Results tagged “allpointswest”

Outdoor summer concerts are really catching a tough break this year with all this storm business. Yesterday was the final day of the All Point West Festival, and with more rain bursting out of the dark sky, all bands scheduled to play before 4:30 p.m. were canceled. Fearless ticket holders who showed up were treated to sets by Coldplay, Ghostland Observatory, Silversun Pickups, Elbow, Echo & the Bunnymen, and more. The headliner, Coldplay, even performed songs by Michael Jackson (video) and the Beastie Boys (video). And between sets, the mud provided plenty of entertainment.

Sometimes spending a full day at a summer music festival is all about picking your spots and making do with the best you can get. Friday's All Points West lineup offered a glimpse at transcendence: the sun fighting its way through hours of cloud cover to end the Yeah Yeah Yeahs set with a final bust of light before sundown followed by a rapper headlining a rock show, opening with a cover of the band that most had bought tickets expecting to see. Yesterday's festivities sounded a little more on the aggro side with Tool's Maynard James Keenan overheard barking at the crowd, "You just can't f*** with Jersey...unless you want your ass kicked."

Ideally every good summer music festival is filled with one or two moments where everyone there can't help but shake off the cobwebs of cynicism and think to themselves, "Now this is what it's all about." It's pretty safe to say that Jay-Z did just that for a few thousand people last night at All Points West, performing the takeover just as the rain cleared to begin his first American festival appearance with a cover of "No Sleep Til Brooklyn." We admit to needing a video like the one below to do just that for those of us stuck listening to APW coverage on rock radio stations suddenly caring about Jay, accompanied by DJs using it as a chance to show off their emcee skills and explain the rapper's importance due to his collaborations with The Killers, Jack White and Linkin Park. Alas, Jigga to the rescue:

This weekend marks the 2nd annual All Points West festival, and Jay-Z (filling in for the Beastie Boys) is set to headline the first night at the Liberty State Park venue. What's the best way to warm up for a mostly indie crowd? Secretly join the lineup tonight for the pre-APW Diesel party going down at Webster Hall; the lineup features The Roots, Passion Pit and Drake. Blackbook says they have it on good authority this rumor's got legs, providing a detailed list as to why (Lykke Li fans, they also say she'll be stopping by)—#5 on that list claims, "an unnamed source close to the event says that Hov’s showing up to jam on a few songs at the end of The Roots’ set.“ Oh, and his sister-in-law, Solange Knowles, was already announced as a special guest. And a quick note for those heading to APW this weekend: the Observer talked to organizer Paul Tollet, who says the kinks should all be worked out this year—regarding the lines, he told them, “We felt there were a lot of things we didn’t like about last year. I walked around as a fan and stood in those lines, and when you go stand in that line, you get mad."

It only took the folks behind the All Points West Festival a few days to find a replacement for their Friday night headliners. Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys announced on Monday that the band would be canceling their upcoming tour, which included the festival date, while he undergoes treatment for throat cancer. So, upon hearing such somber news who does one get to replace the legendary trio? The fest booked another Brooklyn-born boy, of course, and his name is Jay-Z. The APW press release says this is, somewhat unbelievably, the U.S. festival debut for the rapper; choosing a fitting quote from one critic that declares: “his mouth is one of the most nimble in the genre's history, and he uses it to present thoughts that are sharp, funny and resonant." Sounds about as close to the Beasties as one can get, and hopefully he'll do a cover or two to fill the void. For those not interested in Jigga, single day Friday tickets are now refundable (the rest of the fest's lineup is here).

Remember that festival over in Liberty State Park, NJ last summer featuring a little band called Radiohead? Well, it's back. All Points West is embarking on its second year and they've just announced their initial lineup (which now includes comedy). Looks like the East Coast may have officially gotten its Coachella, and you might be headed to Jerz for a few nights.

Was 2008 a ground-breaking year for music? Probably not. But the past 365 days did bring us many sonic surprises, some good and some bad. Here are a few highlights, as well as our Top 3 Bands of the Year (all, incidentally, from New York).

Saturday's weather was immaculate for day two of the All Points West music festival in Liberty State Park, New Jersey; unusually cool and crisp, with a fresh breeze off the harbor and spectacular cloud formations as far as the eye could see. Saturday was also the first day of the festival to sell out, and the park was significantly more crowded than Friday.

