10/26/07: Voodoo Music Experience (Part 2: The Battle of New Orleans)

So BRMC leaves the stage, and the people really start to pour in more. There had been a few of us that had been there all day, but now it's starting to get pretty full down in front of the stage. Keep in mind we still have 3 hours until the headlining band comes out, but we all know what's gonna go on, and yet we don't.Like I said a few days ago. I had really wanted to see Porcupine Tree. Unfortunately they were over at the second stage across the track/field, and with all these people now behind me I was not gonna give up my front row spot. I could pretty much hear most of their set and watch them on the big tv screen they had set up, so I still got to see them in a way. Pretty awesome stuff. Here I was on the complete opposite side of the way banging my head.Kings of Leon takes the stage. Apparently they have a pretty big following that I was not aware of. A few girls were able to make their way up to the front to see their favorite band. The singer likes to throw guitar picks into the crowd during/after songs. A lot of times he didn't make it and they would fall in front of us, where upon people would beg security guards to pick them up for them. The actual music was alright. I liked it when they played some of their more heavier/louder stuff, but the rest of it I could have skipped. Many of the other people around felt the same way.Once KOL is finished, it starts to get pretty tight in the crowd. We watch with excitement as the stage crew wheels out equipment boxes with Che and red stars. Security briefs the photographers of where they are supposed to be and such, then tells us to expect lots of pushing and shoving during the show (no shit). For a few minutes the mounted police department comes out on their horses in front of the crowd, too which of course they are booed. Probably just brought out as an intimidation factor or something. We are all waiting for M.I.A. to stop playing so that our show can go on. The big red star background is raised. Chants ensue. 9:10 passes (the official start time). More chants ensue. We probably waited for 15 more minutes after that, allowing more excitement to brew. And then they took the stage.I can't tell you how I felt when Tom, Zack, Tim, and Brad came out. I had been expecting and waiting for this moment all day, and yet seeing them for the first time I almost didn't believe it was happening. It felt unreal. They lead off with "Testify" (which I correctly predicted). It was so loud and amazing, and we were just going absolutely crazy. Tom is jumping around, sometimes of the drum stand, and slashing his guitar down with fury. Zack is screaming and bouncing around. Tim looks like he is just having a blast. And Brad keeps controlled yet intense composure the whole time; the eye of the storm. The band, the crowd, the speakers, the lights. Everything was just a perfect, continuous explosion. And of course every single song was that way (I don't remember the exact order, but I'll put the ones I remember in the comments).Being in the front row of a Rage show was like nothing I've ever experienced. It was absolute chaos. It was practically physical combat. There are thousands of people pushing you against the rail from behind, to which I used my legs and knees to help brace myself from being sandwiched and pushed back (it worked for a while). And of course people are coming at you from the sides too. Me and bassguitarhero were able to close the gap between us and push off each other in order to help keep our ground. People are crowd surfing to the front only to be promptly removed by security guards. Also, people near the front were being asked to be removed because they were exhausted or beaten up, which was quite understandable. There was so much heat in the crowd, too. I was sweating quite a bit, and you could see the steam rising above some people's heads. It could have been a below freezing out there and I wouldn't have known it. Sometime during the middle part of the set this dude got his shoulder in front on mine, and as the show goes on he's being pushed into my chest and my arm is being bent unnaturally from trying to maintain a hold of the rail.Toward the end of the set I just gave up. I let go of my hold and just let the crowd push me around. I was still in the first couple rows of people though. And it's really cool to jump and headbang all most on top of somebody. The last song of the set was "Wake Up", which included an interlude where Zack talked about New Orleans, the government, etc. Then he all of a sudden runs up to the front row and is on top of the the crowd as he's being held back by security. I am pushed, almost carried, over to where I am only a few feet away from him as he is grabbing people's hands. You can see the fire in his eyes. He returns to the stage, and the song explosively ends. We're screaming for an encore. The chant: "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!". Of course they come back for a three song encore, starting with "Freedom". More madness ensues. They saved their most popular song for last, "Killing In The Name". At the end of it they come together for a bow and fists in air. As they leave the stage Tom and Zack hug and smile. They're clearly enjoying playing together again.We just stand there afterwards. The show is over and the crew is clearing the stage, but we're pretty much motionless. My body is pretty much exhausted like I just played a football game, and my brain is trying to comprehend what just happened. The ground is completely torn up and littered with all sorts of crap. Glasses, shirts, sandals, and other miscellaneos items that people are trying to scavenge. A battle had just taken place. Even right now my body is still sore. My joints hurt when I move and my knees have bruises on them. The ringing in my ears has stopped, but my head is still a little bit heavy. But all of that was so worth it.Check out "bassguitarhero":http://www.mog.com/bassguitarhero for pics.