I may have failed to mention that I went to the Voodoo Music Fest in New Orleans this past weekend!!! Two full days packed with over 65 bands playing all day and night, Bourbon Street, and the complete New Orleans experience: incredible. Unfortunately, I broke my camera halfway through the trip, but I do have about 50 pictures of the trip.

The group consisted of my buddy James, his friend Josie, my friend Katie and myself. We went up Friday, stopped by Baton Rouge to have lunch with my uncle, and then checked into our hotel in the late afternoon. After unpacking, we headed to the French Quarter and then on to Bourbon Street for the first night. To make a long story short, we saw fight and arrests within the first five minutes, went to some crazy bars, so how dirty the place is, and got into our own 15-person brawl… all on the first night, which was supposed to be ‘light.’

The next day was full of all kinds of awesome concerts. Every type of music was represented, from the Brazilian Girls, to Shooter Jennings, to the mother f*ckin Red Hot Chili Peppers. Speakin’ of which, we rocked out HUGE to the Chili Peppers from the VIP early on in their set (the headlining act of the festival) which we snuck into. After the two-hour show, the Chili Peppers put on an hour-and-a-half encore, including a 30 minute jam session with The Meters and a 20 minute finale rendition of ‘Give It Away.’ Such an amazing performance!

After another crazy night–in which we didn’t leave the bars till 7am–we chilled out for the first part of the day, just lounging on the grass listening to the bands play. The highlights of the afternoon were the Drive by Truckers, My Chemical Romance, Blue October, and of course The Flaming Lips. The Lips put on one of the most unique and sensory-overloading shows that I’ve ever scene. It’s indescribable… made me feel like an 8-year-old again, perfectly enjoying the ecstatic moment and at peace with everything. Ask me sometime, because it’s too much to explain here.

Such a great trip, the stuff college is made of… Music, crazy concerts, road trippin’, alcohol, and girls… Definitely see the Chili Peppers and/or Flaming Lips if you get the chance, I know I will. I’ll never forget the experience of Voodoo Fest ‘06!