Voodoo ‘07

The final encore at Voodoo on Sunday night came in the modest-sized African Culture Tent just inside the gates. The Rebirth Brass Band was in spirited form, doing everything from the theme from Ghostbusters to Feel like Funking It Up. Long after all the other stages went dark, Rebirth was still going. To close that late night, unannounced show, a Haitian band took the stage with the Rebirth (all courtesy of the New Orleans - South African Coalition), blending some voodoo and hoodoo vibes, and finished it New Orleans style with a second line out of the tent.

Wilco played a well-received 90 minutes, which included most of the songs off Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Jeff Tweedy seemed more into the music than the audience though he sportingly helped some unnamed Voodoo-goer propose to a woman identified on the jumboscreen as Yuri. As a brief silence followed, presumably giving Yuri time to contemplate the offer, Tweedy explained to the audience that he had changed a line in the previous song refering to girls lifting up their shirts at rock shows. He acknowledged that he was killing the romance of the moment, but reported that Yuri said yes.

Tweedy found a little more self-satisfaction when the band came on for an encore and he announced that they had to play “Hoodoo Voodoo” off of Mermaid Avenue, which they turned into a sort of countrified romp. But even those going home single seemed to like it.

Ending his set at 6:30, Mr. Quintron - shirtless and manic - exhorted, “The Saints have scored a milion points! The universe has riven! The world is coming to an end! A lot of things have happened in the last half hour… ” for all the fans parked blissfully at the alterna-universe that is Voodoo all day.

While wailing during the psych-jazz Liquidrone set at noonish, Casey McAllister flat out split his solid-body guitar in two with, I guess, the sheer power of unadulterated rock.

Then, during the circus-arts set from Aurora Aerial, I somehow busted my camera. No more pictures today, but the lithe ladies in leotards enchanted and mystified high above the Bingo Parlor with silks and trapeze. Overheard during the tightrope walker’s performance: “I bet that dude never gets a D.U.I.”