By: Wesley Hodges

Voodoo Experience :: 10.29.10-10.31.10 :: City Park :: New Orleans, LA

Check out the 2009 JamBase review of Voodoo here.

The calendar is aligned in rare form in 2010, giving weekend warriors five full weekends to fully enjoy the month of October, and with Voodoo fast approaching, there’s a supernatural mystic blowing through the air this week in the Big Easy. The Voodoo Experience, in its 12th year as JazzFest’s darker, funkier stepchild, will close down the month in grand fashion on Halloween night with MGMT, Deadmau5 and My Morning Jacket lighting up the City Park skies and leading a lively rousing of the spirits in New Orleans. With round-the-clock music on-site and around the city (Voodoo After Dark and Tipitina’s Uptown), there will be plenty of opportunities for fans to get their fill, starting with Friday’s dizzying array of artists slated to kick things off on the generally less crowded opening day.

As always, this year’s event offers an abundance of local fare (artists, performers and vendors dot the festival grounds) to compliment the Voodoo Eats area emanating olfactory goodness of a largely Cajun variety. Electronic fans will surely enjoy the spate of DJ’s (Paul Oakenfold, Deadmau5, Ferry Corsten and more) and bands with electronic leanings dotting the impressive lineup. Of course you’re not going to want to miss MGMT on Halloween, Ozzy or Muse headlining Night One, but we’re here to give you a heads-up on some of the lesser-known acts playing earlier in the day and a closer look at My Morning Jacket’s festival-headlining Halloween performance.

Friday, October 29

1. Stanton Moore Trio w/ Anders Osborne and Robert Walter :: Preservation Hall Tent :: 2:15-3:30 p.m.
The first of several super jams for the weekend. This set features a Swedish ex-pat swamp rocker (Osborne), a respected jazz/funk vet (Stanton Moore), and a Greyboy All-Star (Robert Walter). The diverse array of influences driving these three unique artists should make for a great show and a righteous kick-start to the weekend. It should also be noted that the same trio of Moore, Osborne and Walter made up the lineup for Anders Osborne’s impressive 2010 record American Patchwork. Stanton the scene staple, Walter the stalwart, and Osborne the rising star makes for an impressive promo poster and should be one helluva show.

2. Dead Confederate :: Voodoo Stage :: 4:30-5:30 p.m.
The dark, heavy, grunge-adelic sounds of this new-ish Georgia band should sound outstanding coming out of the main stage speakers. It will be exciting to see the band for the first time in a large festival setting. Known for their loud, ruthlessly intense live shows, this should be one of the strongest rock sets of the weekend. Dead Confederate, who are winding down a big year in support of their outstanding second album Sugar, signed on late for this one, and we’re mighty glad they did.

3. Jonsi :: Sony Make. Believe Stage :: 5:30-6:30 p.m.
The soothing and recognizable voice of Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi will prove tonic for those who make the quick turnaround after taking in the Dead Confederate set (the Voodoo Stage and Sony Stage are close to each other, set up on opposite sides of the track oval). Despite Jonsi’s main band being on hiatus this year, the Icelander has been touring fairly heavily in support of his surprisingly perky, long overdue Go album. This is potentially one of the more intriguing sets of the weekend.

ALSO: On the eve of the festival Soul Rebels Brass Band will be appearing at Le Bon Temps Roule. And Widespread Panic will be kicking off a three-night run at the UNO Lakefront Arena with Dumpstaphunk opening.

Late Night Recommendation: Galactic pulls double duty (and triple duty for drummer Stanton Moore). The locals will be playing for a half-hour before Muse takes the stage for their headlining set and then performing a late night show at Tipitina’s Uptown. The show will be recorded and released as a live record as a follow-up to 2001′s We Love ‘Em Tonight.

Continue reading for Saturday recommendations…

Saturday, October 30

1. Florence and the Machine :: Sony Make. Believe :: 6:00-7:00 p.m.
One of the few bright spots from this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, the young British rock ‘n’ soul sensation has really made a name for herself this year. Hopefully the set will include a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” like earlier this year at the Glastonbury Festival.

2. Street Sweeper Social Club :: Sony Make. Believe Stage :: 8:00-9:00 p.m.
A rare performance by the rap-rock supergroup featuring Tom Morello and Boots Riley. No need to elaborate further to anyone with decent taste in music.

