One-thousand musicians – half from Louisiana and the other half representing 47 states and 30 countries from all corners of the globe – came together as one to give the audience at the Superdome a show that they will not soon forget.
It was the U.S. debut of Rockin’1000 – the biggest rock band on Earth.
First launched in 2015 by Italian marine geologist Fabio Zaffagnini in an ultimately successful effort to convince the Foo Fighters to play a show in his native Cesena, Rockin’1000 has since staged shows featuring 1,000 musicians in stadiums throughout Europe.
Saturday night, however, was the first time that Rockin’1000 came to the United States – and while the show stayed true to its roots, it certainly had an American – and New Orleans – flavor to it.
The Raising Cane’s preshow featured a DJ set with DJ Captain Charles, along with a performance at center stage by New Orleans-based rock band Cowboy Mouth.
As crews were clearing Cowboy Mouth’s setup from center stage in preparation for the main event, there was a series of performances directed by Harry Connick Jr.
Local bands Dumpstaphunk, Bonerama, The Rebirth Brass Band and The Rumble, were stationed in different corners of the Superdome floor in front of an illuminated Mardi Gras-style float with revelers on board, with Connick hopping from one band to the next, joining in as they performed.
After that, it was time to bring the thousand onto the floor.
They entered in groups of 250 from all four corners of the stadium, each group having its own escort – escorts included the Joyful Gospel Singers, the St. Augustine High School marching band’s drum section, Mardi Gras Indians and students from Derrick Tabb and the Roots of Music and the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music.
Once in place, there was one final order of business for the musicians before their 90-minute, 16-song show could start – take the official Rockin’1000 oath.
“I swear to play only the notes that are needed and nothing more.
“I swear to not blay during breaks.
“I swear to stay in time with the click track in my headphones.
“I swear to have fun and give it all I’ve got.”
With that, and with Music Director Daniel Plentz and Greg Lambousy of the New Orleans Jazz Museum conducting 500 musicians each from opposite sides of the floor, it was showtime!
With Connick kicking things off with by singing the first few bars of the Animals’ 1964 hit “House of the Rising Sun,” which gave way to the thousand’s opening number, Green Day and U2’s “The Saints Are Coming” – very fitting for the venue they were performing in.
From there, the thousand performed their rendition of some of rock music’s best-known anthems, including Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”
After two more songs, Zaffagnini addressed the audience, alluding to the fact that amid all the turmoil embroiling the country, rock music can unite both the country and the world, evidenced by the fact that nearly every corner of the globe was represented on the Superdome floor, all of whom performing as one.
That led into a powerful performance of the Simon & Garfunkel hit “The Sound of Silence”; while not quite a cappella, the singers performed it with very little musical accompaniment.
They then sped things back up with the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations,” with harmony so spot-on that would have made Brian Wilson very proud, and they followed that with the Steppenwolf hit “Born to be Wild.”
Of course, no New Orleans-style show would be complete without a brass section, and it was at this point of the show when the trumpet and trombone players were brought onto the Superdome floor to join the thousand.
The horns came in very handy as the thousand belted out their rendition of Ike and Tina Turner’s version of “Proud Mary,” which was followed by the Black Crowes’ “Hard To Handle” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.”
The show wrapped up with the song that started it all in 2015 – the Foo Fighters’ “Learn to Fly,” with the Superdome Jumbotrons showing highlights of the original video that has so far racked up more than 67-million views on YouTube.
While Saturday’s show may have been the first Rockin’1000 show in the U.S., Zaffagnini said it certainly will not be the last.