Land of NOD Experiment

10.24.08  |  DAY 1??After a misty morning, fearing a muddy scene a-la-Lollapalooza memories, we were thrilled with the breaking of the sun around 2pm as my photographer, Emily, and I arrived at check-in on Friday under some sprawling poplar trees at the spectacular New Orleans City Park.  Just a bit of distant chill in the air to let us know we'd need jackets for later and friendly smiles from the Voodoo Festival staff.

Our first glimpse was of the circus-style New Orleans Bingo! Show parlor tent, where we assume some scandalous revelry was taking place inside, but alas off we went to our first set on the PlayStation/Billboard Stage to check out those rising punk kids, and my hometown homies (shameless Detroit plug), The Dirtbombs, where they were opening that stage for the weekend.  It was dope to see this band, who I watched play seedy bars and local festivals in years of late, playing on this enormous mammoth of a stage, as well as be the first act I catch at Voodoo.  And you know what?  Theirs was the best rock set of the entire weekend, and not just because I am partial to my hometown heroes.  Unless, of course you want to classify FishBone as rock.  Seriously.??

FishBone's set on the tiny NooMoon Stage was ridiculous.  Period.  I think they were even better than I remember them before.  Seriously, less heavy metal, and more ska.  I think I even got some afrobeat vibes from them!  The crowd was hype, obviously enough old-school fans in attendance, crowd-surfing soon commenced.  And though the guys are clearly getting older, they're no less swank - just as quirky, but even maybe more so, in a somehow more sophisticated way.  Or is that just me trying to justify my quirky taste now that I'm supposed to know the difference between unique talent and just plain weirdness?

??In any case, their set was sick; funky horns, laid-back bass, and, though it took a minute, eventually the hype MC/lead front man we expected to dive into the audience not sans corded mic.  Each member most definitely still has their own character, only a few uber-thick dreads now, but enough eclecticism to maintain their rank as one of my top bands of all time.  In fact, I think I like them even more now.  Hey - I haven't been near the front row of a crowd-surfing pit and not been annoyed in years!  FishBone was absolutely the low-profile, hardly publicized act of the weekend that just killed it. I totally went home to pull out my old FishBone albums.