All Points West @ Liberty State Park, August 8 and 9
As a seasoned veteran of the summer concert festival circuit (three Coachellas, four Lollapaloozas and more Warped Tours than I care to admit now that I am older and wiser), I was cautiously psyched about the idea of having another world-class music destination in my backyard. (Or at least New Jersey.)
So, now that its all been said and done, and recapped by our very own Tyler T, what do I think? Good, for the most part. But even a festival that brought two earth-shattering Radiohead sets has room for improvement for the coming years. Here’s my thoughts about what went right and wrong during the first two days of the festival. (As I have plenty of melatonin and warm milk at home, I felt no need to venture across the seas for Jack Johnson on Sunday, though peace to Secret Machines, Cat Power and Rodrigo y Gabriela.)
-The Good
-I know, I know, I hate to overhype but…screw it. Two exemplary sets from the greatest rock group to ever record music? (Yeah, I said it. Sorry, John, Paul, Thurston and Joey.) With both sets a perfect mix of ballads so delicate that it almost seems profane to perform them for thousands of people and world-eating guitar-noise jams? Yeah, it’s hard to complain about much when you get that.
-Sorry, calming down now. But still, that’s the effect these boys have on people.
-Did I mention they played “Paranoid Android,” the greatest piece of music ever written by the way, yet again shaming all the other bands on the bill? And also, they played “Kid A” without all the vocals scrambled.
-Okay, okay, calming down from the fanboyism, I promise. And also, it was funny to see Thom mess up the intro to “Videotape,” yell at Johnny for programming the wrong beat to “Idiotique” and during the set up for “Bangers And Mash” telling the audience “we’ll be with you in second.”
-Also, that light show? Not only is ecologically-efficient, but watching a silhouette of Thom Yorke dancing while something from Blade Runner glowedin the background was a definite highlight of the evening.
-Both New Pornographers and Girl Talk pointed at the Statue Of Liberty and talked about Cloverfield. I propose this becomes a tradition.
-The traveling singer and keyboardist for the New Pornographers did an admirable job of filling in for Neko Case, which can’t be easy at all. Nifty ELO cover as well.
-Even in daylight, Black Angels sound like feed-back drenched beasts gnawing their way out of John Cale’s head.
-I barely recognized any of the actual songs played in Animal Collective’s set, and amnot convinced any actual songs were played, but it still sounded prettier than a sunset after staying awake for three days in the desert.
-The Bad
-Way too much mellow jazz-organ during The Roots set, and boo to the soundman for keeping Black Thought’s vocals so low in the mix.
-People were playing hacky sack during Spearhead’s set. Weren’t laws passed against this?
-The line to get in on Saturday was embarrassingly unorganized. Spring for a few guardrails next time.
-While Girl Talk was deliriously fun, and the onstage parade of fake cops, dancers and transvestites was a sight to behold, I’m not sure if all of the balloons and toilet paper was keeping in spirit with the festival’s green mind.
-Seriously. Two nights of Radiohead, then Jack Johnson? That is inexcusable. That’s like following a fine dinner with white bread and a glass of water for dessert. I know there was competition from the Virgin Festival for headliners, but were The Cure, Nine Inch Nails or Jay-Z really that busy? That’s the caliber of headliner this festival will need for all three days if it hopes to stick around.
-The Ugly
-7 dollars a beer? Five beer limit? Having to drink beer in a separate area? While I realize that New Jersey state laws played a part in this decision, and I appreciate the desire to keep drunk fratboys from throwing things at Animal Collective to a minimum, All Points West is still guilty of multiple crimes against beer.
-While waiting in line for two hours to get home is fun and all, and it is hard to knock the view, next year it might be a good idea to run more than one ferry at a time.
-Michael Tedder
WEB: 
Greg Mayo Band
Ghost Of Gloria