3. Theresa Andersson :: Preservation Hall :: 5:45-7:00 p.m.
A great chance to see an intimate performance by the uber-talented multi-instrumentalist artista. For those looking to beat the larger crowd over at the main stage(s), this will undoubtedly be a dazzling, virtuosic performance in a much smaller setting. Andersson, known for her looping one-woman show a la Keller Williams, moved to New Orleans from Sweden (along with Anders Osborne) as a teenager and has been making her mark as one of the city’s essential solo artists ever since. Also, around these parts, you never know when someone special may drop by for a sit-in.

ALSO: To satiate pure curiosity and intrigue, consider checking out South African rave-rappers Die Antwoord (6:15-7:15 p.m., Le Plur), a bizarre viral act that exploded earlier this year from a non-existent scene – South African Zef(?) – in large part due to the blogosphere. For your daily brass band fix, local favorites Rebirth Brass Band will be playing a midday set from 3:30-4:30 p.m. at the SoCo/WWOZ tent. The healthier, fitter festivarians may want to consider participating in the Jazz Half Marathon on Saturday morning in support of the Children’s Hospital before heading to City Park, although we’re guessing that if you aren’t already planning on running it’s probably too late.

Late Night Recommendation: Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue late night at Tipitina’s Uptown.

Continue reading for Sunday recommendations…

Sunday, October 31. Halloween

1. My Morning Jacket :: Voodoo Stage :: 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Fresh off the weeklong, career-spanning retrospect at New York City’s Terminal 5, MMJ arrives in New Orleans (a city Yim Yames seems to be especially fascinated by in recent times) having played every single song from all five of the band’s albums proper, along with a rediscovery of a host of deep covers, b-sides and the like. What does that mean for fans at Voodoo? The chance to possibly see long-shelved, Halloween-leaning originals like “The Dark,” “I Think I’m Going to Hell,” the epic destroyer “Strangulation” and hopefully a few festive covers. Generally speaking, My Morning Jacket’s “specialty shows” have been the stuff of legend, from New Year’s Eve 2006 (one of JamBase’s Top 10 Moments of the 2000s) to the late nights at Bonnaroo in ’06 & ’08 to Prom Night at the 40 Watt in Athens, GA, these types of shows have all been career-defining performances. After five nights in New York and a homecoming show in Louisville on Friday night (first time in 2-plus years), this Voodoo performance, even with only two hours to play, is likely to be one folks will be talking about for years to come.

2. Janelle Monae :: Sony Make. Believe :: 1:15-2:15 p.m.
Yim Yames may not be the most animated, talented front-person performing at Voodoo on Halloween Sunday. After Monae’s electric midday performance summoned a thunderstorm in 2009, the festival has invited her back to City Park once again to share her talents. With the gusto of Tina Turner, the celestial weirdness of George Clinton and the experimental vision of her friends and collaborators Outkast, Monae has been turning heads nationwide on a tour in supporting of Montreal (with whom she has been sitting in on a handful of Michael Jackson covers). This is arguably the can’t-miss early afternoon set of the weekend. Monae’s song “Many Moons” has my vote for Voodoo’s unofficial anthem.

3. The Zydepunks :: Bingo! Tent :: 2:45-3:45 p.m.
With an extra hour on Saturday night to catch a little rest as the clocks “fall back,” there’s no excuse to not be energized, fully costumed and ready to go for “New Orleans’ Favorite Irish Cajun Jewish Punk Band” down at the Bingo! Tent. With a Dropkick Murphys level of raw energy and an assortment of influences on par with Gogol Bordello, some folks may leave this one with ears ringing but that 2:30 feeling will be a distant memory.

ALSO: The costume-watching on the vendors’ road is worth the price of admission on Sunday. Preservation Hall Jazz Band will be playing in their “home tent” set (at least for Voodoo) at 3:30 pm and Local WWOZ DJ Soul Sister and her Booty Patrol will be spinning J5-era funk at 8:30 pm in the Preservation Hall Tent. The New Orleans Saints will be playing the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Superdome for Sunday Night Football, and therefore the collision of the post-Saints game spill-out and the annual Halloween freak show down on Frenchman will be a sight for weary eyes after the festival spills out at 9:00 p.m.

If you have any more suggestions for Halloween weekend in New Orleans, feel free to share them in our comments section. Enjoy the weekend!

JamBase | Louisiana
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