The Voodoo Music Experience is upon us again and celebrating its “Tenth Ritual” Oct. 24-26 at City Park in New Orleans. While the decade-defying masses collect around Nine Inch Nails and Stone Temple Pilots, we’ve gone ahead and profiled you so we can tell you exactly what you want to hear. Visit thetenthritual.com for complete schedule information, times, tickets and more.
HIPSTER list
Editors note: Death Cab for Cutie cancelled after this article was published.
It is a forgone conclusion that you are going to see Death Cab for Cutie, despite claiming to have been over them since The Photo Album. But you are likely be more excited about the reunion of Shudder to Think, which is touring again a decade after disbanding. Colour Revolt is definitely on your radar, and the rejuvenated Old 97’s will likely pique your interest as long as they play stuff off Hitchhike to Rhome. On the hip-hop front, Kanye West protégé Lupe Fiasco will likely win out in favor of the massively popular Lil Wayne. But since you’ve already been to the Pitchfork and Austin City Limits festivals this year, make sure to hit some homegrown electro swamp funk with Quintron & Miss Pussycat—get there early for the puppet show—and any one of the three different sets by the New Orleans Bingo! Show. Another local must-see is the maximum R&B of White Bitch’s Prey Drive and the drunken two-step tango of The Zydepunks.
GROWN-FOLK guide
Not every festival has this much to offer the more mature music aficionado. R&B powerhouse Joss Stone, classic soul revivalists Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings and rockabilly die-hards Reverend Horton Heat might just get your old tired hips to shakin’ while Deacon John’s tribute to New Orleans R&B and the “President of Soul” Rockie Charles do it right. Those of us who made it through grunge intact should witness the smoky, saturated blues of The Gutter Twins, a duo comprising Greg Dulli from Afghan Whigs and Mark Lanegan, formerly of Screaming Trees. Be sure also to catch the glowing multicultural mayhem of DeVotchKa and settle in with the never-fail Latin rhythm of The Iguanas.
FUNK DADDY docket
There are some no-brainers for a funk-oriented prowl through the “Tenth Ritual.” Big Sam’s Funky Nation and Walter “Wolfman” Washington are a must, as is Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk. At least one of the brass bands should be on your docket: Soul Rebels, Rebirth, Treme and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band are all worthy. Make sure to head over to Donna’s Brass Band Headquarters on Rampart Street, where any one of them is likely to wind up after the festival gates close. There are also two ladies you need to visit. Erykah Badu has reinvented herself in Funkadelic’s illest image, and Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings are the new authorities in authentic old-school funk. But if you are looking for your freak of the week, make sure you catch the twisted groove of Bernard Pearce’s One Man Machine.
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