Live Voodoo

Live Voodoo Blu-Ray Cover

Blu-Ray Cover

Live Voodoo a live video by Eagle Rock Entertainment that features the Jane’s Addiction concert at the Voodoo Festival on Halloween 2009 in City Park, New Orleans, LA.  It was released as a digital download on iTunes on August 3, 2010 and released on DVD and Blu-Ray in the US and Canada on August 31, 2010 and in the UK on August 30, 2010.

Additionally, a performance of 1% from the 11/20/2008 show at El Cid in Los Angeles, and Ocean Size from the 10/23/2008 show at La Cita in Los Angeles appear as bonus content for this disc.  There is also a photo gallery from the Halloween show and an NME featurette.  On the Blu-Ray version, the two bonus performances are presented in standard definition while the NME featurette and photo gallery are in high definition.

The following is from the back cover:

Filmed live on Halloween night 2009 at Voodoo Experience in New Orleans, Live Voodoo sees the reunion of the classic Jane’s Addiction line-up of Perry Farrell (vocals), Stephen Perkins (drums), Eric Avery (bass) and Dave Navarro (guitar). This spectacular show captures the band on top form with Perry Farrell at his most mesmerizing and the rest of the band clearly enjoying the occasion. The tracklisting is predominantly drawn from their first two albums, which both featured this line-up, and includes classic tracks such as “Been Caught Stealing”, “Jane Says”, “Ocean Size”, “Stop!”, “Mountain Song”, “Three Days” and many more.

The inside booklet includes the following essay from former 120 Minutes host Matt Pinfield:

It was August of 2005, when one of the five deadliest and most powerful hurricanes in the history of the United States descended upon New Orleans.  Nearly 80 percent of the city was underwater, in some areas as deep as 15 feet.  The damage and devastation was massive, but the spirit of the locals could not be broken.

Fast-forward four years and two months.  New Orleans is still in many areas struggling to recover from the punishing wreckage of Hurricane Katrina.  But you wouldn’t know it from the celebration that is taking place in and around the French Quarter on this Halloween 2009.  Next to Mardi Gras and The Jazz Festival, Halloween is one of the most coveted and exciting events of the year in this history city, weather it’s author Anne Rice’s yearly party or the famed Voodoo Fest concert.  The city is alive and the perfect band to bring rock fans together in celebration is Jane’s Addiction.

Jane’s Addiction formed in the late 80s, out of the ashes of Perry Farrell’s first L.A.-based band Psi Com.  Perry was looking for a bass player who would actually show up for rehearsals and gigs – enter Eric Avery.  It was their mutual love and admiration for post-punk English outfits like Joy Division and New York’s 1960 upstarts The Velvet Underground that forged a bond between the two young musicians, and Psi Com were not long for the world.

As Perry realized that Psi Com would not recover, he and Avery set out to complete the line-up of this new band (named after Farrell’s roommate Jane Bainter, who was struggling with a heroin addiction).  The moniker was chosen – Jane’s Addiction was looking for a drummer.  It turned out that Eric’s sister was dating a drummer named Stephen Perkins.  Although there was no question about his ability to play, Avery had doubts about his musical influence and direction as Perkins was more inspired by Hard Rock, Metal and 70s Glam than the post-punk experimentalists that Farrell and Avery adored.

Next up was guitarist Dave Navarro – who also shared the same musical passions as Perkins, yet the heaviness of Led Zeppelin was something they all agreed upon and loved.  Little did they realize that they were laying the groundwork and foundation for a fusion of groove-laden heavy music that would inspire and entertain a passionate rock audience around the world.  Along with fellow L.A. superstars Guns ‘n’ Roses, they were about to usher in a new area of rock and roll – and help define the end of one decade, and pushing forward into and defining the next.

One of the reasons that this Blu-ray Disc [DVD] is such an important part of history of Jane’s Addiction (besides the extraordinary performance) is that this has been one of their most sought-after live shows, and many fans believed that no recording of it had been documented.  The blogs, band forums and tribute sites around the world have been buzzing since the festival, and complaining that there was, in their words, “No known recording”.

