October 31, 2009
Voodoo Experience
New Orleans, LA
More than 100 bands played New Orleans Voodoo Experience this year. While many of them were outstanding, only 3 of them exceeded my expectations. Wolfmother is one of them.
Kangaroo Mother?!
I ran into Andrew Stockdale, Ian Peres, and Aidan Nemeth back at the press tent, prior to their set. They were doing an interview with Filter and the interviewer was asking them what they thought of alternative animal names for their band. “Wombat Mother?” “Koala Mother?” The journalist shot off a dozen or so animal names. Stockdale and Peres looked puzzled for a moment as if there were a language barrier between Australia (where the band is from) and America, and then they cracked a smile. It was either that or beat the sh*t out of the interviewer; and with a name like “Wolfmother” you can’t be certain which way it will go. As it turns out, the guys are quite nice . . . most of the time.
I’ve always liked Wolfmother. I’ve seen them a few times, at various festivals, and they put on a great show. So when I saw them at Voodoo Experience in New Orleans on Halloween, I expected them to be good. I hadn’t yet listened to their new album, Cosmic Egg, which came out a few days prior to the festival so I didn’t know what to expect musically.
Wolfmother audience at Voodoo Experience
Wolfmother hit hard, song after song, for an hour and a half. The music was outstanding and the guys played tighter than I remembered from previous years. This could partially be explained by the fact that there’s been some shuffling of band members. Or, it could simply be that Wolfmother is a phenomenal band that continues to evolve with their music. As much as I liked Wolfmother before, and as much as I expected from them, their set at New Orleans Voodoo Experience took it to another level. The rest of the audience seemed to agree, their attention captivated, and their hands, cell phones, and cameras, in the air throughout the set.
A couple things happened after Wolfmother finished their set: I wondered how Jane’s Addiction and Kiss were going to make me feel anything at all, and I went back to the hotel and downloaded (legally) Cosmic Egg.
But before that – well, actually, after Kiss failed to impress me and before I purchased Cosmic Egg – I ran into Stockdale and Peres again. This time they were talking to some fans at the bar, in the artist hospitality tent. I was shocked to find Hotshot Robot (an old friend of mine from previous festivals), standing behind the guys, beheaded.
“What happened to Hotshot Robot?” I asked.
“We had an arrangement,” Peres explained. “He was supposed to show up on stage and . . . “
I can’t write the remainder of what Peres said because if I did, my blog wouldn’t make it through the internet safety filters. Let’s just say the robot didn’t hold up his end of the deal and Wolfmother took care of him.
Before: A Happy Hotshot Robot, in tact, talking to Glasgow Friday (more after the jump)
After: Hotshot Robot, headless, with Wolfmother Saturday (more after the jump)
Let this be a lesson. Don’t f*ck with Wolfmother. But do go see their show. Who knows – it may even inspire you to buy music again.
Note: No robots were harmed at Voodoo Experience. Sources close to Hotshot Robot verified that being headless was his Halloween costume.