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."

Sure, you've been hearing a lot about it recently, but this weekend's festival is actually a pretty big deal. Historically, local giant fests don't go so well when set up near New York, but this one seems to have the backing and support to actually get done right. First off, it certainly helps to have a band like Radiohead headline two nights. You can count on one hand the bands who have the combination of mass appeal and credibility to truly give a new festival the bump it needs to establish itself. Second, the association with Coachella, which has become the high-water mark for the ever-growing number of American festivals, gives it a pedigree to live up to. The fact that the festival is actually going forward already puts it in rare company, considering the fates of Vineland and Field Day. Whether it will be able to become an annual tradition, rather than an Across the Narrows-esque one and done flop, is still to be seen.

All Points West, the ambitious three day rock festival in Liberty State Park in New Jersey, starts today. With over 40 bands on three stages and multiple appearances from a little headliner called Radiohead, the new kid on the booming festival circuit has already established itself as the biggest event of its kind in the Northeast. It's also distinguishing itself for an ecologically mindful approach to festival planning; for one thing the only drivers permitted to park are those who carpool, and concertgoers are strongly encouraged to take mass transit. Which means getting there will definitely be half the "fun." (Here's a guide.)

This weekend All Points West brings the summer festival circuit to our area (albeit to New Jersey), and if you plan on making the trek, here are some helpful tips.

Lowry has entered the summer of '08 with a record deal under their belts, a new album in the can, and a booking at the All Points West festival this weekend--which has them sharing a bill with some heavy hitters. The Brooklyn band won't have to travel far to get to the big stage, but they've been down many roads to get to where they are now. If you are heading to the festival, be sure to get there early Friday to catch their set.

Take football away, and it would seem that Giants Stadium was practically built to host mammoth Bruce Springsteen concerts. The Boss took up a mini residency this week at the 80,000 seat concrete coliseum, making his earlier MSG shows seem intimate in comparison. With the possible exception of Bon Jovi, who has moved into Manhattan for greater lawns, no other performer could command such crowds across the Hudson, selling nearly a quarter of a million tickets over the three day run. Fans know that Bruce and his band aren't getting any younger, and while showing no signs of slowing down, nothing lasts forever. Catch them while they can still perform at this level.

There’s usually not much mystery to a Be Your Own Pet show. You get about a half-hour of nonstop, rapid-fire post-adolescent punk, with lots of shouting and shimmying from Jemina Pearl. There are far worse ways to spend an early evening in February. This Wednesday, however, things went down a bit different. About halfway through the set, some older creep started talking back to the charismatic young front woman between songs. It seemed all in good fun, with the tiny singer (jokingly?) bragging about how she’s been kicked out of bars in Nashville for fisticuffs. The dude then gets up on stage, makes some sort of kissy move towards her, and promptly gets smacked across the face HARD as the rest of the band jumped in to take him down. So yea, it Got Awkward real fast. The band brushed themselves off, shook hands with the pervy perp to call a truce with the intruder, and continued on with the rest of their set. Interesting night, to say the least. (pic via Ryan Dombal's flickr)

Last week we were tipped off to a new, nearby festival temporarily dubbed Coachella East, because of it's relation to the mammoth west coast fest and their shared event producer. Now we learn the proper name, All Points West, and some more details from the press release:

The three-day event is set for August 8, 9 and 10, 2008 at Liberty State Park in New Jersey. This historic location offers panoramic views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the Manhattan skyline. The festival’s name is inspired by the area’s rich history, particularly Ellis Island and the NJ Central Railroad terminal located on the festival site, where people boarded trains for All Points West.

First thought: the dates match up exactly with the Vineland concert, putting the two in direct competition. The organizers promise more details about ticket info and lineup in the coming weeks, though Paul Tollett (one organizer involved) mentioned that "Radiohead played there in 2001 and there hasn't been a music event there since." Is that a hint Paul? Time will tell, and in the interim NJ.com says they anticipate crowds as large as 30,000 per day (about half the amount Coachella now sees). It's also important to note there will be no camping, so concert-goers will have to come and go each day. Will you make the trip to Jerz?