All Points West Entertainment Art Liberty Park Jersey City, NJ August 8-10, 2008

Many have complained about the difficulty to get beer or enough beers for one day and I found the food/drink selection on the premises to leave much to be desired. It was difficult daily to find something to eat that was mobile and didn’t taste weird. The best item there was the kettle corn; to call it addicting would be an understatement. I don’t think a Radiohead show will ever be the same without a hefty bag of sweetened yet salty corn. Getting to and from the venue was successful for most people via ferry or light rail and it was a highly “green’ fest with recycling bins readily available. All Points West wasn’t the best festival experience I’ve been to but coming one week after the craziness of Lollapalooza, it served as a relaxing getaway with some pretty good music and drenched t-shirts.

Here are the non-Radiohead highlights (I also tried to stick to bands I didn’t include in my Lollapalooza review):

Grizzly Bear:

These Gentlemen simply have it going for them. They followed their appearance at APW by spending some time opening for Radiohead. Seemingly taken on steam nationally, they convert their studio sound into a more rocking sound live. “On a Neck, On a Spit” was a personal favorite of the set and the New Jersey crowd looked like they dug that and the amplified version of the band’s live show.

Girl Talk:

This guy’s nuts but I might be in love with what he does to an audience. As per usual, he filled the stage with a crazy frenzy of hipsters and youngins. Toilet paper filled the air, being shot out of air-cannons as pretty girls danced along to the mash-ups blasting. It was awesomely fun and I can’t wait to do all again soon.

Sia:

Her voice is captivating and gives me the chills. Sia’s albums, both with Zero 7 and solo, sound beautiful and the fact that she can replicate them live, is nothing short of a feat. For non-fans who only knew her for “Breath Me,” Sia gave them a reason to go home, buy her records and enjoy.

Kings of Leon:

These kids rock… In a set that was a good blend of tunes from “Because of the Times” and earlier material, the Kings played for nearly an hour. The east coast crowd acted more like European hooligans jumping and raises their fists in the air for almost the entire time. My favorite moment was when they played “Sex on Fire.” The newest single sounded great live and I was surprised to see how many people knew all of the lyrics. Other than Radiohead, no band fit better on the All Points West lineup than did KOL.

The Roots:

Black Thought was the final member of the band to take their stage in the slow building jazz introduction. Once he did, The Roots launched into a hit-filled set that really picked up steam with “Star.” ?uestlove is such a pleasure to watch while he doubles as band leader and is still able to bust out groove after groove with Captain Kirk on guitar and the energetic Tuba Gooding Jr. Although The Roots have been around what seems like a while now, they never come off as stale or boring. They bring it every time and it’s nothing short of fun to watch.

Earl Greyhound:

While the rain fell in Liberty Park, Earl Greyhound played some classic-sounding rock n’ roll on the far stage at All Points West. It is unfortunate that so few people were in attendance because bass player and keyboardist Kamara Thomas is worth watching. She has an engaging stage presence and her intensity only adds to the tight sound of the three band members. If you’ve never heard them, download “S.O.S.,” it’s great.

Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals:

After struggling with some technical difficulties related to his guitar pedals and delaying the start of his set fifteen minutes, Ben Harper quickly made it up. Sunday looked a lot like “Jack Johnson Day” at All Points West and Ben Harper fit in perfectly with that fan base. I stayed for a few songs and then moved on to another stage. Though I enjoyed what I saw, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for Mr. Harper and his band of innocent criminals.

Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB:

I hadn’t seen Trey perform in a while and it was great to see him back out there at a music festival. Noodling away on his guitar, Trey looked like he had his sea-legs under him as he looked transfixed on the sky above. The band sounded great busting out songs like “Cayman Review” and “Drifting.” I’ve never been one for hippie dance moves but there was a shitload of that too.

Grace Potter & the Nocturnals:

I’m not a hundred percent sure what a nocturnal is, but if it allowed me to hang with Grace Potter, I’d happily be one. The best part about music festivals is that it gives concert-goers a chance to hear and see bands that they haven’t before. I was excited to hear many of the up-and-comers that were scheduled for APW, but was mostly let down. I was everything but let down by Grace Potter. Let me start by stating that chicks who sing are hot and chicks that play guitar are really hot. But chicks that sing and play a Flying-V are sexy. Grace rocked on her guitar and played some mean keys as well. Did I mention she could sing… like really sing? The girl’s got chops and her catchy songwriting only lends itself to her on-stage charisma. To say the least, I’m a fan and if I was a teenager, I would buy a big poster of Grace Potter and stare at it while finishing my social studies homework.

All Points West in its first incarnation came out a bit rough, especially considering how well and organized Coachella is every year. Yet in a year full of music festivals, APW was the most relaxing. Every new festival goes through a growing period and I’ll reserve my judgment until next year.

Comments

well done Written by Guest on 2008-08-22 11:32:01

Honest Written by Guest on 2008-08-29 14:07:54 www.honesttune.com

Write Comment
Name:	Guest
Title:
Comment:
Code:*

Powered by AkoComment 2.0!