Voodoo in Review 2010

VOODOO IN REVIEW: Metric

by Micah Haley on November 12, 2010

As South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have proven, Canada’s an easy target. But for all of America’s playfully derogatory fun at the expense of our neighbors to the north, even the hateful have to acknowledge: Canada has given us Metric. And Metric continues to grow their following with a vengeance decidely un-Canadian.

The new wave indie rockers from Toronto played the Voodoo Stage over Halloween weekend at Voodoo Fest, and Scene’s Kevin Barraco hung out with half of Metric backstage before a performance that prepared the stage for opening night headliner Muse.

“It’s a beautiful park, it’s a beautiful day,” said guitarist Jimmy Shaw. “There’s some cool bands on the bill and I think we’re playing on the main stage.” Both Jimmy and Metric’s frontlady Emily Haines seemed genuinely intrigued that this year’s festival held them in such esteem.

“I’m pretty excited we got such a serious spot. It’s nice,” said Emily as she sat on a bench behind the main stage. Jimmy continued: “We keep looking at the set list and we’re all surprised it’s not thirty-five minutes long. We were, like, trying to write new songs on the bus [to fill the space].”

Despite their prominent performance slot, Metric’s stop at Voodoo Fest was a brief near-pause on an increasingly demanding dance card. “So much has happened!” said Emily. “We’re wrapping up the touring and have started writing for the next record, which is really cool,” added Jimmy. “We’ve spent a lot of time in Toronto these days, trying to get in the studio and get the new thing kicked off. That’s exciting, and we’ll be doing that again in a couple of weeks.”

“We played our song, ‘Gimme Sympathy’, for the Queen,” said Emily. “We shook hands with the Queen, which was very nice,” Jimmy picked up. “We were told the only thing you’re not supposed to do is say, ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you.’ Because it’s obvious. And it was the only thing that we said.” With a grin, Emily agreed, “Our whole group was like, ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you. It’s a pleasure to meet you. It’s a pleasure to meet you.’”

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VOODOO IN REVIEW: Florence + The Machine

by Arthur Vandelay on November 12, 2010

Like many, my first introduction to Florence + the Machine came on a Tuesday night in October last year when the band performed on Late Night with David Letterman. The beautiful, melodic arcs of lead singer Florence Welch’s voice stayed with me and I quickly became a fan. My intuition about buzzworthy bands rarely disappoints me and I knew America would grab hold of this British band fast.

Florence Welch usually surrounds herself with a single guitar player, harpists and drummer to make up the machine. Their debut single, “Kiss with a Fist,” brought much attention to the band in 2008, but it wasn’t until the release of their full-length album Lungs in 2009 that carried them to stardom with the hit, “Dog Days Are Over.”

After their live performance at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, their album rose to number two on the iTunes album chart and “Dog Days Are Over” rose to number nine on the iTunes singles chart. In addition Florence + the Machine was the number one search on Google, and Twitterverse recorded 1.7 thousand tweets per minute for the group. It was obvious that Florence + the Machine had arrived.

Scene Magazine spoke with Florence in early October as she prepared to make her way to perform at the Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans. At the time of our conversation, she was entering the studio gates of Warner Bros in Burbank, California and kept telling me what she was seeing, showing off her excitement about getting a “behind the scenes” tour of the studio lot. In between giddy outbursts, she told me how lucky she feels to have her music embraced by fans.
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VOODOO IN REVIEW: Muse

by David Draper on November 12, 2010

In Greek mythology, the Muses inspired mortals to create art and literature. Muse is then aptly named for above all else, like the gods, they inspire. Difficult to summarily define, the sound of Muse rocks like heavy metal with a fullness reminiscent of a symphonic orchestra and electronica you might hear at a rave. That’s what makes Muse great and, in a market saturated with derivatives, an original.

After years of struggling through the indie Scene in London and Manchester growing their flock of followers, Madonna signed them to her label, Maverick Records. Most would find it hard to believe that in the early nineties, record labels across the pond wanted nothing to do with the band, thinking they sounded too much like fellow Brit rockers, Radiohead. Recently I heard a first-time listener describe Muse as a cross between U2, Guns N’ Roses and “something you’d hear in Phantom of the Opera.”
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VOODOO IN REVIEW: Janelle Monae

by Arthur Vandelay on November 12, 2010

If the Rat Pack fired Sammy Davis and hired James Brown, Janelle Monáe’s soulful blend of funk and style would result. In a lounge singer tux complete with bowtie and spit-shined saddle oxfords, the rail-thin ball of energy commands the microphone like an old pro, her smooth but powerful vocals demanding attention.

