So I am still scraping the mud from my toga and recuperating from the mud-bathed craziness and mayhem that was my glorious All Point West Music and Arts Festival. It was an amazing show by any standard, one that you will never forget unless your memory has some missing moments due to your own lack of party discipline.
Mud-drenched fans frolicked in the mire as they made their way from one amazing show to the next. Bands celebrated their wet fans and everyone from Vampire Weekend to the Nationals got their guitars soaked for the love of the festival, music, and the most amazing and loyal fans who braved Mother Nature’s PMS and rocked out with all their hearts.
Matt Berninger from the Nationals jumped into the crowd and while escaping from the over-zealous security, sang his ass off with fans and rain and mud surrounding him from all sides, a true act of fan patriotism.
Coldplay’s Chris Martin celebrated the rain as well on Sunday, thanking the fans for sticking it out in the “mud Jacuzzi” and announced “As four people who grew up in the mud and the rain, we take off our proverbial hats to you”. If a headliner is able to celebrate the mud, you better not be a bigger wussy than a group of celebrity Brits because Coldplay delivered and were right at home.
Some concert guests complained about the mud and the rain, but as a glass-is-half-full girl, I believe that the mud itself made the festival atmosphere. If you can’t celebrate the dirt, sweat, spilled beer and mud splatters that make a festival, I suggest you pack up your Gucci shoes and make your way to a Britney Spears MSG show. A festival is supposed to be filled with sweaty, dirty, communal craziness, and APW provided all the necessary components.
Even though random shoes and flip-flops were occasional war casualties absorbed by the mud puddles, it bought the fans and musicians together and set the mood for a wild Rock and Roll Slip n Slide.
One of the best fan experiences proved to be the mud-infested Do Lab DJ tent, with thousands of people dancing in the rain to the best rock and electronic mixes on this coast. Rain or shine, these people danced their asses off, if you can call some of their moves dancing.
The first day of the festival greeted fans with some rain. People made the most of it, and the atmosphere improved when Vampire Weekend, at the end of their prep-rock show, announced to the drenched fans that anyone with a one day Friday pass could return to the Saturday and Sunday shows for free.
Followed by wild cheering, this Little Miss was more than pleased with the production organizers. With all the corporate mentality, shameless sponsorship and strict security of today's concert environment, it was a real treat to see Liberty Event, Goldenvoice and AEG take care of their music loving guests.
Before the festival started, Adam “MCA” Yauch from the Beastie Boys announced the sad news of his battle against cancer. As music fans around the world wished him a quick recovery, the producers were busy getting Jay-Z to fill the Friday night headliner spot. This did not mean that the Beastie Boys' presence was not deeply felt. Musicians and fans alike celebrated the genius of the Beasties with amazing covers that melted my metal heart.
Jay-Z opened up with a bang. Accompanied by a full band, Jay Z started his 80-minute set by blasting “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” followed by his own perfect rendition. The crowd was going nuts and thousands of fans gave their all to celebrate the legacy of music.
Jay-Z wasn’t the only one who celebrated the Beasties. Karen O from Yeah Yeah Yeahs wore a "Get Well MCA" armband for Adam. And Coldplay played their acoustic and very mellowed version of “Fight for your Right to Party” along with sing-alongs, giggling and cheering from the audience.
Adam quickly responded to the love that was given:
Saw the Jay Z cover of no sleep, and the Coldplay one of fight for your right from APW on youtube. good shit. And i heard Karen O wore a "get well MCA" armband, and that q-tip gave a shout out too..... very kind of them.
Just wanted to thank them and everyone else who sent positive thoughts my way. I do think that all of the well wishes have contributed to the fact that my treatment and recovery are going well.
Much love back at all of you!
-adam
© Beastie Boys
My man, Adam, is Cup-Half-Full Kinda Guy.
All Points rocked, and every band brought their own style and artistic, musical take on our world today. Rock, rap and indie intermixed beautifully throughout the three days. Gogol Bordello sprayed the crowd with red wine and probably the most chaos this lady has seen in a while.
They ran on stage and asked the audience if they are excited about seeing Tool. After cheers from the crowd, they responded, “too bad cause we beat up the whole band. Bunch of pussies.”
With all the conformity of the music industry today, a senseless act of rebellion and insult was just what I needed to refresh the industry. Because, God Damn, this country (and the music industry) is born from rebellion and independence.
Speaking of independence, and bad-ass rocker chicks, Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs delivered what they promised with amazing sound and energy and Karen O jumped and pranced every which way as only she can. Her black and white costume of sorts made the iconic show and accompanied by huge eyeball balloons thrown into the audience, the sight of the concert with amazing sound was epic.
Jay Z’s first American festival became historic, iconic, and his performance soared. He included a ten-minute shout out to his soaked fans, celebrating their destroyed kicks and a very funny salute to the fan wearing tye-dye.
Hova was so damn good that the New York Times rapped in praise. His energy never dwindled and he sounded so damn good live that he fully deserved “the best rapper alive” award that night. He celebrated his fans, Beasties, Michael Jackson and my main man Obama himself. A truly great artist.
As the festival surged on, so did the greatness of the music. Saturday bought St. Vincent’s tranquility,
My Bloody Valentine’s ear shattering, sonic experiment that made you feel like you were hanging on to the back of the space shuttle,
and the dark moody music and visuals of Tool closed out the night.
There is an awesome recap with photos here.
Other highlights included Q-Tip’s amazing old-school hip-hop on the Bullet stage. Gogol Bordello sprayed fans with red wine, Arctic Monkeys provided their F-you English attitudes and fast riffs
and Neko Case delivered her poetic and poignant, abstract indie tunes to fans that witnessed sunshine poke through the clouds.
Sunday’s schedule was cut short by a rain delay as festival organizers checked the grounds for safety issues, and monitored the radar for lightning.
Doors opened at approximately 4 PM, and Gaslight Anthem was scrubbed from the main stage to keep the schedule on track. The divine Miss L hopes to see Gaslight invited back for next year’s festival as this hometown group is one of her favorites.
There’s no need to waste Miss L’s typing on Coldplay’s performance. They connected so much with the audience with their energy and audience appreciation that YouTube videos speak for themselves.
All in all, this chica had the bloody valentine time of her life.
BTW, the press is making a big fuss about how my beautiful Liberty State Park took a beating due to 71,500 fans dancing in the mud, but Sam Pesin, President of Liberty State Park, and Liberty Event ’s Ken Tesler, assure me that the site restoration team and mother nature will return my park to its usual beauty.
Yours truly would also like to remind you that Woodstock had some mud, and happy memories still abound from that glorious day on the farm. I hope the perseverant fans who enjoyed what some have coined “All Points Wet” get their due regard a decade from now.
All Points West deserves some more years to develop into the East Coast Summer Music destination its first two years have shown it has the potential to become.
In spite of the weather conditions, year two was much improved from year one, and I truly believe that the third year will be even better. Mr. Tollett, I’m a big fan, so if you’re listening, start lining up the acts for 2010, and I’ll be holding the torch.
My cup is half-full, and I look forward to it brimming over with music joy in 2010.
Long Live All Points West !!!
Lady Liberty
Musical Conductor
All Points West Music and Arts Festival
