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20 oz bottles of Aquafina brand water cost $4, but before you go all Woodstock '99 and burn down the vendor tents, be advised that there are several free water spouts throughout the ground where you can refill that bottle all day. Empty Nalgene bottles are also permitted.
Aside from a passing shower in the afternoon, the weather at Liberty State Park was unseasonably mild and sunny yesterday for day one of the "inaugural" All Points West rock festival. The grassy grounds were populated by misting tents, American Spirit free cigarette lounges, a healthy variety of food vendors, a Sony PlayStation tent, and the whimsical art that's become de rigueur for these sorts of things, with curiosities ranging from Christopher Janney's Sonic Forest to the Solar Pavilion shade sculpture designed with "a zero-waste mandate."
The three stages are situated much closer together than at Bonnaroo or Coachella, so it's easier to bounce around to catch multiple acts. Highlights included the always-enchanting Grizzly Bear and a peach of a set by Andrew Bird. Of course, the raison d'etre for the hike to Jersey City was Radiohead, who did not disappoint, which is more than one can say for the noisy, blathering tools who somehow find a way to pollute seemingly every Radiohead festival appearance. One hopes there's a special place in hell for these degenerates, where they're tied to a spit and forced to listen to Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca" ad infinitum, interrupted every few centuries by Radiohead's "How to Disappear Completely," during which anyone who ever had to stand next to them could come scream banalities in their ears. Seriously, STFU or go be wasted somewhere else, you ignorant bastards.
More tips on travel to and from All Points West here. Taking your bike onto the PATH to Grove Street and cycling to the festival seems to be the best bet; it enables you to bypass all crowds on the way home and it's only about a 10-15 minute ride (though the promised bike racks were nowhere to be found, there is a chain link fence to lock up to). Brooklyn Vegan has more (stellar) photos of Radiohead and, in the comments, reports of lines for the ferry home appearing "awful when first approached, but they did move fast."
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Bonarroo is Coachella is Lollapalooza (Chicago) is this thing.
Shrug.
We actually just walked from the venue to Grove Street station. Really easy and very safe. no worrying about bike theft.
It was fun, worth the big bucks and the hassle of parking in Jersey City and walking back afterwards.
"which is more than one can say for the noisy, blathering tools who somehow find a way to pollute seemingly every Radiohead festival appearance"
JdS wins the trenchant commentary award, as usual. This seems to be the standard for any big show these days, and if you are stuck next to one of these assholes it can ruin the whole thing. Mostly we did alright, except for two douches who started shouting some conversation towards the end. We turned around and gave them a little tap on the shoulder and they actually gave us shit for it. ("We weren't being loud at all", etc etc., all while the music was still playing.) Sadly, it is one's job as an audience member to school these fools.
It was a great show from Radiohead, though. Setlist at Brooklyn Vegan
I had good time, however the beer thing is good/bad. Yes, there was less litter everywhere and fewer drunks stumbling around, but also I missed some bands bc we chose our beer corral poorly. Underworld wasn't bad, but I'd rather have been drinking in front of Andrew Bird. I didn't like having to choose to either have another beer OR go listen to the music I paid so much for, let me do both!. Last call is 8:30, the bathroom lines in the beer area at the main stage got nuts bc they decided to empty one right before Radiohead went on. I didn't like being stuck in line as the show started but there we were. But all of that hassle went away with Radiohead, truly amazing show. Also:People, pick up your blankets! Once the show starts you don't get to claim any turf or act huffy that someone stepped on your towel, space is at a premium, share it.
The beer situation was actually incredible. I was surprised at first that they only had these little penned in areas where you could drink and about the 5-tab = 5-drinks wristband rule.
But by the time Radiohead started, there was an impressive lack of drunk douchebags, which I thought made the whole concert experience about the music and not getting wasted. It was also nice not to have insanely drunk people on the ferry on the way back.
big √ for the organizers for keeping the drinking situation low-key.
Can hear it all over in Red Hook...
bit muffled, but you can hear it.
I had an amazing time. Got a little lost trying to find the light tail in jersey city, and decided to just walk to the path once the concert ended, which was fine. I would have liked to see girltalk but I wanted a good spot for radiohead, so I stuck around at the main stage after new pornographers. I had never heard of underworld, and they turned out to be awesome. Radiohead was a near religious experience.
Beer was 7 or 9 dollars which made it prohibitally expensive, but once the music started, I didn't wanna hassle with it, so it was all right. I didn't encounter any of the douchebags mentioned in this post, so that was good.
Overall it was outstanding, and I wonder how they'll top it next year.
I went to the 88BoaDrum last night. It was not as good as the 77BoaDrum. Too much synth. Not enough percussion. Very disappointed.
the noisy, blathering tools who somehow find a way to pollute seemingly every Radiohead festival appearance
more like seemingly every headliner for every festival, ever.
i don't get it; if you're not interested in seeing the headlining band then what the fuck is the point of squeezing into that giant crowd? quit wasting space and complaining, you assholes.
Just came back from Sat amazing show. It was top notch all around. good ferry coming in, great weather, good food prices but bad drink prices, good space and Liberty city park was pretty amazin to boot. The only snag came at the end when it was like I Am Legend trying to get back to NY with 30000 plus people waiting to get a ferry at the same time. took me 1 and half hours to leave. But it was worth it for the second best radiohead set ever. Definitely make a run for the ferry the next year through. i have to give props to the organizers for a smooth ride, til the end.
The Saturday show was really mellow - more like an afternoon picnic in the park than a rowdy Coachella type event. The cordoned-off beer pen definitely kept things quieter for enjoying the music, although limiting folks to a few 12-ounce watery beers over a 10 hour period is ridiculous...
Babyhitler, that is by far the nicest post I've ever seen from you. Congrats! Radiohead is like opiate for the masses, I've been floating on a digital Thom York cloud since I got home Friday!
Went Friday night, but stayed away Saturday because of the piss-poor drink policy (pardon the pun)
Friday was cool, as I decided to go after leaving work early, and caught both Underworld and Radiohead. Could not actually believe we were forced to drink in pens.
5 drink minimum was OK if you got there at 4 and finished (forced!) drinking at 8.30
However, if a nice chilled day on the Saturday was on the cards, 5 drinks from midday to 8 in the evening was ridiculous.
Stayed away and will hope to get tickets for Kings of Leon on Friday.
Did anyone else get pissed off with shading the sun from their view most of the afternoon as well ?
Hate to be a snob but everything about APW was a step down from Lollapalooza. All the pre-hate directed their way turned out to be warranted. It was an overpriced mess and the "VIP" tix were a joke. Since Radiohead was there this year (and were amazing as expected) I can't imagine who they could get that would convince me to go back next year. Also this was one of the most subdued/spoiled/lifeless crowds I've ever seen. Radiohead comes around every 5 years and puts on an epic performance and people just stand and stare. I don't get it...
the noisy, blathering tools...
Those assholes are at every concert. I don't think they go to see the music, they go to just BE there, and so they can tell all their friends how cool they are.
I saw The Fiery Furnaces at the East River Park, and some stupid bitch was talking loudly on her cell phone during it! I moved to get away from her and ended up with the obligatory Big Tall Guy Standing Like a Wall In Front of Everyone, and two jackasses in Hollister T-shirts shouting the world's most insipid conversation behind me ("It's great, isn't it?!" "Yeah! Great!" "I don't have this album!" "Me neither!" and so on).
I think I need to stay home and just listen to CDs.