In Metropolis, android citizens live a life of bondage, their world void of love under the rule of the Great Divide. Cindi Mayweather, an android mass produced in 2719, may be their only savior from a secret society using time travel to control and subdue emotions. Though it sounds like the plot to a science-fiction film, it’s actually the concept behind the debut album of emerging music sensation Monáe.

Dancing atop a cafeteria table, leading a dance rebellion in an insane asylum called Palace of the Dogs, Janelle Monáe confidently sings, “I tip on alligators and little rattle snakers, but I’m another flavor, something like a Terminator…,” challenging anyone attempting to stifle her freedom in the video for “Tightrope,” the first single from her album The ArchAndroid.

Originally planning to pursue a career on Broadway, the twenty-four year old pompadoured “funkstress,” properly named Janelle Monáe Robinson, left her home in Kansas City, Kansas to study theater in New York. After attending the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, she performed in off-Broadway shows but soon realized that the roles she wanted weren’t the ones she was landing. So, in 2004, she moved to Atlanta, her sights set on changing the world through a different art form: music.

While touring the college circuit with a local band, she met other young artists, who became partners in the Wondaland Arts Society, a label that promotes the experimental arts. Self-described as tuxedo-wearing inventors who jump in pools during performances, the Wondaland Arts Society (WAS) has a very distinct way of viewing the world of expression, saying, “We believe songs are spaceships. We believe music is the weapon of the future. We believe books are stars. We believe there are only three forms of music: good music, bad music and funk.”

In Atlanta, she met Antwan “Big Boi” Patton of Outkast, who put two of her songs on his 2005 compilation Got Purp? and featured her on the soundtrack to Outkast’s Idlewild in 2006. In August 2007, Monáe released Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase), the first of a planned set of four EPs partly based on the 1927 film of the same name directed by Fritz Lang. The cover art for the EP is based on the film’s poster. After being signed to Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy Records later that year, Metropolis was re-released in 2008 with two additional tracks, earning her a 2009 Grammy nomination for the song, “Many Moons.”

Suite II and III of Metropolis were combined to form Monáe’s first full-length studio album, The ArchAndroid that was released May 18. She plans to shoot a video for every song to create Dance or Die,an eighteen-chapter movie and The Red Book, a graphic novel based on the album. Monáe can next be heard on the soundtrack to filmmaker Tyler Perry’s For Colored Girls, hitting stores on November 2, 2010.

Janelle Monáe performed at the Voodoo Music Experience 2010 in New Orleans at 2:15pm on Halloween. All photos below by Ashley Merlin. More after the jump.
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VOODOO IN REVIEW: Drake

by Brittney Franklin on November 12, 2010

It takes a special mix of talent, drive and intelligence to make the nearly impossible transition from teenage television star to budding hip-hop icon in under a decade. But Aubrey Drake Graham, better known simply as Drake, seems to have pulled it off. Following in the musical footsteps of his family, Drake’s comfortable croon, heavy-hitting beats and confidence-in-your-face lyrics are immediately familiar and constantly in rotation over the airwaves.

Born in Toronto, Drake got his start in 2001 on the Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation, starring for eight years as James “Jimmy” Brooks, a basketball star who was paralyzed after being shot in the back by a classmate. While filming Degrassi, he released his first two mixtapes on MySpace: 2006’s Room for Improvement and Comeback Season in 2007. R&B singer Trey Songz was featured on “Replacement Girl,” the hit single from Comeback Season that resulted in Drake becoming the first unsigned Canadian rapper to have a video featured on BET as the “New Joint of the Day.” The collaboration resulted in a lasting friendship between Drake and Songz, who did what he could to get Drake into the public eye, including bringing him on tour with Ne-Yo and an appearance in his “Wonder Woman” video.

photo by Mark St. James

Drake’s presence grew in the hip-hop community by appearing on several remixes and mixtapes and Drake became the most talked about unsigned artist of 2009. The buzz soon caught the attention of New Orleans native Lil Wayne. While on tour in 2008, he was given samples of Drake’s music that included a freestyle rap by Drake over the remix of “Man of the Year” by Flo Rida and Brisco in which Lil Wayne appeared. He immediately called Drake to join him on tour and the two recorded songs together including “Brand New” and “I Want This Forever.”
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