So here it is!  Finally available with the electrifying feeling that was in the air on that last night of October 2009.

The band takes the stage to perform the opening notes of the instrumental that opened the groundbreaking “Nothing’s Shocking” album; “Up The Beach”.  The plodding bass intro executed by the man who brought it to life, original Jane’s bassist Eric Avery, whips the crowd into a frenzy with a powerful rendition of the incredible “Mountain Song”.  Perry Farrell is as always the consummate toastmaster – swinging his bottle of red wide as he toasts the 100,000 plus sea of fans that have descended on New Orleans.

Next up is a strong performance of “Ain’t No Right” from “Ritual De Lo Habitual”, with its speed-driven scat vocals, its bass bottom and the undertow of Stephen Perkins drum attack.  Then they proceed into one of the three epic signature long tracks they perform that night with the dark brooding “Three Days”, as a set of female twins who resemble the striking cover of “Nothing’s Shocking” join the band onstage.

They then burst into a howling version of  “Whores” from their Triple X self-titled debut release.  Perry asks the crowd to “Celebrate Death” on the second of the extended tracks of the evening with the unforgettable signature time changes and slow midnight groove of “Then She Did”.    A blistering performance of “Been Caught Stealing” brings the crowd to a state of elation, solidifies the fact that this is one of the most-loved songs of the 90s and has stood the test of time.

Perry then takes a moment to address the crowd about the troubles that New Orleans has seen in the wake of Hurricane Katrina – then leads the band into a stellar version of “Ocean Size”.

“Ted, Just Admit It”, the final of the longer Jane’s Addiction tracks, is Perry’s ode to the madness of serial killer Ted Bundy.

“Summertime Rolls” as always, brings the feeling of a beautiful summer afternoon with its bass-driven shuffle and sounds as incredible as ever with the crowd joining in on the whisper-like vocal climax.

The set ends appropriately with the explosive “Stop” and Navarro’s fire funk guitar intro, leaving the crowd wanting more.  And more they got…

The two song encore begins with Perry’s story about visiting an ancient New Orleans graveyard with a Ouija Board and the band breaks into the infamous live-cantina version of their classic “Jane Says” with steel drums and the double acoustic wall of sound provided by Avery and Navarro.  All this as a crowd of fans – most in Halloween costumes from Fidel Castro to monsters – storm the stage for a dance and singalong.

The last song is the drum-heavy crowd pleaser “Chip Away”, and absolutely no one leaves disappointed.  Another reason that this show will remain close to the hearts of Jane’s fans is that it features the classic line-up of Farrell, Navarro, Perkins and original bassist Eric Avery.  Avery has since quit the band again and in a statement on his website says he “leaves with equal parts regret and relief”.  Whatever the reason, the Jane’s Addiction story continues with Duff McKagan of Guns ‘n’ Roses taking the bass role, following in the footsteps of great bassists like Flea and Martyn LeNoble and of course, Avery.

Jane’s Addiction remain one of the most important, enigmatic band of individuals who have brought us some of the best music of the last 30 years.

Enjoy this moment in time…

Matt Pinfield

Track Listing:

  1. Up the Beach
  2. Mountain Song
  3. Ain’t No Right
  4. Three Days
  5. Whores
  6. Then She Did…
  7. Been Caught Stealing
  8. Ocean Size
  9. Ted, Just Admit It
  10. Summertime Rolls
  11. Stop!
  12. Jane Says
  13. Chip Away

Release Date: 08/03/2010 (iTunes), 08/31/2010 (DVD/BD US, Canada), 08/30/2010 (DVD/BD UK)
Released By: Eagle Rock Entertainment
ID Number(s): EVBRD33366 (BD), EV303129 (DVD)
Medium(s): iTunes, DVD (NTSC & PAL), Blu-Ray (NTSC & PAL)
Time: 1:16:41

Artwork:


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