever so popular “Start Wearing Purple.” This song was written by Hurtz and he explains on his website that he would tell his girlfriend that when she acted a lil crazy because they had a very peculiar neighbor who only wore purple. The song started with the Spanish guitar as well and was heavy on the bass and drums end. A lot of people in the audience seemed to know this song as everyone sang along.
Prior to the Bordello set, I needed some good ole New Orleans music and headed over to the Preservation Jazz Hall tent and caught the end of Leroy Jones five piece band doing “Big Fat Woman.” One of Louisiana’s best drummers, Doug Belote, was on drums with a female trombone player. The audience in that tent was alive, all on their feet dancing to the sweet jazzy sounds. Sadly I only managed to catch that last song so after leaving the Gogol Bordello set I made my way back to the next act at that tent for Walter Wolfman and the Dirty Dozen Horn section.
This was an impressive line up made up of New Orleans all stars including Walter Wolfman himself, Jack Cruz on bass, Jimmy Carpenter on sax, Christian Duque on guitar and the Dirty Dozen Horn section. There really isn’t much to say about this line up other than WOW. Although the ground in the tent was really muddy, this didn’t hinder one bit the spirits of the packed house in the Pres Tent. Walter looked very dapper in his Blue Attire (which matched his electric blue guitar) and Jack Cruz was dressed in sync with him also as he wore blue as well. The band had a total of five horns which made it a huge powerhouse. One of their memorable songs was “I Can’t Be Feeling This Way About You” with Walter, Jimmy and Jack crooning to the audience. I was drawn away from the Tent due to having to find my boyfriend in the deep dark depths of the mud. We ventured on to hear a little bit of Jane’s Addiction but could only stay for two songs. What I heard sounded just like they should. I later heard from various other sources that it was an absolutely amazing set but I had to head out to Frenchman Street for the continual of Halloween festivities and to beat the gigantic crowds that gather on the street.
Sunday I woke up really late due to being exhausted from the previous day of festing and the party on Frenchman Stret, but the show must go on and I was off to the Fest. My top two favorite acts of Sunday were Lenny Kravitz and The Noisician Coalition, both night shows. Lenny set was full of well-known favorites such as “Let Love Rule”, “American Woman” and “It Ain’t over til its Over.” It also included some awesome surprises, like Kravitz displaying his talents on keys and drums as well as singing and strumming on his guitar. He also brought on local favorite Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews towards the end of the set. Shorty often is invited to play with Kravitz as he used to tour with him. It seems they’ve developed a healthy friendship.
During his song “It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over” Lenny spoke to the audience, saying “New Orleans, thank you very much, It’s good to be back home.” After being in Europe for a few years, he is back in the states and back in New Orleans. Glad to have you back Mr. Kravitz! This song was immediately followed by “Mr. Cab Driver.” The song reminded me of my friend who on Friday lost her shoes in the mud at Voodoo. No cab driver would pick her up because she had no shoes.
The band’s sixth song was full of soulful gospel rythms and was beautiful. It began with the Hammond B-3 organ wailing in the background and Kravitz on the Clavinet, with an amazing Saxophone solo towards the end. Between songs Kravitz spoke to the crowd.
“Don’t forget to believe in love, New Orleans, don’t forget to love. Whatever the mind can conceive, the body can achieve,” he said.
This made me smile. After the interlude Kravitz went straight into “American Woman” and a rocking guitar solo by guitarist Craig Ross who was a dominant force on stage the entire show. Kravitz and his whole band were amazing. It had a New Orleans feel to the whole set, especially when Trombone Shorty joined him at the end.
I managed to make it to the Pres tent because I knew that would be a sure bet for some funky grooves. I was on the money. I ran into the final songs of Noisician Coalition. The members are characters straight out of a Tim Burton movie, with their dark Bohemian costumes, stilt walkers and carnival atmosphere.
They were singing a song and the refrain was “Rise up!” With their 15-plus members on the stage, it was an impressive group. The band boasts homemade instruments and hand sewn costumes all in the color red, black and white. They seem like something magical and they were a very present force throughout the whole festival. I caught them parading thru City Park's grounds all weekend and they were always full of life and character. They also played Friday and Saturday at the Bingo! Parlor. I believe their sheer numbers draw the people in.
I hope to catch them in other events like Mardi Gras. I think I may even want to join them. I am absolutely humbled by individuals that take their passion for music and find a way to express it and I am lucky enough to live in a city that allows this!
“Music is an outburst of the soul” -- Frederick Delius
